AusCERT - Advance fee fraud scammers researching potential targets

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Advance fee fraud scammers researching potential targets

Date: 11 October 2007

Click here for printable version
Today we received an email that was addressed to one of AusCERT's staff members. At a first brief glance, it looked legitimate. It used a legitimate "To" email address, the person's full name, the name of the organisation and AusCERT's telephone number.

The letter also included links to the BBC website, amongst others relating to news articles from 2000 in order to make the claims made in the email sound more legitimate. The articles actually refer to a person from Zimbabwe that now resides in the UK, called Kathy Olds. The originator(s) of the email seem to have made a mistake with the links to the articles. They went in fact to the wrong site! Whoops. The site it went to didn't seem to contain any malicious code at the time of viewing.

Queensland Police report that targeted attacks like these have been successfully used by advance fee fraud scammers to the detriment of victims. Some pretexts claim to offer contracts in the field of business that the victims work in and hence appear more convincing to potential victims. As with the pretext below, the idea is that victims are willing to pay fees to the scammers to assist with the transfer of funds (or payment for services actually provided by victims) in the belief that they will receive a much greater return than the 'fees' they have out laid.

Here is an extract of the email.

----------------- BEGIN INCLUDED TEXT -------------------
Letter to <Employee of AusCERT>

The University of Queensland - Brisbane 0.733654417

Business letter from Kathy Olds

I shall begin this business letter by introducing myself and
furnishing you with brief information about me. I am Kathy Olds. A
white lady and wife of late Mr. Martin olds. I am currently in the
United Kingdom as a political refugee. My children and I departed the
country when my late husband Mr. Martin Olds was brutally murdered in
a crisis in Zimbabwe. After the death of my late husband we decided to
seek refuge in the United Kingdom due to the uncertainties that loomed
in the crisis region of Zimbabwe where white farmers were being
brutally murdered.

I know you are wondering why a refugee is contacting you. Our family
funds , 7.9million dollars have been held in an offshore account. The
bank needs either my signature or that of any of my children but we
have restrictions in the UK as political asylum seekers. We cannot
leave the country until a certain period of time according to the
permits we have. Hence I am searching for a God fearing person who
will play the role of my next of kin and beneficiary to the said
funds. I am willing to pay 15% of the total funds to the said
individual while 5% of the funds shall be used for all expenses that
shall manifest in the course of the business transaction.

<REMOVED TEXT>

----------------- END INCLUDED TEXT -------------------

Cheers,

Zane