Federal Subpeona Email Hoax from Subpoena@uscourts.com Snares CEOs (comments)
Service by email of a subpena does not constitute legal service, yet thousands of CEOs and upper-level executives across the United States have recently been taken in by an unwelcome email in their inbox. The email, claiming to be a Federal subpoena (or, if you're from California, "subpena") from "subpoena@uscourts.com," bears the seal of the U.S. District Court, and demands the recipient present themselves at a grand jury hearing in San Diego on May 7th. In addition the email contains a link and the instruction that the linked document should be downloaded and printed.

Doppelganger Squatters - They Fool Even Google (This article has 1 comment)
In addition to the breed of filth known as "typo squatters" (people who register domains which are common misspellings of popular domains, and then put ads on them), and "drop squatters" (people who grab established domains the moment that the domain's registration lapses (i.e. is "dropped") - and set up shop on the domain - again, nothing but ads - to take advantage of the traffic that comes to the domain), we want to bring to your attention a particularly slimy breed that we call the "Doppelganger Squatter".

Anatomy of Link Exchanges for Hire - 2008 Style (This article has 1 comment)
If you've ever gotten an email from someone offering to pay you to put a link on your site - or even if you've just ever stumbled across a link from one site to another that is completely out of context - you've probably stumbled across one of the newer grey areas on the Internet: paying someone who couldn't care less about the quality of the content of your website to go find and spam other websites who won't care about the quality of the content of your website and convince them to link to your site.

Kim Henry Kim is Looking for a Soul Mate (This article has 2 comments)
Well now, here is a new twist on the age-old scam. No deposed, dead Nigerian potentate here. Instead, a broken-Englished girl named Kim, whose father Henry died tragically and left his estate to his daughter but she can only get it when she marries. So perhaps you, dear target, are the lucky man. Email addresses implicated in this scam, so far, include liiluv2000@yahoo.com and kimluv_account@mail2world.com.

Scam Identity Theft Calls to Cell Phones Tout Expiring Auto Warranty, Coming from 408-587-2116 and 623-238-6228 (This article has 14 comments)
People across the country are reporting telephone calls coming from the numbers (623) 238-6228 and (408) 587-2116. These calls claim that your car warranty is expiring, but they are really scam artists trying to steal your personal information and identity. So if the number appearing on your cellphone screen is either (623) 238-6228 or (408) 587-2116, don't answer it! Other numbers generating these spam identity theft calls include (202) 552-1332, (702) 520-1105, (609) 948-0971 and (562) 289-8136.

FBI Warns of “Vishing” Attacks - Scammers Using VoIP to Call You and Get Your Private Information (This article has 1 comment)
The FBI is warning of an increase in what have come to be known as "vishing attacks" - where scammers call someone on the telephone, but make the call using VoIP, which not only is much more difficult to trace, but allows the scammer to spoof the phone number from which they are calling (making the number which shows up on the caller I.D. appear to be from someone else).

Scam Gmail Verification Email is Identity Theft Effort in Disguise (This article has 2 comments)
A Gmail confirmation scam email is going around, asking you to verify your Gmail account. "Dear Account User," the request starts out - and goes on to say that you need to confirm your Gmail account, or it will be closed down. Of course, the language is wrong, and it wasn't even necessarily sent to your Gmail account, but still, people will be taken in by this scam, which asks for your account username and password, your date of birth, and your country of residence. Here's the scam reproduced in full - if you get this, don't reply!

Emails Warning of Jury Duty Scam Are Based on Fact (comments)
The FBI is warning of a jury duty scam, and the warning is being emailed around the United States, as the fraud continues.

Stop Foreclosure Scams - Don’t Be Taken In! (This article has 1 comment)
As the housing market worsens, foreclosures are on the rise. So it's only natural that scams promising to stop foreclosure, avoid foreclosure, or prevent foreclosure would also be on the rise. But those offers promising to stop mortgage foreclosure of your home are almost always scams. The only way to stop foreclosure sale of your home is to reach an agreement with the bank - it makes sense, because short of a court order, the only one that can stop bank foreclosure is the bank itself. If you need foreclosure assistance - if you need some stop foreclosure help - don't respond to the Internet foreclosure scams - instead, contact your lender!

