Dr. Gizmo: A scam, a fake spyware notice, a way to clock your Internet speed

Scams like this merely prey on the worries of Windows users.

technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

D r . G i z m o
Another scam, a fake spyware notice and a way to clock your Internet speed

Sept. 8, 2004

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   MY NAME IS DR.ALEX DOUGLAS,THE REGIONAL MANAGER OF BARCLAYS BANK OF GHANA.I GOT YOUR CONTACT FROM AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CONSULTANT. I AM A DEVOTED CHRISTIAN AND A MAN OF PEACE.
   WITH MY POSITION IN THE BANK AND JOB OBLIGATIONS I DISCOVERED A CERTAIN SURPLUS WHICH HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS AND WILL REMAIN THERE EVEN TILL THE END OF TIME. IT IS MY DUTY TO SEND IN A FINANCIAL REPORT OF OUR BRANCHES TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. I DISCOVERED THAT MY BRANCH IN WHICH I AM THE MANAGER MADE TWENTY MILLION,SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US$20,680,000.00) WHICH MY HEAD OFFICE ARE NOT AWARE OF AND WILL NEVER BE AWARE OF.I HAVE PLACED THIS FUNDS ON WHAT WE CALL ESCROW CALL ACCOUNT WITH NO BENEFICIARY.
   AS AN OFFICER OF THIS BANK I CANNOT BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THIS MONEY, SO MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO ASSIST ME RECEIVE THIS MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT AND GET 20% OF THE TOTAL FUNDS AS COMMISSION. THERE ARE PRACTICALLY NO RISK INVOLVED, IT WILL BE A BANK TO BANK TRANSFER. ALL I NEED FROM YOU IS ABSOLUTE SINCERITY, TRANSPERANCY AND YOUR EXCERCISING OF STRICTEST OF CONFIDENCE. -- From a crook masquerading as a real person in a SPAM letter.
   Dr. Gizmo knows a confidence game when he sees one, and he reminds his readers that the terms "con artist" and "con game" come from the just this sort of thing. Con artists thrive on people who think they can get something for nothing. Use your smarts. Don't turn yourself into a victim.

   A long time ago you gave me a Web site that let me test my Internet connection speed. But the site doesn't seem to be working any more. Are there any others? -- L.P., via Earthlink.
   The doctor found four sites that test your connection speed:
    www.dslreports.com/stest
    http://reviews.cnet.com/Bandwidth_meter/7004-7254_7-0.html
    us.mcafee.com/root/speedometer
    tech.msn.com/downloads/speedtest.armx

   Warning! Important Message! You are seeing this message because your e-mail account has been detected as having tracking software attached to it. This is not a virus, but a program in your machine that monitors and transmits all of you online activities, and is a serious violation of your privacy. Below is a link to a free scanner to download that will find and remove all spyware programs on your machine. -- acct.admin@isp-security.net.
   The doctor is often asked whether messages such as this one are legitimate. The answer is no. Even though most Windows computers are, in fact, infected with spyware, scams like this merely prey on the worries of Windows users. Clicking on any link in a spam letter simply adds your e-mail address to that spammer's list of known suckers. The list is then sold to other spammers.
   Windows users should deal with spyware their own way, not by falling for a scam. Linux and Mac OS X users do not need to worry, since there is no spyware for those operating systems, but they'll still get mail like this. Just trash it.

   Dr. Gizmo trashes Al Fasoldt's spam. You can send a can of luncheon meat or just a plastic fork to the doctor or his pal at Technology, Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221. Or send e-mail to afasoldt@twcny.rr.com..

Scams like this merely prey on the worries of Windows users.

D r . G i z m o Another scam, a fake spyware notice and a way to clock your Internet speed

D r . G i z m o
Another scam, a fake spyware notice and a way to clock your Internet speed