I've seen the UPS spam, and now there's a Western Union variant.

I guess they've run out of people in Nigeria to use as their spam basis.

I think they still originate from Nigeria...

I've had some new ones slipping the net over the past few weeks, and these are along the same idea as the UPS theme, but in this case it's "my" airline tickets, which are now ready for collection as per "my" order, and the final security details and payment are now needed so that they can be released for collection - or some such nonsense. I really don't bother reading the detail now, as the very idea that a real ticket agent would ask for such things is just so preposterous as to be an insult.

I was half joking Apollo, with the number of people that have apparently died in Nigeria in these emails, its amazing there's anyone left.

Some of the old ones were hilarious with the mistakes.

Stuff like (and I did once get one like this)

"I am Mr John Obomo, the daughter of the late ......"

That's not all.

With all those millions that the dead people have been  smuggling out of the country, the place should be devoid of cash by now

It is strange how the spam you get varies from time to time.  I started getting what purported to be CNN news updates and appeared genuine - I deleted them as usual.  After a couple of weeks they changed to a different name of news updates and the titles became more and more farcical.

Now I seem to be getting a stream of porn videos.  They all get the delete process too.

This is a bit of a gem, and the original text was carried in an email created using images, graphics, photographs, and colours stolen from the real Lloyds TSB site.

As an aside, if you didn't see the news items, Lloyds TSB made the news last week when they ejected one of their support staff from the building. Breaking the fundamental rules of network management trust, when he spotted a Lloyds' customer (who had a grievance) had changed his online banking password to "Lloyds is pants", the loyal member of staff took it upon themselves to change it to "no it isnt", leading the customer to be barred from his account as he obviously didn't know the password. The problem - and a story too long for this thread - only came to light when he phoned for help to get access.

As a network admin entrusted with the personal detail of hundreds of staff members, I think firing this fool was getting let of light, and there should have been more severe sanctions available, even something criminal for what they did.

Anyway, the following message begins by warning the poor punter that there are false emails floating about out there, and that they will naughtily ask for personal details, and then promptly goes on to use that rationale as justification for getting the recipient to do just that!

I don't know which is the bigger fool: the scammer for trying the very trick their email has just warned of, or any punter that falls for it and clicks the link given

Having inspected the link (but not tried it) it wouldn't appear to go a scam, but to something that's probably rather offensive.

Quoted Text

Dear Sir/Madam,

LloydsTSB Bank always look forward for the high security of our clients. Some customers have been receiving an email claiming to be from LloydsTSB advising them to follow a link to what appear to be a LloydsTSB web site, where they are prompted to enter their personal Online Banking details. LloydsTSB is in no way involved with this email and the web site does not belong to us.

LloydsTSB is proud to announce about their new updated secure system. We updated our new SSL servers to give our customers a better, fast and secure online banking service.

Due to the recent update of the servers, you are requested to please update your account info at the following link.

Like the writer of the following article, I have to take the odd wander into my Spam Folder every so often, just to see if anything has been swept in there that is actually legitimate, and needs a new rule added. Like the writer, I find this visit doesn't come with any surprises, and there's never anything there that I would go near, or even want to poke with a disinfectant soaked barge pole.

I've also watched the documentaries about the elderly, confused, or mentally ill people who believe, or are unable to determine the nature of spam cons, and have handed over their life saving to such schemers. Some of the saddest of these cases are those who cannot understand the problem, and having been cleaned out of cash, actually go on to raise credit and get into debt in order to send money in respinse to spam request. Their families try to help them, but cannot watch them 24/7, and these schemes still arrive by snail mail.

12% of e-mail users have actually tried to buy stuff from spam - Ars Technica

Quoted Text

Slightly less than half (48 percent) said that they have never clicked on a spam e-mail. That's the good news, but that means the other half have clicked on or responded to spam. But why? The answers will undoubtedly horrify you. A full 12 percent said that they were interested in the product or service being offered—those erection drug and mail order bride ads do reach a certain market, it appears.

I believe I am, as they say, "In the wrong business":

Quoted Text

"Although a small percentage of the computing population, these numbers still earn a significant enough return on investment to support a booming spam-driven underground economy," wrote MAAWG. Indeed, with spam making up a very large majority of all e-mail traffic—Microsoft recently claimed it was at 97 percent—even low sellthrough rates are enough to make things very profitable. With botnets supposedly sending more than 80 percent of that spam (according to Symantec), there are now relatively few man-hours involved in making money from a spam-based business. Just set it and forget it.

Any pointers as to where I can invest my life savings in acquiring one of these spambot system would be appreciated

Reports of an apparently new form of spam this week:

It's spam, but not as we know it | Money | guardian.co.uk

This is described as arriving the form of some sort of question which makes an appeal of some sort, for information or advice.

It may be new to the Guardian's tech's, but it doesn't look like anything new to me.

After all, why would someone I don't know address a personal request for such advice information, and from an email address I obviously won't recognise?

It's all obvious spam, and I simply delete it without further consideration or thought.

It's easy not to get caught by spam, but the media likes to talk it up.

If I don't know the sender or their email address, or if the subject means nothing to me, then it gets dumped without further thought.

Anybody that matters will tell me about a change of name or email address beforehand, if they can. I haven't lost anyone yet.

Spam only works because most folk just don;t bother to take care.

For example, this week I have emails from two of my banks, both very serious and following their corporate appearance with current logos and layout, warning me about spam etc, and requesting that I contact them immediately, and increase my security levels.

There's only only one small problem - I have never even dealt with the banks concerned, let alone an account.

Examining the return email address could also fool the casual user, as they contain reasonable facsimiles of the bank's possible email addresses.

I think it would be a reasonably safe bet that they get lots of replies - unfortunately.

Would you believe it?

I just got an email that fitted the above profile...

Asking for advice on explosives!

Just received the same explosives appeal in the spam trap for another email account!

I am forever preaching that span and scam is easy to beat:

If you get contacted by someone you have never heard of that want to know anything about you or your computer...

Slam the phone down or delete the email.

End of story.

If everybody followed this rule, spam and scam would soon dry up.

However, people are greedy, people are silly, and sadly, some people are simple and trusting, while others have mental deficiencies (and I mean that in the illness sense) and these are all the sort of targets that make spamming and scamming a worthwhile venture.

Here's a sad example of how it can work, and use misrepresentation of an innocent trustworthy supplier to give the scam apparent credibility:

Rothesay businessman warns of computer scam - Buteman Today

Tilset Services shop is one of the first you see as you arrive in Rothesay from the big ferry, as the blue shop is right on the front, opposite the harbour.

I've never been in though, as it's generally closed whenever I've been there, but I have always thought the place must be a wee gem, provided it delivers a decent service, it has a captive market.