Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – September 2, 2020 – The Serious Hacking Danger of Alexa, Siri and Other Digital Assistants
I have been warning you about dangers in the rapidly expanding Internet of things for more than six years. The Internet of Things is made up of a broad range of devices connected to the Internet including home thermostats, security systems, medical devices, refrigerators, televisions, cars and toys. One of the most popular categories of Internet of Things devices is digital assistants, such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home. While they may be tremendously helpful and convenient, they also pose a major risk of being hacked and that risk has gotten worse during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Cybercriminals will hack into your devices that are a part of the Internet of Things to enable them to enlist your devices as a part of a botnet by which they can distribute malware while maintaining their anonymity. However a greater danger is that they also can hack into your Internet of Thing devices, such as your digital assistants to access your home computers to steal information for purposes of identity theft or to implant malware on your home computers. And making matters even worse, with so many of us working from home, cybercriminals are hacking digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home as an entryway to your home network and then to your company’s computer network thereby placing both you and your company in danger of a wide variety of cyberattacks including ransomware. Recently, Amazon patched vulnerabilities in Alexa that made it a tempting target for hackers and while those particular vulnerabilities have been patched, all of the digital assistants remain vulnerable to attack in ways that make your home computer and your company’s computers vulnerable to attack, particularly if you do not take proper precautions.
TIPS
Many of the devices that make up the Internet of Things come with preset passwords that can easily be discovered by hackers. Change your password as soon as you set up the product. Also, it is very important to set up a guest network on your router exclusively for your Internet of Things devices with perhaps its own separate network for your digital assistant. Configure network firewalls to block traffic from unauthorized IP addresses and disable port forwarding. Make sure that you install the latest security patches as soon as they become available. Use encryption software for the transmission of data and find out where data is stored and what steps are taken to secure the information. Also, limit the amount of information you provide when setting up the accounts for smart toys and other Internet of Things devices. The less information out there, the less the risk of identity theft. Most devices allow you to select options that increase your security and privacy. Finally make sure your router is secure and use its whitelisting capabilities which will prevent your device from connecting to malicious networks.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – September 1, 2020 – Criminals Stealing Checks from Mailboxes
I have good news and bad news for you today about the U.S. mail. While some politicians have expressed doubt about the security of mail-in ballots, there is no significant evidence to support those doubts. That is the good news. Unfortunately, the bad news is that criminals around the country are stealing mail with checks in them from U.S. Postal Service mailboxes, “washing” the checks to remove the name of the person or company to whom the check was made out and then writing in their own name. In other instances, the criminals will also change the amount of the check. Last February Boston and New Orleans, for example, had large numbers of such mailbox thefts of checks that were then altered and cashed. Identity theft is a high tech, low tech and no tech crime and while we often tend to focus our attention on high tech identity theft tactics such as spear phishing, no tech tactics such as fishing for mail with a plastic bottle covered in glue that is lowered into blue public mailboxes to capture mail being sent with checks is making a comeback.
I have warned you for years about leaving mail with checks or credit card information in your personal mailbox outside of your home with the flag raised to alert your postal carrier that there is mail in your box to be retrieved is a bad idea because it also alerts identity thieves who can easily steal the mail. Once they have the checks, they can “wash” the name or even the amount of the check and make the check payable to the thief. They also can use the account number of your check to create counterfeit checks to access your checking account. However, mailing checks in official U.S. Postal Service blue mailboxes is also problematic.
TIPS
This is an easy crime to avoid. The best course of action is to pay your bills electronically and avoid the problem altogether. However, if you cannot do so or prefer to send a paper check by mail, you should use a gel pen that is not easily “washed” to write your checks and you should mail envelopes with checks in them directly from inside the post office.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 31, 2020 – Presidential Campaign Donation Scams
The 2020 presidential election is in high gear and both former Vice President Joe Biden and President Trump are actively fund raising. Scammers are taking advantage of the public’s interest in the presidential election to make robocalls in which they pose as campaign workers seeking your donations. This particular scam can easily seem legitimate. Caller ID can be tricked through a technique called “spoofing” to make it appear as if the call is coming from a candidate or some political organization and recordings of the candidate can also be incorporated into the call to make the call appear more legitimate. Even more significantly, calls from political candidates and other political calls are exempt from the federal Do-Not-Call List, so it would be legal for you to get a call from a politician or political group seeking donations even if you are enrolled in the Do-Not-Call List.