Did You Get Email Saying that You Win a Toyota in a Toyota Lottery? Don’t be Taken In! (This article has 1 comment)
So you got email saying that you won a Toyota? You and thousands of others, in the latest round of the Toyota lottery scam! Here's the basic text of this spam scam - don't be taken in!

MP3 Email Spam Newest Tactic of Pump and Dump Stock Scammers - First Up: Text4Cars.com by Exit Only (This article has 1 comment)
By now you should now that you should never open a file which comes through in email, particularly if you are not expecting it, even if you know the sender. This certainly applies to the new rash of MP3 spam that is going around, which is actually audio stock spam for the pump and dump spammer scammers, who are pushing the publicly traded Text4Cars.com by Exit Only.

The Long Over Due Inheritance / Contract Payment Scam (comments)
A new version of the old 419 advance fee fraud scam has surfaced, this time claiming that you stand to receive a "long overdue inheritance / contract payment".

Why Scammers Love Nigeria - the Benefits of Living in Nigeria and the Nigerian 419 Scam (This article has 2 comments)
There are a few feactures Of Federal government taxation in Nigeria, along with an overburdened and at times lax penal system, which collude to make Nigeria one of the ideal places to run an advanced-fee scam. In fact, the common name for these scams - 419 scams - comes directly from the Nigerian Penal Code - section 419.

Wild Oats Whole Foods FTC Situation Heats Up as Court Filings Reveal that Whole Foods CEO Anonymously Bashed Acquisition Target Wild Oats on Internet Stock Boards (comments)
Documents produced by Whole Foods Market in response to a lawsuit filed by the FTC have revealed that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey routinely posted anonymously to Internet stock boards, bashing competitor and acquisition target Wild Oats by name and stock symbol. The Whole Foods FTC lawsuit was filed in an effort to stop the takeover, asserting that it would be a violation of antitrust laws.

Craigslist Scam Hoax Leads to Woman’s House Being Gutted (This article has 4 comments)
A scam hoax on Craigslist has led to a Tacoma woman, Laurie Raye, having everything stripped - even the fixtures - from one of her houses. It all started with a seemingly genuine post on the popular Craig's list site.

Domain Tasting - The New Evil (This article has 2 comments)
Domain tasting may sound like a funny term, but it's no laughing matter. But exactly what is domain tasting? Sometimes called "Domain Kiting", domain tasting is when someone registers a domain name for the express purpose of testing it out during the five-day grace period to see whether it will receive enough traffic to pay for itself, usually with just the clickthrough advertising on the site itself.

Greetings from Iraq - the Old 419 Scam Takes on a New, More Personal Twist (This article has 6 comments)
"Greetings from Iraq," the subject line says. Who wouldn't at least give that a glance the first time they see that in their inbox? And that's exactly what scammer "Merrill Melvin Hansley", a supposed security manager of STE,CCPLUS STORAGE SARL storage company in Iraq, is counting on.

County Treasurer Loses Over $1 Million in County Funds to Nigerian Email Scam (This article has 4 comments)
In case you are still wondering whether people actually fall for the old Nigerian 419 scam - or are wondering just who would fall for the old Nigerian 419 scam - wonder no more, and instead learn from the story of Thomas Katona, of Harrisville, Michigan. That would be Thomas Katona, the county treasurer for Alcona County, Michigan.

419 Nigerian Scammer Arrested with $4.5 Million (This article has 13 comments)
We keep telling you that Nigerian 419 and British Lottery scams work because people actually send these scammers money. In case you didn't believe us, police in Holland have arrested a Nigerian man over the holidays who is being charged with being involved with a 419 scam, and he had cash amounting to $4,599,577 in his pocket!

The New Coca Cola End of Year Prize Promotion Lottery Scam (This article has 81 comments)
"Coca-Cola End Of Year Bonanza," the email subject screams. It then goes on to tell you that you have won a prize - this is the official prize notification - for the year end bonanza held by Coca-Cola in conjunction with the Netherlands American Tobacco company. In case you're in any doubt, this is a scam.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Seems to Think Click Fraud No Big Deal in the Long Run (comments)
During a discussion at Stanford University a few months ago, Google CEO Eric Schmidt indicated that he thinks that the "perfect economic solution" to click fraud is "to let it happen."

