Only stupid people fall for scams...

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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:20 pm

...or maybe not: Click

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 518

That's some mighty lofty lad ambitions right there.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Well, nearly every bank in the world is looking pretty stupid right now as they teeter on the brink of being nationalized, so maybe the saying has some truth to it. Wink

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:00 pm

an overly optimistic reporter wrote:

Swindles in which someone overseas seeks access to a person’s bank account are so well known that most potential victims can spot them in seconds.

I so wish this statement were true... Sad

The story doesn't say how much Citi actually sent BEFORE verifying that the people who "authorized" the transfers were actually authorizing the transfers. Evil or Very Mad

It looks like some of these institurions need to hire members of Eater to keep their - our money safe. Shocked

edited for speling issues... Embarassed

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:38 pm

Stole money from a country in Africa.

What ever happened to principled lads that only steal from westerners...

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:10 am

I always follow Tsners advise, so GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, that feels better.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:20 pm

I spent my whole working life in a bank and most of that in international finance, and yes I did bemoan that banks had become gambling casinos masquerading as banks, and most proper banking people have long since left.

There's no excuse for what that bank allowed, though I would strongly suspect some inside connivance from Ethiopia, as most people are unaware of the existence of such accounts, and only very few know how they operate, signatures and account numbers. The fact is that if you can't trust your customer - you get rid of the account - no matter who - whether they are fraudsters or just plain lax over security.

You don't get a bonus for doing the simple things right, but if you don't do the simple things right, the whole boat sinks.

Accepting written instructions from an international bank is so abysmally stupid as to defy credibility. Without giving away secrets, it is standard procedure in most banks to operate floor limits to verify transactions within certain parameters, and a written payment instruction from another bank to an individual/company for any amount would seem to be common sense - but common sense and banking parted company long ago.

Banks don't normally issue written payment instructions - not for 20 years, and even if Ethiopia doesn't have SWIFT, though I suspect they do, they'll have telex, and complex authentication systems will be in place to verify them.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 3

yep they do....and they run the country http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5800934.ece

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:59 pm

Quote:

One constituent is believed to have replied to the email, but - in what may be a blow to Mr Straw's self esteem - nobody offered any money.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:45 pm

Even funnier:

Online comment on article from Malcolm, London, England wrote:

Quote:

I'll donate $3,000 to keep him there.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:02 pm

In the understatement of the year, the reporter wrote:

Perhaps unwisely, somebody in Mr Straw's office fell for it [the phish] and sent a reply last Thursday.

I am glad that it is not just officials in the USA that fall for such things. I believe that most of life must be greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism. Of course, I am...

If anyone doesn't know already, email account providers do not send you requests to send them your password. They don't need your password to service your account. Shocked

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

@Cachuma, There was a similar one a bit further down, from someone in his own constituency. Very Happy

Edit: Here it is, and another nice one too:

Quote:

What made this scam entirely improbable is the idea that Mr Straw would only be asking for $3,000 to pay for his hotel and flight home. By the time you factor in 5 star hotels and first class air tickets, plus chauffeur driven cars which our MPs are used to, $30,000 would be closer to the mark.

Miriam, Bristol,

I would pay £3000.00 to get rid of him!! No one in their right mind would pay to get him back.

Andy S, Blackburn,

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