Scam Alert Service

2007-06-14T17:53:00.001-07:00

Securities Fraud

2007-06-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

North Carolina Secretary of State Orders 3 Hebrew Boys and Capital Consortium Group to Stop Securities Sales North Carolina Secretary of State's Securities Division issued a Cease and Desist Order to 3 Hebrew Boys, L.L.C.; Capital Consortium Group, L.L.C.; Tony Pough; Tim McQueen; Joseph Brunson; and Howard Lee Lattimore. The four individuals were ordered to immediately stop offering for sale, soliciting offers to purchase, or selling securities of 3 Hebrew Boys, L.L.C. or of Capital Consortium Group, L.L.C. or any securities of any issuer in violation of provisions of the North Carolina Securities Act. The action is designed to protect investors, including members of the military who were specifically targeted, from sales seminars that promoted a scheme to pay off mortgages, automobile loans, credit card balances and other debts through foreign exchange transactions that promised extremely high rates of return.

Phishing Scams

2007-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Below is an example of a fake PayPal email used to steal your personal info. My advice is not to reply to these email nor click on any links within. Go to the actual PayPal site through other means and check your account. Chances are it hasn't been compromised, but it's always good to check. These emails are referred to as phishing scams, trying to get you to give them your password or other personal info to hack your account. They can look like official emails from any financial institution and will always sound urgent, saying there will be some type of consequence if you don't immediately respond. They will always ask you to reply or click on a link to input your personal data.

Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 10:40:32 +0700
From: security@paypal.com
To: webmaster@41marketing.com
Subject: The PayPal Team

You have added bars77new@yahoo.com as a new e-mail address for
your PayPal account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance
with your account, please click here to contact PayPal customer service.

Thank you for using PayPal
The PayPal Team

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot
be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose
the "Help" link in the header of any page.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From: "PayPal" <service@intl.paypal.com>
Subject: Receipt for Your Payment
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 07:50:46 -0700

Dear PayPal Member,

This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $1,047.85 USD to
bunnycoll@aol.com for an eBay item.

-----------------------------------
Payment Details
-----------------------------------

Amount: $1,047.85 USD

Transaction ID: 2LC956793J776333Y

Subject: Digimax 130

Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute
transaction
and get full refund

Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )

*SSL connection:
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information
in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure
Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length
of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)

-----------------------------------
Item Information
-----------------------------------

eBay User ID: bunnycoll

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Edward Harrell's UNCONFIRMED Address
----------------------------------------------------------------

Edward Harrell
164 Timber Crest Drive
York, PA 17404
United States

Important Note: Edward Harrell has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If
you are planning on shipping items to Edward Harrell, please check the
Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will
be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.

----------------------------------------------------------------
This payment was sent using your bank account.

By using your bank account to send money, you just:

- Paid easily and securely

- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of
the month.

Thanks for using your bank account!

----------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
PayPal Email ID PP118

The Nigerian Oil Scam:

2007-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

The concept is that you are sent an "urgent" email and it says you have been referred or discreetly selected somehow. The perpetrator says he/she is an account represntative of some sorts, typically the Nigerian government or other African country. (may also be outside of Africa, there are many copycat scammers) He says there is an excess of unclaimed funds for whatever reason, typically state in US dollars in the tens of millions and that he needs a discreet third party (such as yourself) to transfer and hold the excess amount for whatever reason. Your compensation is typically stated as a large percentage say 30% for your services. Then it is requested you provide personal information to the perpetrator. Most will then say they require some sort of legal fees to free the money up for transfer to your account and will ask you to wire them money. Some victims end up paying thousands of dollars in hopes of gaining the millions promised them. Needless to say that the transaction never transpires and the perpetrator disappears offline once they realize the victim has caught on and quits sending them money. They may also use your personal info to steal your identity. There are many variations of this same concept, but once learned by you they are very easy to recognize. For more info go to Google and type in "Nigerian oil scam".