Funny Scam + FAIL Widget
Monday, September 6, 2010
I have encountered two funny things, one that happened yesterday and one that happened today. The first one is that I received a junk e-mail regarding some million dollar business I should invest in and become an official business partner of a non-existent man named "Mr. Nikolay Sintsov". Some Russian dude that probably doesn't even exist. Here is the official e-mail for your enjoyment:
àéGood day,
I am Nikolay Sintsov,personal assistant to Mikhail Khodorkovsky,once rated as thae richest man in Russia and owner of YUKOS OIL (Russian largest oil company),chairman CEO: Menatep SBP Bank (a well reputable afinancial institution with its branches all over the world).
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
I have a profiling amount in an excess of Forty Million,Five Hundred Thousand USA Dollars(US$40.5M), which I seek you to accommodate for me. You will be rewarded with 40% of the total sum for your partnership. Can you handle this?
As his personal assistant, I was authorized to transfer money of an American oil merchant for his last oil deal with my boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The funds have since left the shores of America to a European private financial institution where the final crediting is to be carried out.
While I was on the process, my boss got arrested for his involvement in politics by financing the leading and opposing political parties (the Union of Right Forces, led by Boris Nemtsov, and Yabloko, a liberal/social democratic party led by Gregor Yavlinsky), which posed
as a threat to President Vladimir Putin's second Tenure as Russian president. Since then, I have placed on hold all transactions concerning this amount. You can catch more of the story on this website:
http://www.yukos.com
http://news.ft.com/cms/4bb9612a-d254-11d8-b661-00000e2511c8.html
http://www.hoovers.com/yukos/--ID__53700--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
http://newsfromrussia.com/main/2003/11/13/51215.html
YOUR ROLE:
All I need from you is to stand as the beneficiary of the above mentioned sum and I will re-profile the funds with your data, which will enable the finance company transfer the sum to you.
I have decided to use this sum to relocate to your country as soon as the funds are transfered to you and never to be connected to any of Mikhail Khodorkovsky conglomerates. Presently I am in London in Europe,for a hide out.
The transaction has to be concluded as soon and as I confirm your readiness to proceed with me, I will provide you with details.
contact me at my private email
address:nikolay_sin01@voila.fr
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Nikolay Sintsov.
Yup. So that's his story apparently. What makes this even more funny was that the e-mail went straight into Junk without even attempting to consider that this could be a phishing scam, which it is. Well done Microsoft! *Clap* *Clap* Your new Windows Live Hotmail has just impressed me.. not.
Now for the FAIL Widget on a website. I decided to see if there was a tool that could help me determine the value of my blog. I opened up Google and searched, "How much is your blog worth?" There were many pointless results (good job Google!) and I decided to go for this one http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/
The site looks professional and functionals well, but to what extent? I found out the hard way when I actually spent my precious time logging in to Blogger and copying and pasting the URL's of my 2 other blogs. So, after typing in the URL's and hitting the button, my blog received a value of $500 or so. I did the same with my other blogs and the values were all the same.
I thought to myself, shame on you sick people! Using SEO techniques to increase your Google page rank to #1, while still keeping content that can't do one simple task. And that, my friends, is the FAIL Widget.
Wondering if I am still getting phishing scams? Wonder no further! I get at least a 100 or so per day and I will post the funniest ones for your sick viewing pleasures!