TIPS
Whenever you receive a telephone call, you can never be sure as to who is really contacting you, so you should never give personal or financial information to anyone over the phone whom you have not called. If you do wish to contribute to a political campaign, the best way to do this is by going to the candidate’s official website and make your contribution. Even then, make sure that when you are giving your donation online that the website address begins with https instead of just http. Https indicates that your communication is being encrypted for better security. If you are being asked to contribute to a political organization rather than a candidate, you should definitely do your research to determine the legitimacy of the organization before making a donation.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 30, 2020 – Fake Tech Support Refund Scam
Tech support scams in which consumers are tricked by scammers into believing there is a problem with their computers that require the expensive services of the scammers is a major problem. Tech support scams are increasingly common and victimize consumers 60 years or older about five times more than people between the ages of 20 and 59 according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In February of 2019 I reported to you that the FTC obtained a temporary restraining order against Elite IT Partners, Inc and its principal James Martinos, shutting down the company, which the FTC alleged used deceptive tactics to gain access to consumers’ computers and then sell them expensive repair and other services that were totally unnecessary. Most of the victims of this scam were older consumers.
According to the FTC, Elite used Internet ads targeted at consumers who were looking for email password recovery assistance and lured them into providing their names, email addresses and phone numbers to Elite IT Partners, Inc. Elite’s telemarketers then contacted the consumers posing as well-known companies such as AOL or Yahoo and told the consumers that their computer problems were most likely as a result of their computers being infected with a virus. The telemarketers would then convince the consumers to provide access to their computers to Elite who would then run diagnostic tests. These diagnostic tests were totally bogus and always resulted in the consumer being told that he or she needed computer repair as well as antivirus software and services that Elite would provide at a high cost. The FTC further alleged that Elite also charged for additional monthly services that it did not disclose.
In December of 2019 the FTC, Elite IT Partners Inc. and James Martinos reached a settlement of the charges. Under the terms of the settlement, Elite IT Partners Inc. and Martinos were permanently banned from offering or marketing tech support services in the future. A 13.5 million dollar judgment was also imposed, but it was suspended following the payment by Martinos of $173,500 and the turning over to the FTC of other assets. The judgment was suspended because the determination was made that Elite IF Partners Inc. and Martinos did not have the ability to pay the full amount of the judgment. However, according to the terms of the settlement, if it is later determined that Elite and Martinos misrepresented their assets, payment of the full amount of the judgment would be imposed.
Now scammers posing as employees of the new defunct Elite IT are calling people and offering refunds that they say are related to the FTC settlement. They then attempt to lure their victims into giving them remote access to their victims’ computers. There is no refund program presently being offered to the victims of Elite IT and you should never give remote access to your computer to anyone under these circumstances. With remote access to your computer, the scammers can perpetrate a wide variety of scams and identity theft schemes.
TIPS
Providing remote access to anyone to your computer can lead to a myriad of problems including identity theft and the downloading of ransomware. Neither AOL, Yahoo, Apple, Microsoft or any of the other tech companies ever ask for remote access to your computer to fix problems. The most common tech support scams start with popups on your computer that provide notices of security problems that contain telephone numbers for you to call to fix the problem, Whenever you get a pop-up, email, or text message that appears to tell you that you have a security problem with your computer, you should never click on any links contained in the message or call the telephone number provided. If your screen freezes, all you need to do is just turn off your computer and restart it. If you are concerned that you may be experiencing a real security problem you can contact tech support at the real tech companies directly by phone or by email using the phone number and email addresses you find on their respective websites.
