Safari scam or just plain spam?

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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:42 am

Quote:

Subject: Some serious Masai Mara adventures
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:23:13 +0000
From: "African Wildlife Celebration" <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer-LID: 3
X-Mailer-SID: 372
X-Mailer-Sent-By: 1
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; charset="ISO-8859-1"; boundary="b1_a29df77c3ce65862c095ffe756467416"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
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--b1_a29df77c3ce65862c095ffe756467416
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; format="flowed"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

The Fifth Celebratory Safari of
African Wildlife & Tribal Life 2011
with Jonathan Scott

Little Governor's - The Masai Mara
Kenya
1st - 7th October 2011

Our 5th 'Celebratory Safari of African Wildlife and Tribal Life'
will, again, bring you up-close to the Big Five with drives,
walking safaris and a breathtaking hot air balloon trip. You'll
also witness jaw-dropping river crossings as thousands of
Wildebeest and Zebra brave the Crocodiles on their migration to
Tanzania.

"Words cannot describe this trip, but I try to explain it everyone
I meet (for as long as they will listen to me) and would recommend
it in a heartbeat."

Joining you in the wilderness will be our selected expert hosts,
including BBC Big Cat presenter Jonathan Scott, award winning
wildlife photographer Angie Scott, BBC wildlife cameraman Warren
Samuels among others.

"The way that Jonathan Scott and the other hosts treated us like
old friends and were always available for us was marvellous" -
Chris Collett, Buckinghamshire

Your home will be one of 17 luxurious tents that surround a vast,
lush waterhole where Elephant drink from the cool waters. Inside
your elegant, canvas bolthole you'll find an enormous bed, an
en-suite bathroom (hot and cold running water) and a terrace lit by
the warm glow of a gas lamp.

"Thank you for putting this trip together and making it most
definitely a trip of a lifetime."

Meals are wholesome, freshly cooked and would satisfy the appetite
of a lion. You'll start each new day with an open air buffet
breakfast with fresh fragrant Kenyan coffee, lunch is taken
alfresco too and then each night you'll enjoy a four-course dinner
under the starry Kenyan skies.

"This has been one of the best weeks of my life and I cannot fault
a single aspect of this trip" - Peter Thomas, Wimbledon

To discuss joining us on this trip of lifetime call Melanie on
01442 XXXXXX

There are places for just 30 guests on this unique safari.

"What a privilege to be in this stunning place - made into one of
the great experiences of our lives by your amazing attention to
detail and hard work"

The inclusive price
=C2=A3 4,990 per person
(based on two people sharing)

"The way Jonathan Scott and the other hosts treated us like old
friends and were always available for us was marvellous."

Call us on
01234 XXXXXX
or email [email protected]

Prestige Promotions, 107 High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 2DG
Tel: 01442 XXXXXX Fax: 01442 XXXXXX (Please quote ref: %%Flyer
Code%%)

This email is for the intended addressee only and is not for onward
transmission or publication. It cannot be quoted publicly in any
written form, electronic or printed, without prior written
consent.

If you do not wish to be advised of future events please let us
know here:

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:09 pm

Sounds interesting.

There's a couple of things which would make it worthy of investigation IMHO. And by investigation, I do mean baiting.

Not all the 'testimonials' have names attached, and the actual currency isn't specified. Also, there's no website.

here · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:14 pm

spam I'd say as their mail domain is the real website is http://shop.prestige-promotions.co.uk/

the text appears to lifted off their website - they have "A Celebration of Indian Wildlife & Cultural Life" on offer presently which is similar

SpamCop has this flagged as well

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:19 pm

And that is why you guys are masters and I am still a humble newbie.

Their website is impressive. I'd be tempted to sign up myself.

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:19 pm

Yes I would think it's Spam myself, but there has been a lot of event type scams around recently.

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:13 pm

I wouldn't sign up if i were you - there's no secure login for payment, that sets my allarm bells ringing.

I say bait.

piecrust

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:37 pm

Whoa there guys. Stop!

I've called the company on the number given on the real website (which is still the same in the email) and she confirms the authenticity of it.
I was wondering why a scammer would leave the numbers in if they were lifting it.
The email address [email protected] belongs to their marketing company.

As for how well this company operates, I couldn't say.

here · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:38 pm

Fowan Nyne wrote:

As for how well this company operates, I couldn't say.

not well probably

hmm a marketing company who get themselves flagged by Spam monitors? not clever really

a marketing company who don't have a website? really?
mirariwel.com does exist (registered 25/09/2010) but no website up (can ping it)

all in all smells bloody fishy, but yes they seem to have physical offices - check Google StreetView, hard to see the name as it's been blurred)

lastly not a member of any trade body and strangely still charging the old rate (17.5%) of VAT - very generous of them, and as mentioned not secure but wanting CC details Shocked

agree not our target market though Very Happy

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:32 pm

Just because they have offices in the UK and someone answering the phone doesn't necessarily mean it's legit, nor does lack of website and crusty VAT rates mean they are scammers.
Whoever they are I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole with dogshit on the end of it.
A lot of offices hire out a single desk and phone, it's just too easy to set up companies nowadays, lots of crooks out there.
But I'd say, not baitable as it could be just an ITP.

As someone mentioned the telephone numbers seem legit and connected with events on the web.

here · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:06 am

^^^^^^^^^^^^
agree completely, not sure about the "I" in ITP though Confused

from the CAA site (my bold):

Quote:

All tour operators and travel firms selling air holiday packages and flights in the UK as a principal are required by law to hold a licence called an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL), and contribute to a central protection fund called the Air Travel Trust (ATT). In some cases they must also provide the ATT with a bond.

no ATOL registration showing

maybe we should set up in competition, after all some members here can do much better safaris Mr. Green

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 3:14 pm

^^^ Yes, it's about time people insisted on companies belonging to trade bodies where they 'must' follow a proper code of conduct, i.e be insured to cover loss for their customer.
If we avoid companies who do not hold this kind of accreditation, and I don't mean the ones who just stick a logo on the side of their van, we wouldn't have our T.V filled with programs like, Watchdog, Rip off Britain, Rouge Traders and the like.
And on that note, if anyone out there is thinking of conning some poor old dear out of her life savings to fix her supposedly dodgy roof, then 'I'll smash yer ed in aiit!!'!!
On that note, I got a polite call from an 'Indian call centre' this morning, warning me about 'technical issues with my PC that I should know about'. I was just getting into the part about how 'being a systems engineer' that was highly unlikely, when they put the phone down on me, right at the beginning of my rant!
So all of you out there, young or old. Always be suspicious, be wise, don't get conned, and tell these blighters where to go Smile

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