Can someone explain this?

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 3

I put a TI86 calculator on the OK City Craig's List. Simple little ad. Nothing special. Description, have manual, $50 price, my phone # with a couple of the numbers spelled out. Since then I have gotten about 6 or 7 emails like this one. All almost identical in wording. The first one I clicked on the link ( I know, I shouldn't have ) and it just said that internet cannot find that site. Haven't clicked on any since and they're all just a little different site name, but suggest the same thing. Email below.

Nick Szabo,

"Is your goods still around? Umm...this might be off topic but you seem interesting in your posting. Do you want to hang out sometimes? I promise I'm not a weirdo, just feeling alone. If you're interested, meet me on my private dating profile (it's like facebook for adults), there's no cost to join! My photos and my phone # are all on there so get in touch with me. There are too many fakes on here so if you're legit call me and maybe we can meet to become friends and maybe more? Who knows? OK, I won't bother you again! You'll be surprised to find out what I look like! Smile

http://truestories.com

-Sent via my iPad "

I DID NOT have my last name on the Craig's ad.

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:58 pm

the site is just to see your real IP# so he has an idea where you are.
First thing that comes to mind is a pedo , carefully fishing for possible victims without attracting attention. Try to post typical kid stuff, like Ipod and school stuff under a false name, see if the same (ip#) answers with the same message. If.................. phone the cops.

IP might be different as people think that a proxy is saver to hide your real ID/IP, Most of them use Tor, but if you join Tor and watch what is running through your computer IP wise you can figure out the origination IP of all connections.

Too complicated? Drop it and find someone else to P!$$ off Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 21158

That site shows to be under construction. I'm a bit West of you so maybe that will throw him off!

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:14 pm

It could also just be some kind of ordinary spammer - the text of the email sounds a whole lot like various sorts of spam I've seen before.
are you sure your last name could not be identified in any way from your craigslist ad?

(also if that is your real name in your post, I'd suggest deleting it).

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 3

Thanks guys. I got another one this morning. The more I look at the wording the more I think the Pedo thing could be right. The wording is more like something I'd have had an interest in 50 years ago. Laughing

I went back and checked my ad and no way is my real last name in there. There are a couple of other TI-86 calculators in there and I'm tempted to contact them and see if they got the same phishing emails, but then they might think I'm doing the phishing. Wink

Guess I'll just delete them and write it off as more a-holes in the world then one can imagine. Mad

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Sep 2011 Posts: 54

Have you tried Googling your phone number to see what comes out? It might be on a list on the grey market?

There are some sophisticated harvesters and spambots about.

Is there an IP address in the email header?

Did you have your email address on the site? I'm not sure how it works.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Sep 2011 Posts: 39

congratulations your email address and phone number have been harvested by spam bots. The calls will begin shortly and the dating club emails soon after.

IMO never ever put a phone number on craigslist as it will get harvested by a bot.

hopefully you used the anomyizer on craigslist to hide your email address.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 3

I do use the Craig's list and not my own email. I also take a couple of numbers in my phones and convert them to spelled letters. My understand is the auto reading bots can only read numerals, not script.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Sep 2011 Posts: 54

bigbelly wrote:

I do use the Craig's list and not my own email. I also take a couple of numbers in my phones and convert them to spelled letters. My understand is the auto reading bots can only read numerals, not script.

It would be quite easy to convert between spelled numbers and digits in a PHP script unless they were a bit more obfuscated, "n!n£" instead of "nine", although I think it would still be possible even if they were.

The regular expressions used to capture the string and recognise it as a phone number might be a bit more complicated but not impossible.

Was there any mention of the calculator in an email or was it just "the goods". Maybe a coincidence that you were selling something and got the emails, I can't see how they targeted an email account which was unconnected to the advert.

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 2:07 am

bill2 wrote:

Most of them use Tor, but if you join Tor and watch what is running through your computer IP wise you can figure out the origination IP of all connections.

Nitpicking: the entire point of Tor is that you can't do this.

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:45 am

http://craigslistscamemails.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-promise-im-not-weirdo-just-feeling.html

This is a bog-standard "come see my video" porn site scam. These are more sophisticated, organized scams, and some of these scammers do take it a step further. It is very possible that they would invest in a reverse phone lookup to customize the approach.

In the end, I expect it would be a pretty typical scam, either directly by the bogus site, or through an affiliate program.

The "adult" site is supposedly "free" but of course you will have to provide credit card info in order to prove you are an "adult."

If it is an affiliate scam, the website you were sent to is simply the affiliate's gateway to the real porn site (and those can be pretty easily closed for fraud, which is probably why the link didn't work) -you will be redirected to the porn site, and given terms of service that are impossible to understand. The gist is that you have to sign up for certain offers, or you have to do certain things for the "free" membership--and if you fail to complete these terms, your credit card will be charged. Or, your trial membership will soon turn into a "real" membership, and you will be charged for not following a set of extreme rules for canceling. Either way, your credit card will be charged, and once it is charged, the affiliate will receive payment from the website for referring you.

If the emails are being sent by the site itself--most will be the same - incomprehensible terms, need a credit card, various charges made to your card, etc.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 31 Oct 2011 Posts: 2

Spectre wrote:

Have you tried Googling your phone number to see what comes out? It might be on a list on the grey market?

There are some sophisticated harvesters and spambots about.

Is there an IP address in the email header?

Did you have your email address on the site? I'm not sure how it works.

i always tell people to stop posting their phone numbers in their ads on craigslist. little do they know they are making black market spammers and scammers filthy rich.

they are only making their job easier

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 31 Oct 2011 Posts: 2

Dorothy wrote:

http://craigslistscamemails.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-promise-im-not-weirdo-just-feeling.html

This is a bog-standard "come see my video" porn site scam. These are more sophisticated, organized scams, and some of these scammers do take it a step further. It is very possible that they would invest in a reverse phone lookup to customize the approach.

In the end, I expect it would be a pretty typical scam, either directly by the bogus site, or through an affiliate program.

The "adult" site is supposedly "free" but of course you will have to provide credit card info in order to prove you are an "adult."

If it is an affiliate scam, the website you were sent to is simply the affiliate's gateway to the real porn site (and those can be pretty easily closed for fraud, which is probably why the link didn't work) -you will be redirected to the porn site, and given terms of service that are impossible to understand. The gist is that you have to sign up for certain offers, or you have to do certain things for the "free" membership--and if you fail to complete these terms, your credit card will be charged. Or, your trial membership will soon turn into a "real" membership, and you will be charged for not following a set of extreme rules for canceling. Either way, your credit card will be charged, and once it is charged, the affiliate will receive payment from the website for referring you.

If the emails are being sent by the site itself--most will be the same - incomprehensible terms, need a credit card, various charges made to your card, etc.

thank you for posting my site and that's a good breakdown of how the operation works. may i add your comments to my blog post with credit given and link?

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