Phishing Scam Lottery Email from "Shell Petroleum Lottery" - Beware!
Beware of Fake Emails - like This - in Your Inbox!
The email below, supposedly originating from Ms. Laura Bedford and Mr. Mark Collins of Shell Petroleum, was recently received in my spam inbox. As you can see, it is written with bad English grammar, offering huge sums of money. It also had a very suspicious looking attached document, which I knew better than to click upon or read! It is this document, not the email, that the identity theft con artists want you to focus on. If I had clicked on this link, I would have opened my entire hard drive to these scam artists, or worse!
Beware! If you see any documents, attachments, links, or HTML items in an email, do not, and I repeat, do NOT click on it! Yes, you might be curious. Yes, you may be tempted to click on it. Yes, the link or attachment might be scanned by anti-virus software and deemed safe. Rest assured, however, the email is a phishing scam, and you are playing with fire!
Don't let these identity theft criminals from "Shell Petroleum Company" scam you, get their greedy paws on your personal information, hard drive, or hard earned cash! If you get an email like the one below, delete it immediately! Don't click on any links, don't forward it, and for goodness sakes, don't reply!
The entire email, with the exception of the offending HTML document, has been copied and pasted here for your educational purposes only. Please do not attempt to communicate with anyone related to this email, as you will in turn become the victim of their scam.
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Subject: Congratulations on your winning
From: "markcollins2000@live.co.uk" To: undisclosed-recipients (which should tell you right away that its a big scam. Honestly, do they have THAT many winners that they have to make a list to notify them all? Doubt it!)
SHELL PETROLEUM LOTTERY WINNING NOTIFICATION
IN COLLARBORATION WITH SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY {SPDC} AND BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO C OMPANY.
REF Nº: EGS/2251256003/02
BATCH Nº: 14/0017/1PD/WINNING Nº: 60/84/27/17/36
Attention: Dear Lucky Winner.
We wish to inform you of your award winning prize of GBP800, 000.00Pounds through Shell free online lottery. You're to contact our claim manager for your payment with his details below.
Contact person Mr. Mark Collins
Tele +44 703-174-7492
Email: markcollins2000@live.co.uk.
Regards,
Ms. Laura Bedford.
Chief Co-coordinator.
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END OFFENSIVE / FAKE / SCAM EMAIL
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Notice how the name of the person who supposedly wrote the message and the contact person are totally different. Also, in this phishing email, we see that the Englis grammar is not very good, although it 'supposedly' comes from an executive officer of a UK based company (where the public speaks English).
We know that this is a fraudulent email for the following reasons:
1. They don't know my name
2. They are from a foreign country
3. They are offering massive amounts of money, out of the blue, without any action on my part
4. They have different contact names/addresses/phone numbers
5. They write with bad English spelling and grammar
Finally, I looked up the phone number given in this email by doing a quick Google search. Interestingly, the phone number is supposedly based in either the UK or Mann Isle, but the number is 'unpublished'. In other words, its definetely NOT a Shell Oil Company (or any other legitimate company) phone number.
It is important to remember that, thanks to the wide spread use of internet based phone communications software and devices, anyone can set up his or her phone number to be based anywhere in the world. For example, when using Skype I can choose to make my phone number appear to be originating from Pakistan even though I'm in the USA.
If you would like to know more about how to identify fake, phishing, or scam emails, please see my article detailing what you should look for, found at the following location:
Published by Amy B.
I am a well-rounded individual, very creative, and highly independent. I currently work as a Native American beadwork artist, a writer, and as a professor of Psychology and mental health. I have 4 years of w... View profile
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