When I opened my e-mail inbox yesterday morning I was gratified to
see that I had ‘won’ a voucher for free petrol that could be used at any
petrol station of major oil companies. Or to be strictly correct, I could
claim my free US $10 worth of petrol at any gas station in the United
States within the next seven days. This might prove to be a problem,
as I am based in the UK. Welcome to the world of spam – but I probably
don’t need to welcome you, as I am certain that you are already knee
deep in it already (and if you’re not, and use e-mail, please tell me
how you’ve managed to avoid it). I try to do everything that I can to
limit spam, and am very conscious of the dangers that lurk in the
attachments of unsolicited e-mails, but that hasn’t stopped the following
wonderful missives being received by me in the last few days:
Powerpoint productivity tips
A circular on .info domain names
A circular on a credit management newsletter
A message about free fax services
Only two weeks to get one month free and no setup fee’.
Access your PC from anywhere – free download
Up to US $150 free at xyzonlinecasino.com
Win $100 in domain names
Increase sales and revenues
Get up to 2 per cent cash back on your purchases
Solutions for buying or selling your business
Free printer, scanner or digital camera
Thankfully I have not had any e-mails offering me free pornography,
but somewhat ironically I have had one headed ‘Mail pile getting you
down?’. Spam is also known as unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE),
unsolicited bulk mail (UBE) or make money fast (MMF). While spam
is now a universally used term which has been taken to cover each of
these different types of e-mail abuse, in fact each of these terms has,
strictly speaking, a different meaning. The exact reason for the use of
the term spam has never been entirely clear, but obviously it refers to
the tinned luncheon meat of the same name that was made a cult item
by the famous Spam song from Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Originally
spam was used to describe a particular type of Usenet posting, but
has now been accepted as a generic term to describe a whole range of
inappropriate Web events, predominantly related to e-mail. The term
encompasses the following:
Unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE): messages with the same (or almost
the same) content sent to many addresses that did not ask to
receive it. Before e-mail if a company or individual wished to
carry out a bulk mail shot they had to compile or buy a mail list,
print leaflets or circulars, stuff them in envelopes, mail frank the
envelopes (or lick thousands of stamps) then post them. This was
a laborious and time consuming task – not to mention the most
important factor – the expense involved. E-mail removed all of
these problems – as long as you had an e-mail circulation list, all
you have to do is write something and press the ‘send’ button.
Best of all it’s free! Well kind of: in fact it may be free for the
sender but bulk spammers actually can cause horrendous bandwidth
problems when automated e-mail programs can send millions of messages each day. Then there are the consequent
costs such as the time (and money) wasted in the workplace by
dealing with such e-mails – and also, it must be said, on occasions,
replying to them and sending money! UBE, by its very title, implies
large numbers of messages
Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) is virtually the same as UBE
but can be a single e-mail to one user
Make money fast (MMF): In essence messages that guarantee
immediate (and ludicrous) profits. Such communications are in
the most part illegal, but more importantly (to use a technical
term) bull****. Just as with both UBE and UCE there is nothing
new in these communications as they have been sent by post for
decades, but once again the Internet gives the sender the ability
to dispatch thousands if not millions of these at the click of a
mouse. The obvious advantage to the sender is that a percentage
of recipients are always taken in by the ludicrous promises made
and send money: so the more e-mails that are sent out then the
higher number of people taken in, and thus the larger the illegal
profit for the criminals behind the scheme. There is some semantic
dispute as to whether multi-level marketing schemes fall into
this category, but as I prefer to refer to such offers as pyramid
schemes – with all the connotations that such a phrase implies,
then I think that they well and truly belong here.
In very simple terms, the usual technique used to compile mail lists
for such exercises involve the use of e-mail sniffers, which roam the
Internet searching for and then recording e-mail addresses posted on
Web sites, mailing list postings or anywhere else that e-mail addresses
can be found. Such programs can be downloaded very easily from
the Internet: at the moment I have on screen the details of a shareware
program (costing US $10) that ‘will extract valid e-mail addresses from
almost any type of file including HTML, ASCII and binary files,
handling up to 30,000 addresses per address list’.
Initially I thought that it would not be relevant to include details of
e-mail spam that was essentially fraudulent, as there was very little
(if any) possibility that anyone of a sane disposition would be taken
in by it. However, all the research into this subject and logic suggest
that people are taken in by it – otherwise what would be the point in
it being sent in such large numbers? Nevertheless, it is important to
distinguish between two types of spam. First is honest spam, which,
for want of a better term, is bulk mailing that does relate to a legitimate
product or service, but was not requested by the recipient. Then there’s
fraudulent spam: at the worst end of the make money fast syndrome,
which perhaps ought to be rebranded LMF – lose money fast.