Imposter Federal Marshal Exposed by Off2Hunt Website Posse of the Women He Duped (This article has 1 comment)
Richard Kudlik, who went by the AOL name "Off2Hunt", got a lot of mileage out of being a Federal marshal. It impressed the women no end, as evidenced by the several who dated him. Only problem is, Richard Kudlik wasn't a Federal marshal, nor was he single. Now Off2Hunt, who also used the names "DHSFireRescue", "USMarshal152" and "USMarshal67600" is more likely Off2Jail.

Why are Garren Fitzenreiter and admin@keithware.com Sending Me a PayPal Bill for Their Inspection Sticker Ticket? (This article has 1 comment)
Is it a scam? Is it spam? Is it phishing? Is it legal? Someone calling themselves Garren Fitzenreiter, using the email address admin@keithware.com, is sending people Paypal invoices out of the blue, with the subject "help me pay for my inspection sticker ticket and ill love you forever. thanks"

What Nigerian 419 Scammers Think of You (This article has 10 comments)
419 scammers are serious about their work, and they think their targets are deserving. Their theme song, "I Go Chop Your Dollars" by Osofia, says it all: "White men, I will eat your dollars."

Spanish Lottery Scam Hits the Net (This article has 10 comments)
The Spanish lottery scam, also known as the "Spanish Sweepstate Lottery", "Spanish International Lottery", and even "Spanish International Program" has hit the net. Whether it's from Blanco Lopez, or someone else, it's still a scam.

Chinese Troops Have Not Invaded Okinawa (comments)
Chinese Troops Have Invaded Okinawa, said the headlines on the Yahoo site. Only, it wasn't really a Yahoo site, and it wasn't true.

DMA Requires Members to Adopt Email Authentication (This article has 1 comment)
The DMA has announced that they are requiring all of their members to adopt an email authentication mechanism. According to them, "there are several interoperable, inexpensive and easy to implement solutions available on the market today."

Stock Chart Offers Stock Analysis for Spammed Stock (This article has 3 comments)
This stock chart offers stock analysis of the stock which comes recommended in spam. Are those hot stock tips really worth anything?

British Lottery International Internet Scam (This article has 551 comments)
The British Lottery International scam is one of the latest Internet scams. As the Katrina scams wind down, the British International Lottery scam is again picking up steam. If you get this email scam from British Lottery International, don't be taken in - just delete it!

Russian Dating Scam Hits Match.Com, Other Dating Sites (This article has 62 comments)
The Russian dating scam works like this: a Russian woman, or someone in Russia claiming to be a woman, contacts a man on one of the online dating sites, draws him into an online relationship, and then hits him up for money "for a plane ticket to come be with you."

Fake Windows W32.Sinnaka.a Alert Actually Front for Spy Trooper, World AntiSpy, PS Guard and Raze Spyware (This article has 29 comments)
W32.Sinnaka.a is the hook which phishers are using to scare people into buying Spy Trooper, World AntiSpy, PS Guard and Raze Spyware, some of which are merely repackaged versions of other rogue spyware programs, such as SpyDemolisher, SpySheriff, and SpywareNo. They are doing it with fake Windows Security Center sites and bogus W32.Sinnaka.a virus alerts. Don't let it fool you.

More Katrina Scams Than Legitimate Sites, Warns FBI - Be Careful Where You Donate! (comments)
There are more Hurricane Katrina scam sites than legitimate Hurricane Katrina relief sites, warned the FBI today. With nearly 4,000 Hurricane Katrina relief sites online, estimates the FBI, at least sixty-percent (that's 60%, folks) of the sites are actually controlled by people ...

Hurricane Katrina Email Hoax Invokes Red Cross (This article has 5 comments)
Hurricane Katrina email hoaxes are already starting to fly, to add insult to the horrible injury already suffered by the thousands of people in Katrina's path. This first Hurricane Katrina email hoax claims that the Red Cross will donate money for each email sent.

Your Online Resume Fertile Ground for Identity Thieves in New Scam (This article has 5 comments)
Your online resume may be ripe for a new scam by identity thieves in which they simply lift all of your personal information from your resume and assume your identity.

Scam Impersonates Jury Duty Call (This article has 1 comment)
Scammers have a new scam in which they call you up and tell you that you've missed jury duty, and boy are they ticked. You'd better verify who you are by giving them lots of personal information, because there's a warrant out for your arrest! Don't fall for it!

