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Is it just me...
Dec. 12th, 2008 07:36 pmI am trying to go through my e-mail accounts (yes I have more than one), and it never ceases to amaze me at how many e-mails that I get from supposed people in Nigeria who want to give me money. I know that it is spam and phishing. I also know that some people actually fall for that load of crap. It just seems to me that if the creeps that use these kinds scams really wanted to make things more believable, they would be offering millions of dollars from people in a country where almost 60% of the population lives with crushing poverty. Too bad that the offers are completely bogus. If they were real, I am pretty sure that I could own Nigeria by now. I suppose that I shouldn't be picky. After all, the spam that I get in my work e-mail account is usually in Russian, or Serbian, or some other language that uses a cyrillic alphabet. Those are especially fun
when they come with pictures of naked body parts. I always try to guess to see if the message is an advertisement for male enhancement or possibly a dating service. Who knows?
The sad thing? A lady that I work with, GP, is truly oblivious and believes in half of the crap that comes through. I can't tell you how often I have had to explain that a bank really didn't need to contact her immediately about her account, especially when she has never given the bank her business, much less her e-mail address. (Face palm!!) To an extent, I can understand it because she is one of my friends who has had her identity stolen. However, I have tried to explain that banks usually do not send e-mails as the primary way to contact customers about account issues since e-mails can be easily hacked. Of course, this is also the same person who can't understand why "the internet people" (her words, not mine) can't keep nasty e-mails and unsolicited e-mails out of her account. I gave up trying to explain spam and phishing and just sent her to the FTC website for more information and for suggestions of what she can do to prevent this. That seemed to shut her up for the most part. I just have to wonder if she has any "friends" from Nigeria...
when they come with pictures of naked body parts. I always try to guess to see if the message is an advertisement for male enhancement or possibly a dating service. Who knows?
The sad thing? A lady that I work with, GP, is truly oblivious and believes in half of the crap that comes through. I can't tell you how often I have had to explain that a bank really didn't need to contact her immediately about her account, especially when she has never given the bank her business, much less her e-mail address. (Face palm!!) To an extent, I can understand it because she is one of my friends who has had her identity stolen. However, I have tried to explain that banks usually do not send e-mails as the primary way to contact customers about account issues since e-mails can be easily hacked. Of course, this is also the same person who can't understand why "the internet people" (her words, not mine) can't keep nasty e-mails and unsolicited e-mails out of her account. I gave up trying to explain spam and phishing and just sent her to the FTC website for more information and for suggestions of what she can do to prevent this. That seemed to shut her up for the most part. I just have to wonder if she has any "friends" from Nigeria...