And what better place to start with than Nigeria. Here is not the
place to discuss at length the vast and panoramic background of
Nigerian fraud: I have written at length on this subject in the past and
a White Paper on the many facets of this problem is on my firm’s Web
site at www.proximalconsulting.com. In essence, Nigerian fraudsters
have, for many years, been sending out letters by post offering recipients
the chance to be involved in a large financial transaction. The numbers
of letters sent in the traditional way have been enormous – on average
the US authorities receive at least 100 calls per day from victims or
potential victims of this fraud and 300 related pieces of correspondence
(per day!). In 1998 a UK police squad collected 150,000 Nigerian letters
in the first four months of the year. But here’s the rub: typically for
each 100 letters sent, one recipient responds and another sends money:
usually thousands of pounds. If there was ever a ‘service’ that begged
for bulk e-mail distribution, this was it. Thus it came with very little
surprise that in the last couple of months I have received a variety of
these unrepeatable offers, such as:
REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE IN A FINANCIAL
TRANSACTION
I am contacting you based on information and esteem recommendation
I received of you from a high ranking official in the
commercial section of the Nigerian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry who guaranteed your reliability and trustworthyness in
business dealings. This business proposal I wish to intimate you
with is of mutual benefit and it’s success is entirely based on mutual
trust, cooperation and a high level of confidentiality as regard this
transaction.
I am the Chairman of the contract Advisory Committee (CAC) of
the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH). I
am seeking your assistance to enable me transfer the sum of US
$16,500,000.00 (Sixteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand United
States Dollars) into your private/company account.
The fund came about as a result of a contract awarded and
executed on behalf of my Ministry the Federal Ministry of Works
and Housing. The contract was supposed to be awarded to two foreign contractors to the tune of US $60,000,000.00 (Sixty Million
United States Dollars). But in the course of negotiation, the contract
was awarded to a Bulgarian contractor at the cost of US $43,500,000.00
(Forty-Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)
to my benefit unknown to the contractor. This contract has been
satisfactorily executed and inspected as the Bulgarian firm is
presently securing payment from my Ministry, where I am the
Executive Director in-charge of all foreign contract payment approval.
As a civil servant still in active government service, I am forbidden
by law to operate an account outside the shores of Nigeria. Hence
this message to you seeking your assistance so as to enable me
present your private/company account details as a beneficiary of
contractual claims alongside that of the Bulgarian contractor, to
enable me transfer the difference of US $16,500,000.00 (Sixteen
Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) into your
provided account.
On actualization, the fund will be disbursed as stated below:
30 per cent of the fund will be for you as beneficiary.
10 per cent for reimbursement to both parties for incidental
expenses that may be incurred during the course of the
transaction.
60 per cent of the fund will be for me which I intend to invest
in your country with you as my partner.
All logistics are in place and all modalities worked out for a smooth
actualisation of the transaction within the next few working days
of commencement. For further details as to the workability of this
transaction, please respond by return mail on my confidential email
address: fmwhbakare@yahoo.com.or by fax .+234-1759-7154.
Thank you and God bless as I await your urgent response.
Yours sincerely,
Ali Bakare (Engr).
On almost the same day as we received our e-mail (actually we
received it twice – presumably just in case we ignored it first time
around), another Nigerian fraud came to light in Canada. Three
Toronto residents have been arrested as a result of a joint investigation
run by the Canadian Federal Bureau of Investigation and US Secret
Service. The three men are alleged to have taken part in a global fraud
involving more than 300 victims, who lost sums ranging from tens of
thousands to millions of dollars
One of our contacts has also recently received another variant of
the Nigerian letter, this time from Mr Albert Sankarah in the Congo,
who quotes a South African telephone and fax number. His letter reads
as follows:
I am Mr Albert Sankarah from the Democratic Republic of Congo
and the special adviser to the late President Laurent Kabila.
On the first week of this year the late President assigned me to
the Republic of South Africa to conclude the Arms and Ammunitions
procurement negotiation with an arm dealing company right
here in South Africa as was a call of urgency. Before I left Congo,
the President and I were made aware of the plans of the opposition
to topple the government.
On the 15th of January 2001, I arrive to South Africa with the sum
of US $23 Million (Twenty Three Million United States Dollars)
through diplomatic means. To proceed on my mission I heard the
most shocking news of my life; the assassination of the President
who sent me on this mission. Having a thought of his death, I saw
it as a golden opportunity to enrich and reward myself for my
loyalty to him towards the overthrow of the late President Mobutu
Sese Seko. I decided to deposit the funds with a reputable Security
Company here in Johannesburg.
