by Lina M. Maini
We’re barely into the new year, and already the scammers are flooding our inboxes with fake email, promising riches.
Below is an email I received. In that it was sent to me by a very skeptical Bulletin reader as a heads-up, I double-checked with the best source for scam busting: Hoax-slayer. (More on HS below the scam email.)
Subject: Please Read This. It Was On Good Morning America!
What do you have to lose?
This was sent to me by my accountant… if you think this is ridiculous I have no problem giving you his contact information…Read carefully…THIS TOOK TWO PAGES OF THE TUESDAY USATODAY – IT IS FOR REAL. To all of my friends, I do not usually forward messages,But this is from my friend Pearlas Sandborn and she really is an attorney. If she says that this will work – it will work. After all, what have you got to lose?
SORRY EVERYBODY.. JUST HAD TO TAKE THE CHANCE!!! I’m an attorney, And I know the law. This thing is for real. Rest assured AOL and Intel will follow through with their promises for fear of facing a multimillion-dollar class action suit similar to the one filed by PepsiCo against General Electric not too long ago. Microsoft and AOL are now the largest Internet companies and in an effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remains the most widely used program, Microsoft and AOL are running e-mail beta tests. When you forward this e-mail to friends, Microsoft can and will track it (if you are a Microsoft Windows user) for a two week time period. For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you $245.00 For every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $243.00 and for every third person that receives it, you will be paid $241.00. With in two weeks, Microsoft will contact you for your address and then send you a check.
Regards. Charles S Bailey General Manager Field Operations1-800-842-2332 Ext. 108 5 or 904-1085 or RNX 292-1085
What’s particularly clever (other than none of the text) is the use of an 800# that generates a message that the caller “cannot reach this party from (your) area code”. If you get email that you’d like to verify, visit the the guys over at Hoax-Slayer.
“Hoax-Slayer is dedicated to debunking email hoaxes, thwarting Internet scammers, combating spam, and educating web users about email and Internet security issues. Hoax-Slayer allows Internet users to check the veracity of common email hoaxes and aims to counteract criminal activity by publishing information about common types of Internet scams. Hoax-Slayer also includes anti-spam tips, computer and email security information, articles about true email forwards, and much more. New articles are added to the Hoax-Slayer website every week.” - Hoax-Slayer
Stay safe.
Filed under: email, Gates, hidden information, hoax-slayer, Microsoft, scam, scammers
