AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Chat Area phishing ??

On Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:54 +0100, "normankings norman" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am . Norman Kings and the resident doctor for South-side Consultancy
> here in the UK.We are delighted to book for a group of 6 guests.could please check your availability calender and inform me as when you have availability for 6 consecutive days from Nov, 2010.
> We will like to book for ten (6) consecutive days for 6 guests/divers.Kindly note that we are flexible on our dates and do inform us when you will have availability.
> Also our mode of payment is 100% payment via visa/master credit card.
> I shall be waiting for your prompt response.
>

These guys seem to be getting better at this is anyone familiar with what the sting is?

There will be a mixup with a money order and you will be asked to wire transfer an amount of money back to a third party. I just string em along to see how good the forged docs are...it can be fun.

It's been tried on us as well. "We will overpay you by credit card and please send a cheque to our agent..."

I get one of those a week. I have had them come in sounding totally legit until a couple emails back forth reveal the makings of a scam. They generally will want to pay 100% by credit card up front. They plan on over paying (using stolen card numbers) and then want a check sent back to them. They are usually from the UK, say they have clients and only have some weird general email account.

I spend a lot of time everyday answering legit emails inquiring about diving and reservations. When i find myself spending time reading these i get angry and wish i knew how to send them a good virus or a bad virus rather.

I had a down-on-his-luck student actually sell his car this way, only using a "cashier's" check made out for more than the purchase amount. I tried to warn him. But.........

I get a lot of these too. Read carefully. A lot of them never refer to Belize or in my case Caye Caulker, and use the words "coming to your country" and for a big conference. Two big clues there. Legit emails always include the name of my property in the text and Caye Caulker. The phishing emails are usually loaded with bad grammar and spelling errors too.

We played one along all the way one time....instead of paying by credit card, they wanted to send a certified check....for something over $20,000.00 USD. When we received the check I immediately called the bank they were written on and of course, found out the check was a forgery, which we already suspected. At least I ended up with an email address and a mailing address to give to the bank when I called.

good for u shuffles !!!i recall about 3 years ago going to my local walmart...normally i pay in cash, but found myself a few dollars short...used my visa debit card to pick up the slack...6 bucks....went on my online banking account, which i do every day, and found that there was a debit on my bank account...after contacting the bank and involving the police, i found that someone from nicarauga used my card to purchase stereo equipment..over $600.00.i check my online banking every day, instead of statement to statement...lots of people could avoid charges by doing this...

That's why you should always use your debit card like a credit card. That way you don't give out your pin.