Golden Palace Casino Victim of eBay “Sniper”, Claims Expert (This article has 5 comments)
This is pretty interesting stuff. According to Iraq Museum International, it has detected a pattern of what it calls "eBay sniping", in which bids are intentionally and artificially inflated to ensure that a legitimate bidder pays top dollar, and has managed to ...

Millions of Windows Users at Risk by Massive ID and Bank Account Theft Piggybacking on CoolWebSearch (This article has 4 comments)
The implications are staggering. Internet security software company Sunbelt Software was investigating CoolWebSearch, a spyware package, when they noticed that stowing away in the CoolWebSearch download were two trojans, a spam zombie engine, and a keystroke logging program. It was the ...

New Online Investment Scam Mimics Regulatory Agencies (This article has 31 comments)
If you get email claiming to be from the Regulatory Compliance Commission, the International Compliance Commission, the International Regulatory Commission, the International Exchange Regulatory Commission, the International Shareholder Protection Division, or some similar sounding agency, offering you an investment opportunity, the best investment ...

Nigeria Hosts Conference to Deal with 419, Other Nigerian Scams (This article has 4 comments)
Nigeria really seems to be doing all the right things to bring under some semblence of control the flood of financial scams which originate within its borders, including the infamous "419 spam scam". Earlier this month the Nigerian courts sentenced a ...

Click Fraud Can Mean Big Money, Legitimately (comments)
Aunty has told you about the evils of click fraud. And how Google was sued over click fraud just last month. Now comes this company, which offers to track all of the pay-per-clicks on your site, giving you a full report ...

419 MadLibs - Scam-O-Matic, the Original Scam Creation Tool (This article has 2 comments)
Every once in a while you have to just laugh at the 419 scammers who abound on the Internet.

Scam Baiting for Fun and..Well, Just for Fun (This article has 18 comments)
Scam baiting - the act of leading scammers on a wild goose chase - has been raised to a new art form with the advent of the Internet, and Internet scammers. And none more so (or more deservingly) than the so-called 419 ...

Homeowners Should Beware of Internet Mortgage Services (comments)
Of course we all know to avoid mortage spam. But just because an Internet-based mortgage service hasn't spammed you doesn't mean that they are your best option, as the National Mortgage Complaint Center explains: (PRWEB) July 25, 2005 -- According to a just ...

Enormous Global 419 Nigerian Scam Bust (comments)
In what is being hailed as one of the largest spam&scam busts of the decade, and the biggest 419 bust in history, the FBI and Spanish police have collaborated to arrest three hundred and ten (that's right, 310) people in Spain, all of ...

Mariam Abacha Convicted! Nigerian 419 Scam Fraudstress Jailed (This article has 3 comments)
We've all seen variations on the theme. "I am Mariam Abacha, widow of the late Nigerian head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha. After the death of my husband who died mysteriously..." They always end with a plea for you to help them ...

U.S. Phisher Implicated in Global Phish Netting (comments)
In case you had any doubts about the global nature - the complex world-wide intricacies - of phishing networks, doubt no more. Case in point: Douglas Harvard and Lee Elwood were both sentenced in England this week to several years in jail ...

Google Sued for Not Protecting Adsensers from Click Fraud (comments)
You may recall that earlier this year Aunty lectured you about click fraud, and even mentioned that Google was suing an outfit over their alleged click fraud. In fact, last month Aunty showed you a news release from a company which tracks ...

TrustSoft’s SpyKiller Scam Scans Canned with CAN-SPAM (This article has 3 comments)
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has received a restraining order against and frozen the assets of TrustSoft and their SpyKiller program, a program which, the FTC says, was nothing more than a scam. According to the FTC, users who visited the ...

What Everybody Ought to Know about Protecting Themselves from Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft (This article has 1 comment)
Protecting yourself from credit card fraud and identity theft has become even more important with the unrelenting succession of security breaches, such as last week's theft of 40 million credit card numbers. Here are seven specific things you can do now to help ...

Your Checking Account Is Not Safe! (This article has 3 comments)
Forget Qchex and other services which let anyone register your checking account and use it. Your monies in your checking account are at risk from a scam far less complicated than even that! That's right, and your old Aunty discovered it, quite by accident. Today Aunty ...

Top Ten Viruses and Hoaxes Reported to Sophos in May 2005 (News Release) (This article has 1 comment)
LYNNFIELD, Mass., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Sophos, a global leader in network security, has published a report revealing the top ten viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world during the month of May 2005. This report, compiled by ...