Remember, whenever you get a phone call, you can never be sure who is really calling you. Scammers can “spoof” a call to you by which they trick your Caller ID to make it appear as if the call is legitimate. Never give personal information or certainly remote access to your computer to someone who calls you unless you have absolutely confirmed that the call is legitimate and there is a need for your response. The better course is to hang up and confirm whether or not the call is legitimate. Most of the time you will find it was not.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 29, 2020 – Hurricane Laura Charity Scams
As we have seen far too well during the Coronavirus pandemic, scammers are quite capable of taking whatever is happening in society and turning it into an opportunity to scam people. Natural disasters such as hurricane Laura which recently devastated parts of Louisiana, tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. Unfortunately natural disasters also bring out the worst in scammers who are quick to take advantage of the generosity of people by contacting them posing as charities, but instead of collecting funds to help the victims of these natural disasters, these scam artists steal the money for themselves under false pretenses. Charities are not subject to the federal Do Not Call List so even if you are signed up for the federal Do Not Call List, legitimate charities are able to contact you by phone. The problem is that whenever you are get a phone call, you can never be sure as to who is really calling you so you may be contacted either by a fake charity or a scammer posing as a legitimate charity. Using a technique called spoofing, the scammers can manipulate your Caller ID to make it appear that the call is coming from a legitimate charity when it is not. Similarly, when you are solicited for a charitable contribution by email or text message you cannot be sure as to whether the person contacting you is legitimate or not.
TIPS
Never provide credit card information over the phone to anyone whom you have not called or in response to an email or text message. Before you give to any charity, you may wish to check out the charity with http://www.charitynavigator.org where you can learn whether or not the charity itself is a scam. You can also see how much of the money that the legitimate charity collects actually goes toward its charitable purposes and how much it uses for fund raising and administrative costs.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 28, 2020 – Coronavirus Vaccine Scams
As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage much of the world, recently there has been cause for some hope due to reports that companies such as Moderna and others working on vaccines to fight the Coronavirus are making significant progress toward having such a vaccine fully developed and approved for use. Presently no such vaccine is approved and available however, so you should be extremely skeptical about any emails you receive with “inside” information about Coronavirus vaccines and their availability. Many people are reporting receiving emails with eye-catching subject lines such as “Urgent Information Letter: Covid-19 New Approved Vaccines” that promise to provide you with information about Coronavirus vaccines including how to get early access to the vaccines. You are them prompted to download an attachment that purports to contain all of this tremendously valuable information. Of course, if you do download the attachment, you won’t get any information about a vaccine. Instead what will happen is that when you download the attachment, you download keystroke logging malware on to your computer that will steal personal information from your computer and use it to make you a victim of identity theft.
TIPS
Even if you have the most up to date security software on your computer, you will not be protected from the latest zero day defects which are malware that exploit vulnerabilities that have not yet been discovered. It takes the security software companies at least thirty days after the discovery of new strains of malware to come up with defenses. Never click on a link or download an attachment unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is legitimate. In the case of unsolicited emails informing you of Coronavirus vaccines and how you can get early access to them, it will always be a scam. For reliable information about the Coronavirus and potential vaccines, go to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) CDC https://www.cdc.gov/ and the World Health Organization (WHO) https://www.who.int/
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 27, 2020 – Gates Foundation Facebook Messenger Scam
For scam artists, getting their victims to trust them is the first step in every scam, which is why you should always remember my motto, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.” However, it is not unusual to trust your friends, family members or even celebrities, which is why scammers are posing as your friends, family members or celebrities on Facebook by either hacking into someone’s Facebook account and taking over the account or setting up a phony Facebook account in the name of someone you know and trust. Recently I received an email from a Scamicide reader telling me about an attempt to scam her by hacking into a friend’s Facebook account and sending her an instant message telling her about money she was eligible to receive from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. If you respond to the link provided in the message you are told that you merely have to pay a small fee to receive your large grant. Of course, this is a scam. Anyone paying the “small fee” loses that money and gets nothing in return.
TIPS
In regard to protecting your Facebook account, a strong password and security question can help increase your security on Facebook. Too often the personal information that is readily available about people on line is sufficient to answer the security question. You also would be wise to use dual factor authentication which is offered by Facebook. This will protect the security of your Facebook account even if a scammer manages to learn your password. If your Facebook account is hacked, it can result in an increased risk of identity theft and scams to your real friends who may trust a message that appears to come from you that contains a link with dangerous keystroke logging malware that can result in your real friend’s computer being infected and all of the information on it stolen such as Social Security number, account passwords and credit card numbers that can result in identity theft. In other instances, your friends may fall for a scam such as the phony promise of money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Make sure you use a unique and complex password for all of your accounts so that if there is a data breach in which your password is compromised, it would not result in all of your accounts being vulnerable. Additionally, as I indicated above, use dual factor authentication for your Facebook account for much added security.
