possible email scam.....

[ChrisGaskin]

i say scam, its just the way its been sent and the content layout seems abit sus to me....

i dont have my email address listed anywhere im aware of as my website has a form to fill in and this hasnt come through the form,

the message is repeated twice and so is the address and phonenumber is repeated twice (mesage, measage, address, address). it also went straight into my junk folder and not my normal inbox as youd expect (the email address isnt in my block list either)

its a request for a anniversary shoot outside of my catchment area but states travelling expenses will be covered.

what do you think, should i investigate more or just ignore it :shrug:

 

[yoby]

Give them a call and see what they say?

 

[mattyh]

Pretty sure it's a scam, and I *think* someone on here's had it before (Hacker, possibly?)

 

[gheesom]

or they'll pay you too much and want a MUA and ask you to forward funds.

 

[neil_g]

and I *think* someone on here's had it before

yeah rings a bell

 

[duggiebee]

Can I suggest that if you receive emails which appear to be suspicious then you can try the following :- if you open the email in Outlook, go to 'View' then 'options' and look at the 'internet headers' at the bottom of the window. You are looking for a line called 'X-Originating-IP' This will give you actual I.P. number in relation to that email. If you then go on to a site such as 'Whois' and enter the I.P. number it will tell you roughly in the world where the message originates from. This is not fool proof by any means but it will certainly give you an inkling as to whether or not the email is genuine. This only works for the recipient of the email. If you forward the email on to anyone else, the 'internet headers' box will be empty. I hope this assists.

 

[Trev Rich]

Can I suggest that if you receive emails which appear to be suspicious then you can try the following :- if you open the email in Outlook, go to 'View' then 'options' and look at the 'internet headers' at the bottom of the window. You are looking for a line called 'X-Originating-IP' This will give you actual I.P. number in relation to that email. If you then go on to a site such as 'Whois' and enter the I.P. number it will tell you roughly in the world where the message originates from. This is not fool proof by any means but it will certainly give you an inkling as to whether or not the email is genuine. This only works for the recipient of the email. If you forward the email on to anyone else, the 'internet headers' box will be empty. I hope this assists.

Why would their location in the world show if they are criminals are not?
Do we not have criminals here in the UK or am I missing your point entirely?

 

[ranarama]

Why would their location in the world show if they are criminals are not?
Do we not have criminals here in the UK or am I missing your point entirely?

I would suggest if it originated in Russia or Nigeria it's probably a scam. If it originated close to the wedding location it's more likely to be genuine. He said it wasn't a fool-proof method though.

 

[duggiebee]

Can I suggest that if the email is routed from Eastern Europe or Africa it is unlikely to be genuine? The I.P. address can also give you originating city. Again, I did try to make it clear this is not fool proof and I did try to make it clear that this is just an indicator. Can I therefore suggest that you are missing the point? I was only trying to be helpful.

 

[neil_g]

Can I suggest that if the email is routed from Eastern Europe or Africa it is unlikely to be genuine? The I.P. address can also give you originating city. Again, I did try to make it clear this is not fool proof and I did try to make it clear that this is just an indicator. Can I therefore suggest that you are missing the point? I was only trying to be helpful.

plus you have to take into account IP spoofing and proxies

but then "most" anonymous proxies are based in countries with a poorer reputation..

(have we had this conversation before?)

 

[Trev Rich]

Can I suggest that if the email is routed from Eastern Europe or Africa it is unlikely to be genuine? The I.P. address can also give you originating city. Again, I did try to make it clear this is not fool proof and I did try to make it clear that this is just an indicator. Can I therefore suggest that you are missing the point? I was only trying to be helpful.

Yeah totally missing the point hence why I asked
Thanks for being so helpful

 

[seriousrikk]

Why would their location in the world show if they are criminals are not?
Do we not have criminals here in the UK or am I missing your point entirely?

I would hazard a guess someone from another country contacting a UK photographer for a fairly simple shoot should be treated with trepidation. There are locations around the world that have a significantly higher proportion of cyber crimes involving fraud than others.

 

[Musicman]

Give them a call and see what they say?

If the telephone number is an 070 or 076 one, treat with extreme caution, as it may in reality be directing you to a premium rate line, possibly itself abroad even though the number is apparently a UK one and bears a passing resemblance to UK mobile phone numbers.

I've seen quite a few of these come to my company, usually with enquiries that are largely unrelated to our actual business (e.g. we do print procurement, they say they want to order some inkjet cartridges).

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/press/releases/2001/pr41_01.htm

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/outp...GULATOR-WARNS-NO-TOLERANCE-FOR-076-SCAMS.aspx

 

[duggiebee]

Just a further last point I wish to make re this matter. The use of a UK phone number is absolutely no guarantee that you are in fact phoning the UK. Numbers are routinely sold by providers to companies based abroad. In effect this means that you can dial an 0207 number thinking you are phoning a London location when in fact, you can be phoning anywhere in the world. This is a common practice used by fraudsters especially in 'boiler room' type frauds and other more organised type frauds. The numbers are sold in blocks of several hundreds/thousands at a time. With regards to suspicious email contacts, always follow your instincts. Even 2 minutes quick research will give you a good idea as to whether or not the contact is genuine.

 

[Steep]

It's a scam, as has been suggested above what will happen is that you will be 'paid' too much and asked to refund the difference before finding out that the original payment had no funds behind it and you lose that as well, or, you accept the assignment, travel on the day to find no-one there and come home to find that you have been burgled.