Knowing that since I am currently seeking asylum here in South
Africa, I have got a lot of financial limitations. Coupled with the
way in which this money was acquired, I cannot invest or use this
money in South Africa. That is why I thus decided to seek for a
God fearing person who can assist me in transferring these funds
into his company or personal account.
In anticipation of your assistance I have agreed to offer you:
– 25 per cent of the total funds for your assistance
– 5 per cent to be set aside for every reasonable expenses incurred
by both parties
– and the remaining 70 per cent will be for my investment in
your company.
I have done everything necessary that will lead to the success of
this transaction before contacting you, so all I want from your side
is sincerity. Remember that the keyword to this transaction is
confidentiality and I assure you that this transaction is 100 per cent
risk free. If you are interested in assisting me please notify me on
the above telephone and fax numbers. In case you cannot assist, do
keep it confidential.
Best regards.
The contents of this letter confirm additional information that suggests
that South Africa is becoming a centre of Nigerian activity, with many
fraudsters operating out of the country, trying to lure innocent
‘investors’ there. Another variation on the dead statesman theme is
the following letter, which is currently being sent by e-mail:
Dear Sir,
I am Mr. Varsadi Mobutu, the son of the late President Mobutu Sese
Seko of former Zaire now Democratic Republic of Congo. My family
and I now live in exile, in Morocco. Due to seizures/confiscation of
my late father’s properties as well as the frozen of all his bank
accounts including that of the family members and the recent
confiscation/seizure of his choice property châteaux in South of
France, which were all carried by the International Press, made us
not to make any meaningful investment without a sincere and
trusted front. In this line, therefore, it is the wish of my family to
solicit for a trustworthy and sincere person who will invest these
funds under trusteeship for the family. We have US $500m to put in
any meaningful investment that will yield good dividend.
Source of fund
Before the death of my father he deposited the above stated funds
with a Security Firm here in Morocco. Hence I am in asylum here
in Morocco therefore, I intend to have a front who will manage this
fund and invest it into property development, buying of shares/
stocks in multinational companies and engage in non-speculative
investments, and other related ventures.
As soon as I hear from you I will then arrange a face-to-face
meeting for us to deliberate on this investment. It will also, give me
the opportunity to assess your capability of handling this investment.
Please I will like you to send me your private telephone/fax
numbers, to allow us discuss privately and establish a voice contact.
Meanwhile reach me on the above stated e-mail. Please treat this
matter with utmost confidentiality.
Best Regards,
Varsadi Mobutu
While the Nigerian 419 letter by e-mail is an important strand of
fraudulent e-mail spam, it is merely one of many types that hit both
individuals and businesses. Among other notable offers of instant
wealth are:
Chain letters – the classic ‘get rich quick’ schemes that promise
unbridled wealth. The high tech variant of this perennial chestnut
is no different to its paper mail counterpart. Typically the email
includes the details of several individuals; you are instructed
to send US $5 to the person at the top of the list, cross that name
off and add your name to the bottom. You are then told to e-mail
this communication to other individuals, who will repeat the
process so that you name comes to the top of the list and you
will not be able to get to your post box because of the influx of
plain brown envelopes stuffed with cash.
Free prize schemes – telling you that you have won a valuable
free prize, all you have to do is contact a phone number (usually
costing a premium rate) and then pay for the shipping of your
prize. It is not unusual for victims to be charged hundreds of
pounds or dollars for the shipping of a free car or other seemingly
valuable item. Of course, the prize never materializes.
Free holidays – ‘Yes, you have won a completely free one week
holiday which can be taken at any time of the year (including
school holidays) at any location in the world’. All you have to
do is join a travel club, which may cost anything up to £300. When
you come to book your holiday, mysteriously the flights you want
will be fully booked, or if they’re OK the hotel you choose will
not be available, or if everything is available there will be some
obscure clause that can be invoked so that you pay a hefty surcharge.
And all of this actually presumes that you get this far:
many such free holiday offers by e-mail result in victims joining
‘travel clubs’ that mysteriously disappear completely before any
holidays can be booked.
Advance fee frauds – the old favourite much favoured by
Nigerian fraudsters but well used by every other criminal. In its
simplest form the applicant pays a fee for a ‘guaranteed’ loan.
This raises the obvious question, in these days of cheap and
readily available finance, as to why anyone would need to pay a
fee to borrow money. The obvious answer is that such spam is
aimed at those who find it difficult to get credit and/or want to
borrow more than they can afford. Thus these groups are hit witha double whammy – no loan and handing over money that they
can’t afford.
Investment fraud schemes – we could be here all day listing the
various types of such scams. However, beware in particular of
investment stock tips by e-mail (which involve investing that
capital) and anything at all that promises way above average
financial returns.
