Spam for green coffee extract is down, Pump & Dump & Money Mule scams are up
August 9, 2013
In my previous article about the types of spam I was intercepting, most of it was promoting a dubious and often dangerous diet herb called green coffee bean extract. The next most seen category of spam was for "pump and dump" stock scams.
However, there seems to be a change in spam topics happening this week. Now, the fat burning scams are greatly reduced, while the pump and dump scams have quadrupled. In fact, the Eastern European stock scammers are now trying to manipulate two penny stocks at the same time. Using fake news and bogus forward looking statements, they are drumming up interest in the two targeted stocks (in which they have invested) in the hopes of conning new investors into buying shares valued in the penny range, driving up the value, just so that they (the scammers) can dump their holdings when the price peaks. The people who are fooled by these spam messages will lose all of their investments as the stock crashes.
This destruction of a stock's value has already occurred, when the same people pumped and dumped a stock with the symbol HAIR. They are now in the process of destroying the value of two other companies: BLDW and IMTC. If you receive an email promoting any of these stock symbols, delete it without a second thought. the stocks will not rise to the projected values listed in the spam messages. You will not get rich (the opposite will happen). The "big news" they often mention is an invention of professional con men.
Note: all of the pump and dump scams this year have placed underscores between various letters in the four letter symbols. This is done to attempt to fool spam filters. But, they don't get past my regular expressions spam filters that I write and publish for MailWasher Pro users. If you aren't already using MailWasher Pro, I invite you to check it out.
In place of the herbal diet spam, I am seeing an increase in counterfeit watch and Money Mule recruitment messages. The watches are Chinese knockoffs of famous brand names. If somebody thinks that a fake Rolex watch is going to impress the ladies, as some of these spam messages imply, they need stop watching Suits and get real life.
I don't know what the odds are that a counterfeit big name watch will get some poor schmuck laid or promoted, but I suspect they are slim to none.
The Money Mule scams are run by really dangerous criminal enterprises that are involved in International money laundering. Taking part in one of these scams can land you in jail. One of the scams I saw yesterday included this:
Vacancy - apply onlineHello, We have an excellent opportunity for an apprentice applicant to join a rapidly expanding company.
An at home Key Account Manager Position is a great opportunity for stay at home parents or anyone who wants to work in the comfort of their own home.
snip
You will be processing orders from your computer. How much you earn is up to you.
The average is in the region of $1000- $1300 per week, depending on whether you work full or part time.
The people who fall for this will be processing, not "orders" but stolen funds or the proceeds of other crimes, and remitting them to foreign countries. Many of these funds are stolen from bank accounts by surreptitiously installed banking Trojans on computers used for online banking. Other transactions may be used to launder drug money, or funds transferred to terrorist organizations.
Rather than getting paid $1000 - $1300 (whatever) per week, the unsuspecting Money Mules are cut loose and abandoned after their first successful transaction. Emails and phone calls are no longer answered by their handlers. When the person or business whose stolen funds you transferred reports the theft to their bank, the ensuing investigation will lead to your bank, then to You.
Your bank will attempt to collect the entire amount, plus a refused payment penalty. They may take legal action against you, including notifying the Police about your participation in a money laundering scheme. This is a Federal crime (FICA) in the USA and most other countries.
My hope is that my blog articles will keep some of you from being scammed by professional spammers and con men. The best security your computer can have must always include a well prepared mind at the helm. Staying aware of the types of scams and come-ons being used by spammers will add another layer of protection to your computer and any bank accounts accessed by it. Don't become the weak link between the chair and the keyboard!
Finally, you should always operate a computer with the best anti-virus and/or anti-malware software that you can afford. I even run anti-virus on my Android smartphones. They are the newest targets of malware authors and it is only getting worse with poisoned "apps."
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