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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 12:03 am

Just got this in my catcher account.

Quote:

I'm Redacted Name, a geologist and international oil distributor at Jofa Oil Distribution. My very good friend had Prostate cancer which was already in the stage IV and the doctor said he needed a miracle for him to be cured of the cancer. But for grace over him a miracle happened when he learnt about Rick Simpson cannabis Oil, he has been on the treatment for the past 3 months and the result is tremendous as the "Miracle" Cannabis Oil has cured the Cancer.

If you or any member of your family have any cancer problem, chronic diseases, diabetes or any related dangerous diseases, please contact

Regards,

Is this baitable? I first thought this was de-education, then I googled Rick Simpson cannabis oil. It is a HIGHLY (pun intended) potent extract that claims to cure cancer, diabetes, pain, inflammation, arthritis, depression, sleeping problems, and cheetos deficiency.

Also the name that I redacted belongs to a professor at Iowa state University. And the email was sent from a .edu address from Iowa state. Should I contact this person or Iowa state University? Or should I pass the info to the mods? I'm guessing it's pass the info to the people who know what they are doing.

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 3:00 pm

I'm probably playing this one overly safe, but I'd skip the bait. On the (admittedly) very slim chance that something goes wrong, I'd rather not see you needing to explain to the authorities why you were sending emails re: the purchase of a controlled substance.

Is there any way you could analyze the email header and see if the email actually came from Iowa State, or if the lad spoofed it? If the email legitimately came from their domain, you should report it to the mods.

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 3:24 pm

Regarding baitability: it does not appear that this is a scam of the kind we bait here. It looks to me like a spam email advertising a dodgy product, rather than the various versions of advance fee fraud (making payments for something nonexistent).

For edu addresses it's always possible that the account has been compromised - this happens all the time. And if indeed this is the case it's usually quick to get that shut down via the university's abuse contact.

Baiting Guru Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 3877

it could be either a normal product scam, or there are processing fees which turns it into an advance fee fraud...

I think, it's in the same category as the scams, where they try to sell pills like oxycodon and so...

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:01 pm

firehouse5 wrote:

It looks to me like a spam email advertising a dodgy product, rather than the various versions of advance fee fraud (making payments for something nonexistent).

Agreed. I would pass this as well.

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:04 pm

It looks like a snake oil sales scam. All forms of marijuana are illegal in Iowa, so I highly doubt any University professor is going to be involved in selling it or any related product.

It could also be a 419 scammer trying to get upfront payments for a nonexistent product. But I agree with the pros. Report it to the University and move on.

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:14 pm

"Rick Simpson cannabis Oil" is associated with http://www.cureyourowncancer.org/ (a site that has been around since 2012).

This does not appear to be AFF, but simple spam.

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:53 pm

I got the impression that this was a scam and not spam because no website was mentioned.

And I will analyze the header when I have a chance. It's a real PITA to do that on my phone. Or is it? Maybe I just don't know an easier way.