Random Rants : Someone is wrong on the Internet

[bhavv]

Oh, yesterday I got an email from some American company that's expanding into the UK and looking for part or full time employees that can work from home and earn up to £40k a year!

I replied and said I was interested if it was a real job and not a scam, and asked how they got my details.

No reply, maybe it was a scam

 

[Arakhor]

Well, duh. Of course it's a scam. You shouldn't have responded at all.

 

[Lohrenswald]

I've had a stranger email

Greetings My Dear Hummelgaard,

I am Barrister Peter Jackson, a lawyer and legal adviser. I make this
offer to you the death of Mr. Robert Hummelgaard, who was my late
client, he left a huge Amount of money (US $ 10, 5.million) in the
Bank here in my country before his sudden death, After several
unsuccessful attempts to find his relatives I decided to Contact you,
knowing that you bear the same last name of my late client, I have in
my possession Legal Documents that will give you the legal rights for
the claim. My dear Hummelgaard, if you are really interested in this
transaction send me your sincere thought to my private email address
(peter.service@hotmail.com) for more information on this transaction.
Thanks and God Bless you and your respectful family with long life and
good health and many more as I await your urgent response.

Best Regard
Barrister Peter Jackson (Esq.)

My name isn't Hummelgaard, but it's relatively similar

Even stranger, there is a person named Peter Hummelgaard, but he is a danish politician

Also, "peter.service@hotmail.com" is not the adress this was sent from

 

[bhavv]

Well, duh. Of course it's a scam. You shouldn't have responded at all.

How can you be so certain?

 

[Arakhor]

How can you be so certain?

Even setting aside the wildly improbably scenario that a stay-at-home job brings in £40,000 a year, what kind of company would blindly recruit people through mass emails?

 

[bhavv]

This is the email I got:

A US web developer is currently looking for people just like you to become their Regional Representatives in the United Kingdom. The key role of a Regional Representative will be helping to develop their brand and creating long-term client relationships. Additional responsibilities include communicating with the team to drive sales through the channels, putting together and managing lead generation initiatives, and representing the company before existing clients. There is a choice among full-time and part-time shifts, and since this is a home-based position, you will be able to work from any location within the United Kingdom.

We offer a permanent job contract with a fixed starting pay of 41,400 pounds per year plus incentive bonuses based on client feedback and individual performance. We also offer paid holidays, sick pay and overtime compensation as well as an opportunity to advance towards the Regional Director position. Free training, friendly support by a dedicated supervisor are also a part of the package.

Please respond to my email at your earliest convenience to apply for the Regional Representative position and receive additional information about it. If you are available to start within a week, your application will have a priority.

Doesn't seem anything like the usual scam email.

 

[Arakhor]

Even ignoring the whole business about a starting salary of £40,000, why would they randomly email you? What sort of company (reputable or otherwise) does their recruitment through spam emails?

 

[bhavv]

That's exactly what I have asked them! Seems like they wont reply.

 

[Arakhor]

So all you did was reveal that your email address is still active.

 

[madviking]

Doesn't seem anything like the usual scam email.

that's why it's a scam email

 

[bhavv]

No fair.

 

[Kennigit]

I'm considering going full #YOLO and going with a completely silly (text) approach for a certain particular mobile-device dating/matching service

I have a very low-volume sample size to work with/experiment with and have no feedback mechanism, so if it is doomed from the start it'd be silly to pursue. I guess in the grand scheme of things there's nothing wrong about "oh well it's been 3 months and nothing going, oh well", but I have things pretty clean & simple right now. Clean & simple of course has consistent, although slow, results.

 

[Zkribbler]

I've had a stranger email
....
My name isn't Hummelgaard, but it's relatively similar

Even stranger, there is a person named Peter Hummelgaard, but he is a danish politician

Also, "peter.service@hotmail.com" is not the adress this was sent from

A barrister is a trial lawyer. The work this fellow describes would be done by a solicitor.

The fellow is also incapible of putting together a proper English sentence.

 

[Borachio]

So all you did was reveal that your email address is still active.

So, the first one is just a phishing trip to see if anyone responds?

What happens now?

A person can, if they're clever, play these people at their own game, I've heard.

 

[Snerk]

If you can convince an internet scammer to instead send you a few hundred quid on the pretence that this will free up some capital that you'll send them later, then brilliant.

 

[Arakhor]

It's still advance fee fraud, which is section 419 of the Nigerian penal code, and thus illegal.

 

[Borachio]

http://www.419eater.com/

 

[Arakhor]

Did you already know about 419eater or did you find it via the magic of Google?

 

[Snerk]

Don't use 419eater, it's a scam. But then again don't listen to me, I'm also a scam.

 

[sophie]

A person can, if they're clever, play these people at their own game, I've heard.

This is the very hubris they're banking on. Remember, to a con man, the absolute best mark is someone who thinks they're too smart to fall for the con. I mean that's the entire premise that Vegas operates on, in a nutshell; an entire city full of people who think they're smarter than 99% of the sheeple and therefore can clean up at 21 or Poker or sports betting.

Just because you can recognize the pretense, doesn't necessarily mean that you're consequently immune to its wiles.