THIS maybe off the subject, but let me ask you all, BESIDES THE FACT WHERE giving your personal information is dangerous for identity theft................ what are these nigerian companies going to do with your information? send you a check? use your information to cash a check? put you as the criminal instead of themselves? can anyone tell me the steps taken with this widely used scam? what is the specific purpose to gain this information? again, BESIDES ID THEFT. cheers
The classic Nigerian scam involves extracting money to cover upfront expenses: "We will ship the car directly to your address. All you need to do is prepay the shipping." That sort of thing. The spammer will work his victim for fees and expenses for as long as possible. Tom
Lottery scams with UK e-mail addresses (does not mean the people who are running it are from there) are fairly common although this is the first I heard of that involves the Prius. It has something to do with regulations in different countries thus where scammers feel more safe to operate from.
Tom I seem to remember getting one some months back. There is also a similar one involving a BMW as a lottery prize. If you type -British Gaming Board- into Google, you will see references to a host of Internet lottery spams and frauds using their name. I deleted it.
Typically it's advance fee fraud -- they say you've won something, but you've got to pay taxes, handling fees, bribes, gratuities, more fees, etc. They'll keep extracting fees as long as you're willing to pay them out.
positive scam. nothing worse then phishing emails, this one looks pretty good to. Normally they are complete crap and very obvious. I could see some less savy prius owners responding to this email sadly.
TOM - thanks. i couldn't imagine someone sending money to receive something, but thanks for the information. i suppose these people really get away with this type of scam because it's still around!
the phishing email lives, along w/a variant I was going to start a new thread on this... but realized this one already existed. I know financial institutions are usually popular "sources" for phishing emails, but this is the first time I've spotted a "Toyota" one in my spam box. It showed up today... --------------------------------- From: TOYOTA LOTTERY PROMOTION <[email protected]> Date: 2011/2/23 Subject: Reference number 799BV90. To: TOYOTA LOTTERY PROMOTION DEPARTMENT 25 Bridge Street ,Staines Middlesex TW10 8TP United Kingdom. CVR-nr. 25554493. This is to inform you that have been selected for a Cash prize of Ј10,0000,000.00.(Ten Million Great British Pounds) and a brand new Toyota Prius car International programs held 2011 in London Uk. You can view our website to view your car (http://www.toyota.com/prius) Description Of New Toyota Car to be Shipped to you. Miles:New.......................Doors:4 doors or more Transmission:Automatic............Interior:Tan Engine:4 - Cylinder....................Year:2011 Warranty:Existing.................Cruise Control Title:Clear.......................Exterior:Red Condition:New.....................Engine: 1.9L DOHC MPFI VVT-i 16-valve 4-cylinder engine w/integ CD Player.........................Side Airbags Passenger Airbag..................Driver Airbag Anti-Lock Brakes..................Air Conditioning Power Windows.....................Power Locks The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection system(ess) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.This Toyota car Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also Licensed by The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This promotional car lottery is the tenth of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public. To begin the processing of your prize you are to contact your claims officer through our accredited Prize Transfer agents as stated below: Mr. Kelly White 25 Bridge Street ,Staines Middlesex TW10 8TP United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Phone Number: +44 703 192 5961 When contacting him, please provide him with your secret pin code Y7448500 and your reference number 799BV90.You are also advised to provide him with the under listed information as soon as possible: CLAIMS REQUIREMENT: 1.Name in full : 2.Address : 3.Nationality : 4.Age : 5.Sex : 6.Occupation: 7.Phone/Fax: 8.Present Country: If you do not contact your claims agent within 7 working days of this notification,your winnings would be revoked.Winners are advised to keep their winning details/information from the public to avoid fraudulent claim (IMPORTANT) pending the transfer/claim by Winner. Accept my hearty congratulations once again! Regards Mrs. Maria Lee Lottery Manager.
Uhmmm. That is not spam b/c I did not receive that email and I entered the selection. You just won a Prius.
Not spam huh?? TOYOTA CAR LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PROGRAM, Customer Service Department Toyota Motor Corporations, China/Japan. 28 Tanfield Road Tiaxiu lio Beijing China, PRIZE AWARD NOTIFICATION DEAR Sir/MA We are pleased to inform you of the announcement made today, You are among the winners of the TOYOTA CAR INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PROGRAM Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from all part of the world as part of our electronic business Promotions Program. As a result of your visiting various websites we are running the E-business promotions for. You/Your Company email address, attached to ticket number 7-226-1319, with serial number 902-66 eґew the lucky numbers 05,12,30,11,17,43 and Bonus number 10 , Your INSURANCE Number: FLS433/ 453L /GMSA and consequently you won in the Second Category of the TOYOTA FORTUNE LOTTO DRAW. You have therefore been approved for the payment of the sum of $1,00000000,00 in cash,including a TOYOTA CAMRY 2009/2010 MODEL which is the winning present /amount for the Second category winners. This is from the total prize money of $40,650,000.00 shared among the international winners in the Second category. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please be informed that your won fund of the sum of US$1,000000.00 is now with the payee center in our United Kingdom branch. Contact our agent and give them your full names so that they will re-insure your winning fund under your full names,together with the port where your winning car should be ship to. To begin your claim, please contact our claim agent and our remitance office our immediately to:- Mr. Paul Martens Foreign Services Manager, Toyota international Remitance office united kingdom, EMAIL: [email protected] or [email protected] 1. Full Name: 2. Address: 3. Occupation: 4. Age: 5. Sex: 6. Nationality: 7. Country of Residence: 8. Telephone/Fax Number: NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers and other information provided above and below in every one of your correspondences to your claiming agent. Congratulations'' once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program. Sincerely, Mrs. Suzane Lang Online coordinator
Interesting that the Prius has "four doors or more". Maybe its the new van? And I like this line, "This promotional car lottery is the tenth of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public". Are we 'sensitized' yet?
You'd think that these scammers could 1) develop a message written in proper English, and 2) use an email address that is more professional than Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo...
They could contract with me. For a very modest payment I could clean up their English and get them a real domain. Tom
You guys are lucky to get Prius spam. All I receive is half off Viagra. All I'm saying is, call them!! Use your buddy's phone. What have you got to lose?
Lol I get the viagra to. I invite you to call if you like. Feel free to claim my US$1,000000.00 or was it $1,00000000,00 I wish they could get the amount that I won right. I figure if Toyota is going to give me a million or more dollars their company might be smart enough to list their address as in Japan not China. And how come I gotta call the UK to get it?