Internet Check Services Let Anyone Write Fraudulent Checks on Your Checking Account! (This article has 9 comments)
Do you know what a "demand draft" is? If you've ever received an electronically-generated check which had "Your depositor has authorized this payment to payee" on it, or "signature not required" in place of the signature, then you've received a demand draft, ...

‘Lost Clicks’ Web Site to Track Click Fraud (News Release) (comments)
DALLAS, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Online advertisers who are concerned about click fraud have a new online clearinghouse, http://www.lostclicks.com , where they can learn more about a pending class action lawsuit against the major search engines and Internet corporations, and about recent developments in what is now ...

What is Pharming? DNS Poisoning and DNS Cache Poisoning Explained (This article has 3 comments)
There has been a lot about "pharming", which is another term for DNS poisoning, also known as DNS cache poisoning, in the news lately. But what exactly is DNS poisoning? Put simply, DNS cache poisoning is when a DNS server is ...

Papal or Paypal, It’s All the Same Scam (comments)
Whether it's the world's largest auction house, Paypal, or the world's most believed and mourned pontiff, Pope John Paul II, spammers and scammers are not above invoking their name in an effort to relieve you of your money. Even before Pope John Paul II's ...

Fake Microsoft Email Urges Windows Update, Installs Trojan Wupdate-20050401.exe (This article has 3 comments)
A fake Microsoft email urges users to install the latest Windows update, and even links and takes them to a site which sure seems to be a real Microsoft website. But it isn't. And the email actually leads to the installation ...

Yahoo Messenger Target of Effective Phishing Scam (This article has 1 comment)
A particularly effective phishing scam has targeted Yahoo Messenger this week. The reason it is so successful is because the phishing scam involves the Yahoo Messenger user being sent an IM message which appears to come from someone on the user's ...

Click Fraud: It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Google (comments)
Have you heard about Adsense "click fraud"? It's one of the latest Internet scams. Click fraud has been in the news a lot lately, and with good reason. Click fraud accounts for 10-20% of all clicks on Internet ads such ...

Mugu Marauder: Windows Users Asked to Target Nigerian 419 Scammers - Don’t Do It! (This article has 17 comments)
A group calling themselves "Artists Against 419" are asking Windows users to take part in their Mugu Marauder "art" project and take down the scam sites hosted by so-called "419 scammers". The "Mugu" in "Mugu Marauder" apparently is the term which the ...

Man Jailed Over Sick Tsunami Email Hoax (comments)
From Across the Pond, courtesy of Chris Hunter over at Spamfo: Christopher Pierson, the sick man who sent a hoax mail to tsunami victim's friends and relatives, has been sentenced today to 6 months in prison. Spamfo published the article previously entitled 'Man pleads guilty ...

A Swell of Tsunami Spam Scams (comments)
Some of you may recall that Aunty told you about Christopher Pierson, the British man who skulked about the tsunami disaster support boards, and wrote to those who were looking for loved ones feared lost in the disaster that, indeed, their loved ones ...

New Email Scam Targets eBay Users (This article has 1 comment)
The newest spam scam to hit eBay users is a spam which is infected with what is known as a "keylogger". When a user opens the infected email, which then has them log into their eBay account, it can record the keystrokes ...

Tsunami Tspammer Tstopped (This article has 3 comments)
Some people are sick. Really sick. But Christopher Pierson, of London, England really takes the cake. Pierson, a 40-year-old father of two (oh my, his poor children), was arrested and arraigned yesterday for sending spam to those known to be looking for lost loved ones, in ...

If You Have a Lexmark Printer, You May Also Have Lexmark Lx_CATS Spyware (This article has 32 comments)
Lx_CATS is a Lexmark printer file, installed by Lexmark, which spies on your printer usage and reports back to the Lexmark mother ship.

Nigerian 419 Spam: The Video (This article has 4 comments)
Sick of spam? Phed up with phishing? Nagged out by the Nigerians? Have I got a treat for you! If you haven't been over to the Ze Frank site before, or even if you have, and if you're ready for a ...

419ing the 419er: In Which a Nigerian Scam Artist is Scammed (This article has 4 comments)
Is there anyone here who hasn't been at least a little curious at one time or another - what would happen if someone actually responded to one of the Nigerian 419 scam emails - you know, the ones where the spammer contacts you ...
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