Gotta love those kooky e-mail scams...

[Echo40]

I don't know why exactly, but I'm suddenly receiving a lot of scam e-mails, all of which either informing me of some large sum of money I've won/inherited which I need to claim or that I owe someone a large sum of money which I must repay immediately or else...elipses.

My favorite of which are the ones regarding inheritance since they really are reliant on a number of contradictory factors in order to successfully lure someone in.
Honestly, the only way I could ever see anyone being fooled by one of these is if...

• You have no idea how inheritance works
• You have a wealthy family member
• You are close to said family member yet not so close as to be in frequent contact with them
• You yourself are not wealthy
• You are desperate for money yet aren't receiving aid from your wealthy family member

Otherwise, you'd never fall for it. They're potentially even less believable than the old "Nigerian Prince wants to give you all his money!" scams depending on your family situation.

What are your favorite scam e-mails which never cease to amuse you?

 

[BillBond]

For me they come in bunches, separated by weeks of nothing.
I don't even read them, just delete them as fast as I can.

 

[DWalt]

I haven't received any eMail scam offers recently, most all I get are robocalls. The IRS and Social Security scam calls seem to have become more common during the pandemic. "This is Agent Jones from Social Security. We have noticed illegal activity in your Social Security account and have cancelled your Social Security number until we can investigate. You must call us at (phone number) immediately."

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have blocked and don't receive such emails. If I were to get an unsolicited, suspicious or unknown one I would round file it unopened.

 

[grover99]

The ones that say that there is a problem with your account and you need to go to this website or your account will be closed. This has been tried with several different accounts. So close the darn thing I don't care. I just 86 them.

 

[Echo40]

I haven't received any eMail scam offers recently, most all I get are robocalls. The IRS and Social Security scam calls seem to have become more common during the pandemic. "This is Agent Jones from Social Security. We have noticed illegal activity in your Social Security account and have cancelled your Social Security number until we can investigate. You must call us at (phone number) immediately."

My favorite are the ones where "Agent Jones" has a thick Middle-Eastern Accent.

 

[DWalt]

My favorite are the ones where "Agent Jones" has a thick Middle-Eastern Accent.

More likely Indian. But the calls I get are usually robocalls complete with a robotic voice.

 

[Echo40]

More likely Indian. But the calls I get are usually robocalls complete with a robotic voice.

Nope, definitely not Indian... I used to work in Customer Service/Tech Support, so I had to speak with call centers for all sorts of products, relaying messages or obtaining information which wasn't otherwise publicly available, and the vast majority of folks I spoke to were Indian, so that accent is very familiar to me.

This was something else, very different from an Indian Accent.

 

[Onomea]

I got a text message today saying I received a deposit for $500 into my Venmo account. "Click here to confirm."

I sent an email to Venmo with a screen grab of the text. I think if someone was sending me $500 I'd probably know about it.

Edited to add: I soon received an email from Venmo confirming it is a recent scam, and that they are working on countering it.

Have received several bogus click-here to-confirm-your-package texts in the past coupla weeks.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Recently I've had a lot of problems with various Bank and Investment accounts.
Haven't gotten too concerned since these aren't actually my accounts!

 

[df06]

The scary part it, that apparently some people fall for these, or they would not continue sending them.
I have received a flurry of them recently. After reading the first sentence or so, delete.

 

[Gunhacker]

I got an email a few months ago that made me laugh out loud.

It claimed that "they" had video from my hacked laptop camera (fat chance for many reasons, first and foremost it's an older laptop that didn't come with a camera) of me "pleasuring myself", and it demanded a bitcoin payment or they would make the video public, shaming me with friends and relatives.

 

[deadin]

I got something from Wells Fargo Bank the other day.
I do not have or ever had a Wells Fargo account........

 

[SC_Mike]

Do a search for James Veitch on YT. He has a lot of fun with them.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I used to get some Emails like that until they found out I don't have any money. They stopped then when I asked them for a loan.

 

[Cellar Hound]

I got one from the Internal Revenue Service stating that I owed a penalty for not paying enough on my prior years taxes......I couldn't stop laughing!! That was a good one!

Oh.....wait a minute......that was real......never mind....

 

[BigBoy99]

I get a lot of emails with offers to claim cash rebates/refunds from large stores like Walmart, Walgreens, Best Buy, etc. All of the emails have the same layout format and same sending address. Most are for $50-$100 but received one a few days ago where they were looking for the owner of 4 million dollars!

 

[Jon651]

I've got you all beat! My new best friend is the former Nigerian Minister of Finance...

 

[yaktamer]

Ever wonder if the "Nigerian prince" knows that his car warranty is about to expire, and it's urgent that he return a call to get it extended?

 

[VictorLouis]

I decided to toy with one recently

Responded to my ad on the local Craig's List for an airgun...
I respond in italics...

On Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 6:52 PM Bail Emma
still available? I'm interested text me your number to schedule pickup
Andre.

YUP, you're the 1st inquiry, so you get first crack.
I don't sleep well, so I can't promise how fast I can return your text.I'm at
480 - ********

Thanks,
Vic

Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 3:54 AM Bail Emma wrote:
Ok good can you accept cashiers check for payment and will wait till check clear before pickup is done


As long as the check is drawn on one of these 10 major African banks where I maintain many foreign portfolios:

1. Standard Bank Group South Africa

2. National Bank of Egypt

3. Group Banques Populaire Morocco

4. Zenith Bank Nigeria

5. Ecobank Transnational Togo

6. Central Bank of Nigeria

7. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

8. Liberia Bank

9. National Bank of Ethiopia

10. Commercial Bank of Kenya

If you would like, I can extend you a further courtesy. You can make the C/C out for , say $500 USD, and then I would present you with the rifle, and $300 cash-back to you. Just let me know how you would care to proceed.

Vic

Bail Emma
1:00 PM (7 minutes ago)

ok good kindly send me your name and address so that I can mail you the cashiers check


Okay, Sir. Below is my legal name and business office address for you.
Since I will wait for the check to clear, we'll plan on delivere arrangements
in a future email...:

Idun Bin-Hadd
c/o USPI
4949 E Van Buren St
Rm 187
Phoenix, AZ 85026


Bail Emma
Thu, Sep 3, 10:34 PM (2 days ago)
I'm using America bank

The Check has been mailed out to you in excess, it includes the movers fee, I'll need your assistance paying them when they arrive. Thanks.

The address is the local Postal Inspector's office, natch