Epsoft Computer Services

There are a lot of scams that you should be aware of, some of them contain a virus, others ask you to enter passwords, and some are merely hoaxes. The following are some examples:

This is a first for me, I received a letter in the mail (normal snail mail, not email) advising me that my numbers had come up in a Spanish lottery. The letter was obviously a scam, it was printed on an inkjet printer (not a very good one either) and it asks that I keep the award from public notice! Who are they trying to kid? It would be funny if people weren't still getting taken in by these scams!

Anyway, the point is to ignore and throw out any such letters, email, snail mail or otherwise.

This new email scam advises you that your PayPal account is about to expire and requests that you run the attached application to update your account information. However, this is a fake email which does not originate from PayPal and the attachment contains the W32.Mimail.I@mm virus.

Some clever scammers are sending out emails to random addresses posing as banks. They advise you of new security updates on their web sites and ask you to login to update your profile (or something along those lines). The email provides a link to the web site, if you click on the link you are presented with a login screen which looks very much like the bank login you're used to so you enter your details as requested. You have just given your username and password to the scammer!

Be very wary of any email asking you to logon to a web site and enter your banking password. Always check with your bank first!

This is another email which looks very authentic advising you about the latest Microsoft patch. The "patch" is attached to the email and you are asked to install it. The email is a hoax and the attached file contains a virus, do not open it!

For the latest Microsoft patches, always visit the Microsoft site. Click on the Windows Update option under the Tools menu in Internet Explorer.

Hoaxes are generally harmless, warning of impending doom from the latest nasty but non-existent virus. They also tell you that Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee don't pick it up. Some may ask you to look for a particular file on your system and delete it. The file is usually a Windows component found in every system, you find the file and delete it. You feel pretty happy with yourself that you got rid of this "virus" that your anti-virus didn't pickup! Then you find out that it wasn't a virus at all and was actually part of Windows...this is when you stop feeling so happy with yourself.

Always be suspicious of these virus warnings, do your own quick web search. If it's a real virus you will find plenty of information about it and how to get rid of it. If it's a hoax you should be able to confirm that too.

This is a classic Nigerian style scam, the original message came via Skype. I replied via email to see how far they would go. This person claims to work for a branch of the ANZ bank and needs your help to secure funds from a deceased estate. These type of scams can typically be picked by their poor grammar. Also, if the story was true, he would not need to find a local resident to secure the funds, their are plenty of corrupt officials out there who would be happy to oblige.

I am Mr. Andrie Bramintya, Branch Manager of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
Limited of 1 Raffles Place #32-00 OUB Centre Singapore 048616.I have urgent and very
confidential business proposition for you. A British Oil consultant/contractor with the
Singapore Solid Minerals Corporation, {Mr. Wilson H. Diamond} made a numbered time
(Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at US$10,750,000.00 (Ten Million, Seven
Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars) in my branch. Upon maturity, I sent a routine
notification to his forwarding address but got no reply.

After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers, the
Singapore Solid Minerals Corporation that Mr. Wilson H. Diamond died in a plane crash along
with his wife, Mr and Mrs Wilson & Sarah Diamond in 2000 air crash. Since we got this
information about his death. On further investigation, I found out that he died without making
a WILL, and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.

I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Diamond did not declare any kin
or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paper work in my Bank.
This sum of US$10,750,000.00 is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over
with the principal sum at the end of each year. No one will ever come forward to claim it.
According to Laws of Singapore, at the expiration of 5 (five) years which is this year, the
money will revert to the ownership of the Government if nobody applies to claim the fund.
Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in as the next
of kin to Mr. Diamond so that the fruits of this old man's labor will not get into the hands of
some corrupt government officials.

This is simple, I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address so that the
attorney will prepare the necessary documents and affidavits that will put you in place as the
next of kin. We shall employ the services of an attorney for drafting and notarization of the
WILL and to obtain the necessary documents in your favor for the transfer. A bank account in
any part of the world that you will provide will then facilitate the transfer of this money to
you as the beneficiary/next of kin. The money will be paid into your account for us to share in
the ratio of 70% for me and 30% for you.

There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will be done by the attorney and
my position as the Branch Manager Guarantees the successful execution of this transaction.
If you are interested, please reply immediately via the private email address below. Upon your
response, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you
understand the transaction. Please send me your confidential telephone and fax numbers
for easy communication. Please observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured that this
transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to
invest my share in your country.

Awaiting your urgent reply via my
bramand22@myway.com

Best Regards,
Andrie Bramintya.

If you contact this person he sends you a follow up email with the text below and attachments shown to the right.

Hello Robert, I must say thank you for your sincere wish to work with me in this venture which will benefit us both.I have contacted you to work with me so that i can put you in a position to receive the funds for both of us as the next of kin to the funds. I wanted the money out of asia and the deceased person was from europe. I am sorry i will not be able to send you any money at this time. Furthermore,you have to bear in mind that this venture will be actualised in a short while if you diligently follow my advise and instructions as i am willing to utilise my position here at the bank to the maximum to facilitate a hitch free transfer of the funds into your nominated account for us both.Also,we shall take the necessary steps that will give this transaction the necessary legal backing and authenticity so you should not entertain any fears. This is simple, I will expect that you provide me with the following details, full names, contact address, contact numbers, so that i give it immediately to the attorney to prepare the necessary documents and affidavits that will put you in place as the next of kin. We shall employ the services of an attorney for drafting and notarization of the WILL and to obtain the necessary documents and letter of probate/administration in your favor for the transfer. I have told where i work and i am married with 2 kids. I will send you a copy of drivers licence, certificate deposit and the death certificate for your perusal also. I will want to go into real estate business after we complete this deal.Pls i will like you to tell me more about yourself and what you do for a living. Bye Andrie

This was my last email from this person, I think he realised I was onto his scam.

Here's yet another popular scam to get your eBay login details. What's worse though, is if you actually visit their site and login, they ask you for much more information including just about everything needed to steal your identity. If you get an email like this, just delete it. eBay will never send you an email like this and will never ask for your login details via email. When in doubt, visit eBay's site yourself and check your account there.

We regret to inform you that your eBay account could be suspended if you don't re-update your account information.
To resolve this problems please click here and re-enter your account information. If your problems could not be resolved your account will be suspended for a period of 24 hours, after this period your account will be terminated.

For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.

Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are prohibited from using eBay in any way. This includes the registering of a new account. Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you may owe to eBay.