"unexpected sad trip"

A recent scam...

This one actually grabbed me for a minute because I knew a family member was on a cruise, but I quickly regained my senses.....

**************

      I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to  Philippines for a short vacation and unfortunately we got mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.

We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills,

I'm freaked out at the moment and i need your help.

*****************

Things that didn't add up...

• Hello is used, not a more casual greeting, and there is no use of family names of any kind.
• Grammatical errors- could be attributed to being freaked out, but the quantity and types raise a red flag.
• The username is that of a family member, but the provider after "@" was not the right one.
  
• The IP address, 41.58.56.13, points to (sent from) Nigeria.
• Another oddity being the sending of a distress email, when you could call from the embassy or hotel any number of people, one of which would probably be home so that you wouldn't have to send an email...

Google search for the text of the email:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/distress/family.asp

IP address lookup:

http://www.dnsstuff.com/
whois.net/ip-address-lookup/

Inspiracell text scam!

!/15/11-1/16/11

Deja vu. We had this happen with our phone bill courtesy of Residential Email. Now it's hapened with texting. Yay.


Luckily this came in the evening, so I heard it.

97956: U requested daily inspirational texts. Sub service is $9.99/mo +
Msg&Data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for HELP. Enter
on web 8876.

Me: STOP

97956: Inspiracell alerts: You have been opted out and will receive no
further messages or charges. Support: 877-874-3564

(No, I didn't request anything of the sort. I have a Bible- and a library card for that matter.)

This one came the next day early in the morning. I didn't hear it come in. So I unfortunately got the incredibly creative inspirational text.

97956:Enjoy your daily Inspiration texts, alerts billed at $9.99 per month!
To quit, send STOP to 97956. For help text HELP. support@inspiracel.com.

97956: Enjoy the day. Think of the good things, forget the bad ones.

Me: STOP

97956: Inspiracell alerts: You have been opted out and will receive no
further messages or charges. Support: 877-874-3564

Yeah. Right.

We called the carrier, got charges removed and a purchase block on. So hopefully this is over!

My husband and I had a debate going. I thought I was already signed up and had to text STOP to not get charged $9.99. He thought I signed up by texting STOP. I don't know. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.

I don't think I've even done any surveys or signed up for anything in years. Apparently, companies can put in the fine print that it's ok to send your names to 3rd parties who may or may not charge you for random pointless garbage you won't want. If charges apply, I want a checkbox. Otherwise, it's a scam! Or entirely legal dishonesty. Whatever. Scummy.

Report it!

http://www.bbb.org

http://www.smswatchdog.com/text-message-from/97956

I am a candidate!

Edit 4/6/10: I received another one, slightly different- see below.

OK, not really.

Gotta love how this thing is so general. Complete with spelling errors, as all good scam letters are. I just signed up for LinkedIn, so I'm thinking this could be something floating around there.

Read the text:

From: info@newyorksamplesuite.com
Subject: Jennifer - Your Recent Nomination Into Distinguished Professionals
Date: March 30, 2010 4:49:17 AM EDT
To: xxx@xxx.com (my work email)
Reply-To: info@newyorksamplesuite.com

Dear Jennifer,

You were recently chosen as a potential candidate to represent your professional community in the 2010/2011 Edition of Distinguished Professionals Online.

We are please to inform you that your candidacy was formally approved March 15th, 2010. Congratulations.

The Publishing Committee selected you as a potential candidate based not only upon your current standing, but focusing as well on criteria from executive and professional directories, associations, and trade journals. Given your background, the Director believes your profile makes a fitting addition to our publication and our online network.

There is no fee nor obligation to be listed. As we are working off of secondary sources, we must receive verification from you that your profile is accurate. After receiving verification, we will validate your online listing within 7 business days.

Once finalized, your listing will share prominent registry space with thousands of fellow accomplished individuals across the globe, each representing accomplishment within their own geographical area.

To verify your profile and accept the candidacy, please visit here. Our registration deadline for this year's candidates is April 25th, 2010. To ensure you are included, we must receive your verification on or before this date. On behalf of our Committee I salute your achievement and welcome you to our association.

Sincerely,
Robert Patterson
Vice President, Research Division

Distinguished Professionals Online
26 Bond Street
Westbury, NY 11542, USA

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipients named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or its contents is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete the communication and unsubscribe from the mailing using the options available in this email.

To remove yourself from future mailings, please visit here to use our automated removal system. You will be removed from our mailing database within seven (7) days.

***

I was selected due to "current standing, but focusing as well on criteria from executive and professional directories, associations, and trade journals."

What trade? What standing? Do they know what I do? Why would being in a directory be criteria for being a candidate, anyway?

Relief! There is no fee! This can't possibly be a scam. (sarcasm)

The catch: They need verification -click on the hyperlink. There is no way I'd click that. I mean, they have selected me as a candidate but need verification since they are working from secondary sources? If I'm a candidate, shouldn't they have talked to my boss or others in this mysterious directory that won me this esteemed status? Am I unreachable by phone to bestow such an honor? :)

By the way, the two things I link to are these, not the bad phishing one in my actual email! :)
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/phishing.htm

So, the only question left is- is this a scam from this country or abroad?