Be careful what personal information you put on Facebook. Always consider how that information can be used against you to make you a victim of identity theft. When setting up a security question, pick an answer that is nonsensical to protect it from hackers, such as “Where did I go to High School?” with an answer of “blue.” Finally and most importantly, never, and I mean never, click on links in messages that you receive unless you are absolutely sure that they are legitimate. Merely because a message appears to be from a friend does not mean that the friend actually sent it. His or her account may have been hacked or they may even be passing on tainted material without knowing it. Never click on a link until you are absolutely sure that it is legitimate. Call your friend to confirm that the message was from them and confirm from where they got the link they are sending to make sure that it is legitimate. It may seem paranoid, but even paranoids have enemies. Clicking on links sent by scammers or identity thieves can download a wide array of malware including ransomware and keystroke logging malware that can lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a well-known, legitimate charity founded by Microsoft creator Bill Gates and his wife. It does not give random grants to people, however since 2015 a scam based on that premise has been victimizing people. Sometimes potential victims of this scam are targeted through emails. Other times, such as in the case of the Scamicide reader it was through a Facebook message. The real Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a page on their website where they warn you about the various scams linked to their foundation. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/media-center/press-releases/2012/11/reporting-email-scams It should be noted that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation does not give grants to individuals, does not give grants that have not been applied for and do not charge any fees.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 26, 2020 – A New Utility Scam
Scams involving utility bills for electric, water or gas services have long been popular with scammers. In one incident reported just prior to the Coronavirus pandemic a Rochester, New York woman was called by a scammer posing as a Rochester Gas and Electric employee who convinced her to pay the scammer $2,100 through prepaid debit cards before she realized she had been scammed. And she is not alone. Many people fall for scams such as this. Targeted victims are called on the phone and told that their utility service will be terminated for non-payment unless they pay by credit card or prepaid cards over the phone. In another utility scam, potential victims receive an email that has a link to take them to their bill where they are prompted to provide personal information or make a payment through a phony website. In the first scam, the targeted victim is coerced into giving their credit card or prepaid card information to a scammer. In the second, merely by clicking on the link to go to the phony bill, the victim ends up downloading keystroke logging malware or ransomware that can lead to identity theft or worse.
Recently, the electrical company, National Grid issued a new warning about a scam in which scammers are calling people and luring them into providing personal financial information by promising refunds or discounts. The calls appear to come from National Grid, but, as I have warned you many times, it is easy for scammers to “spoof” telephone numbers so that the number that shows up on your Caller ID appears to be legitimate when it is not. The initial call is a recorded call that instructs the targeted victim to press “1” to learn the details of the refund or discount program. A real person (scammer) then comes on the line who purports to be an employee of National Grid who asks for personal information, such as your bank account number. National Grid has indicated that the scammers method of copying the types of recorded messages used by National Grid and directions for phone prompts is very sophisticated and could easily appear to be legitimate to an unwary customer.
TIPS
You can never be sure when you get an email, text message or a telephone call if it is really from a legitimate source. Email addresses can be hacked to appear legitimate and even if you have Caller ID, a scammer can use a technique called “spoofing” to make it appear that the call is from a legitimate caller. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone. Never provide personal or financial information to anyone in response to a telephone call, text message or email until you have independently confirmed that the communication was legitimate. In the case of a utility bill, merely call the number on the back of your bill and you will be able to confirm whether or not the communication was legitimate. Also, never click on links unless you have confirmed that they are legitimate. The risk is too great.