The rest – and there are many. Junk any e-mails that you get
which are about distributorships and franchises; job opportunities;
work at home schemes; oil and gas investments; schemes
that charge money for services that your government or other
state bodies provide free (such as training, unclaimed tax refunds);
life saving medical products. For organizations one particular
type of spam can be particularly costly – e-mails that appear to
be invoices that a staff member might think are real and proceed
to pay. One particularly prevalent example relates to apparently
pre-agreed entries in business directories in print or Web site
format.
Just because someone has your e-mail address doesn’t mean that you
have somehow been magically chosen to be the only person on the
planet to receive this wonderful offer! At the risk of stating the obvious,
the often stated guidelines (equally applicable to normal mail) apply
to any such spam:
When you are approached by any unknown person and/or
organization to establish any new business relationship you must
validate that person’s or organization’s claims and history. The
best advice (which means that you don’t have to read the rest of
this warning list) is that if you have never heard of the person/
company sending you the e-mail, delete it without even bothering
to read it – never vary from this dictum, even if your curiosity
tries to persuade you otherwise.
Never forget: if any deal or offer appears to be too good to be
true, turn it down – because it is.
There are no such things as ‘once in a lifetime opportunities’
‘guaranteed returns on investments’ – when the figures guaranteed
are astronomical.
Be suspicious.
Question all transactions.
Jealously guard all your personal and/or business information
such as bank account details, credit card numbers.
Don’t sign any document before you have had it checked out.
Find out if the individual or company exists, and is registered
with the necessary regulators or licensing authority.
How long has the individual/company been trading – who are
the principals?
Check out the filings of the subject company – it might be
registered somewhere, but is it trading? If so does its financial
status in any way reflect the deal being offered?
Check out addresses and contact details of those approaching
you (it still surprise me how many of these people use dead lines
or business centres).
Validate any documents presented for authenticity.
Ask for references – but don’t take them at face value.
Ask for a prospectus and brochure.
Carry out a media and Internet search on the individuals.
Don’t pay for anything upfront unless you have dealt with the
person/company before and know that the person/company is
reputable.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘No’.
Don’t be rushed – one key factor in many of these frauds is that
the criminals try to rush you, usually saying that you must act
quickly to take advantage of the unique opportunity.
The Internet may be a great medium to promote fraud, but it is
also a brilliantly effective way to search for information and detail
on fraudsters. You may be surprised by what you find by searching
– details of earlier investors who have lost money, for example,
or investigations that are going on into the company/individual
that is offering you the wonderful investment opportunity. I
recommend searching on Dogpile, Google and Northern Light
at the very least.
If you have any doubt whatsoever, walk away – even if you are
continually pressured to sign on the dotted line (in fact, particularly
if you are pressured to sign on the dotted line).
In many US states the issues relating to even ‘normal’ spam (ie circulars
offering legitimate services) have been the subject of legislation. In
Washington a law enacted in 1988 allows state residents to sue for
damages of up to US $500 for each unsolicited e-mail message received.
While such legislation is very worthy and well meaning it is, in practical terms, useless. If the sender is outside that state, or outside of the US,
how can it possibly be enforced? ISPs in virtually all cases have clauses
regarding e-mail abuse in your agreement with them. Which is all very
fine, but numerous and varied complaints have surfaced over the years
regarding the lack of response from ISPs over spam. The argument is
that as combating spam is not a revenue generator then ISPs are not
particularly quick or efficient in dealing with the problem. There is
also and inevitably the other side of the argument, that bulk e-mailing
gives small businesses (in particular) a valuable marketing tool, and
thus any ISPs that try to control and eradicate it are effectively antibusiness.
There are also various attempts to make search engines
prohibit the inclusion of sites that offer services and software relating
to spam. This has practical problems: at the very least the kind of search
terms that would have to be monitored would include the following
– and searches would need to allow for variations in spelling (for
example e-mail and email) and case sensitivity:
spam;
bulk mail/bulk e-mail;
direct e-mail;
unsolicited bulk e-mail;
unsolicited commercial e-mail;
UBE and UCE (which is a bit of a shame if your legitimate
company or organization is called either of these acronyms);
e-mail software (banning, restricting or having a ‘health warning’
on this phrase is totally unworkable);
bulk e-mail software;
bulk e-mail service;
e-mail marketing;
e-mail advertising;
online advertising;
online marketing;
Web site promotion;
e-mail lists;
e-mail address lists;
stealth e-mail;
extractor (another totally unworkable one – what about all the
other kinds of extractors?);
harvester (another problem – what about, for example, the UK
restaurant chain with this name?).
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