I'm certainly no computer expert, but I think this is the IP: 173.224.211.218

http://www.dnsstuff.com

Location: United States [City: Milton, Wisconsin]

OrgName:    Psychz Networks
OrgID:      PSL-86
Address:    20687-2 Amar Rd. #312
City:       Walnut
StateProv:  CA
PostalCode: 91789
Country:    US

A week later, I receive this one:

From: info@newyorksamplesuite.com
Subject: - 2010 Nomination Into The Global Directory of Who's Who
Date: April 6, 2010 1:59:18 AM EDT
To: xxx@xxx.com (my work email)
Reply-To: info@newyorksamplesuite.com

***
This was the IP address 173.224.211.207 ; I didn’t get a location, but the same Psychz Networks in CA showed up with the unknown location.

They didn't use my name on this one. :( I'll try and highlight the differences from the one above. Basically, the company, sender and address, approval date and deadlines are different. The exact wording, including the fact that they are "please to inform me" are the same.
***

Dear , (To their credit, they sent me a duplicate right after with my name in it.)

You were recently chosen as a potential candidate to represent your professional community in the 2010/2011 Edition of The Global Directory of Who's Who Online.

We are please to inform you that your candidacy was formally approved March 30th, 2010. Congratulations.

The Publishing Committee selected you as a potential candidate based not only upon your current standing, but focusing as well on criteria from executive and professional directories, associations, and trade journals. Given your background, the Director believes your profile makes a fitting addition to our publication and our online network.

There is no fee nor obligation to be listed. As we are working off of secondary sources, we must receive verification from you that your profile is accurate. After receiving verification, we will validate your online listing within 7 business days.

Once finalized, your listing will share prominent registry space with thousands of fellow accomplished individuals across the globe, each representing accomplishment within their own geographical area.

To verify your profile and accept the candidacy, please visit here. Our registration deadline for this year's candidates is April 30th, 2010. To ensure you are included, we must receive your verification on or before this date. On behalf of our Committee I salute your achievement and welcome you to our association.

Sincerely,


John Franklin


Vice President, Research Division 


The Global Directory of Who's Who

4250 Veterans Highway, Suite 2050

Holbrook, NY 11741, USA

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipients named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or its contents is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete the communication and unsubscribe from the mailing using the options available in this email.

To remove yourself from future mailings, please visit here to use our automated removal system. You will be removed from our mailing database within seven (7) days.

Scam-Residential Email/ESBI: semi-legal, totally shady internet scam!!

This is one you can't really recognize, unlike the 419 scams which have a hallmark ring to them or even just print at all! So, this one isn't one you fall for really, knowingly, but one more like identity theft where you just notice it one day if you are one to examine bills before forking over your money.

On our bill this past month for our local phone carrier,EMBARQ, my husband noticed a $14.95+$1.01tax charge for "Residential Email Mo Fee" on a separate page labeled "ESBI" with an explanation of 3rd party billing. Whaaa?? Our email is cable, for one thing. For another, WE DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR ANYTHING! Well, my husband called them (Residential Email, number provided), cussed them out and told them we weren't paying. They said ok. No arguments. Someone backing down that easily knows they are shady and in the wrong. Apparently, while he was yelling, the rep kept trying to tell him about the "service" to get him to "keep" when he'd take a breath. She mentioned something about $1000 in coupons she claims he signed up for on the internet or some idiotic thing. I called the next day to ask what she had on file and she had our phone and home address and my husband's email. (So it was him and not me!) She wanted to give me her sales pitch while she was bringing up our record (we have a record for something we didn't order?), but I cut her off and said I don't want to hear it, I think you are scamming people, and I just want to know how to avoid this so please tell me how we got on this list. As a matter of fact, when you call in, they ask you to type in your phone number like you are inquiring about a legitimate phone company charge before you speak with a representative.

You local carrier is allowed to pass on 3rd party charges, so that's legal. I think you can get that "feature" blocked-we're looking into that today. The companies, or at least one I saw while researching this situation, has a "F" rating with the BBB. Go figure!

From what I can gather, you "sign up" for this by entering sweepstakes, filling in your info for a free this or that, taking online surveys, etc. Some people found that the email address on file wasn't even theirs. All, like us, didn't directly sign up for this garbage. Apparently it is in the Terms and Conditions when you are filling online forms (generally for stuff unrelated to this Residential Email company) that they are allowed to bill you, etc. I find it incredibly unfair and shady to advertise one thing, have your sign up window below that, then in fine print (or separate link) to Terms which have nothing to do with what you think you are signing up for, but really are other opportunist, scum charging you for a bogus service.

Here are some links to blogs and info about this:
The first is the BBB thing I found, the second is an account similar to ours.

http://www.spokane.net/stay_connected/PressReleases.aspx?prid=1139

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/309/ripoff0309103.htm

http://momminitup.com/?cat=29

http://www.portlandtn.net/2005/11/scam.html

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/284/RipOff0284153.htm

http://pintmaster.com/20060524/answerstop-voicemail-monthly-fee-voicemail-you-didnt-sign-up-for/

http://tiredcynic.blogspot.com/2007/08/watch-out-for-residential-email-fraud.html

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/residential-email-c44904.html#comments

***********************************************
Here's my Rip Off Report for McDonald's:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Fast-Food-Restaurants/Mcdonald-s-Monopoly/mcdonald-s-monopoly-playatmcd-7e478.htm

Call me a complainer, but I won a Shell Gas Card in the 2008 McDonald's Monopoly online game (Free Parking space) and never saw it. They said they sent it (surprise), so I guess that makes me a liar. True, I didn't lose any money, but it still deserves some sort of mention.