In the case of the National Grid telephone calls and similar type of scam phone calls, you can ask the caller for your account number. If they don’t have it, the call is obviously a scam.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was recently cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – Augut 25, 2020 – Experian Data Breach in South Africa Affects 24 Million People
Although Scamicide is written in the USA, many of the scams about which I report are universal in nature and are perpetrated upon unwary victims in every country on Earth. I will on occasion also report about specific scams,identity theft schemes and cybersecurity issues that may be limited to a particular country both in order to help people in countries outside the United States as well as to serve as warnings to people in the United States and other countries not directly affected by the particular problem.
Today’s Scam of the day involves a data beach at Experian in South Africa where the personal information of 24 million South Africans was compromised when Experian was recently hacked. We don’t yet know how the data breach occurred. As more information becomes available, I will let you know. Experian, like Equifax and TransUnion, the other major credit reporting agencies gather tremendous amounts of personal information on consumers that is used by banks, retailers and others for a wide variety of reasons including determining whether to grant credit to someone. I am sure all Americans remember the massive Equifax data breach that occurred in 2017 and affected 148 million people (including me)
TIPS
The South African Banking Risk Centre (SABRIC) advised South Africans who may be victims of the data breach “should you suspect that your identity has been compromised, apply immediately for a free Protective Registration listing with Southern Africa Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS). This service alerts SAFPS members, which includes banks and credit providers, that your identity has been compromised and that additional care needs to be taken to confirm that they are transacting with the legitimate identity holder. Consumers wanting to apply for a Protective Registration can contact SAFPS at protection@safps.org.za.”
This incident can also serve as a reminder to Americans to protect themselves from similar breaches of credit reporting bureaus in the United States by freezing their credit if they have not already done so.
To get the maximum protection from identity theft, it is important to freeze your credit at each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Once you have frozen your credit, be sure to keep the PIN and information on how to unfreeze your credit report in a safe place.
Scam of the day – August 24, 2020 – Not All Nigerian Email Scams Come From Nigeria
Today’s Scam of the day is another version of the Nigerian email scam that continues to plague the online community. Although it may seem that the Nigerian email scam began in the era of the Internet, the basis of the scam actually goes back to 1588 when it was known as the Spanish Prisoner Scam. In those days, a letter was sent to the victim purportedly from someone on behalf of a wealthy aristocrat who was imprisoned in Spain under a false name. The identity of the nobleman was not revealed for security reasons, but the victim was asked to provide money to obtain the release of the aristocrat, who, it was promised, would reward the money-contributing scam victim with a vast reward that included, in some circumstances, the Spanish prisoner’s beautiful daughter in marriage.
In the most common versions of this scam circulating on the Internet today, you are promised great sums of money if you assist a Nigerian or someone elsewhere in his effort to transfer money out of his country. Other variations include the movement of embezzled funds by corrupt officials, a dying gentleman who wants to make charitable gifts, or a minor bank official trying to move the money of deceased foreigners out of his bank without the government taking it. The example below of the email received by a Scamicide reader involves a program to compensate fraud victims. In most variations of this scam, although you are told initially that you do not need to contribute anything financially to the endeavor, you soon learn that it is necessary for you to contribute continuing large amounts of money for various reasons, such as fees, bribes, insurance or taxes before you can get anything. Of course, the victim ends up paying money to the scammer, but never receives anything in return. This particular version of the scam requires you to pay $100 through gift cards. Asking to be paid by a gift card is a common request of scammers and a request that is never made by the agencies and companies that they pretend to be. This particular version of the scam email contains numerous indications that it is a scam. It is not addressed to you by name and the email address from which it is sent does not have any relationship to the purported sender.
Here is a copy of the email presently being circulated.
TIPS
This is a simple scam to avoid. It preys upon people whose greed overcomes their good sense. If you receive such an email, the first thing you should ask yourself is how does this possibly relate to you and why would you be singled out to be so lucky to be asked to participate in this arrangement. Since there is no good answer to either question, you should merely hit delete and be happy that you avoided a scam. As with many such scams, which originate outside of the United States, the punctuation and grammar are often not good. Often the emails are sent from an email address that has no relation to the purported sender which is an indication that the email is being sent through a botnet of hacked computers. In addition, it is important to note that nowhere in this particular version of the scam email is your name mentioned. The scam email is obviously being sent out as a mass mailing. The entire email is merely a hoax intended to sound official and legitimate.