{"id":3178,"date":"2019-04-06T19:34:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T19:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=3178"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T17:00:00","slug":"Yet-Another-Dying-Widow-Advance-Fee-Scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=3178","title":{"rendered":"Yet Another Dying Widow Advance Fee Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I’ve now been writing about scams and hoaxes for around 12 years. I have an archive containing thousands of advance fee scam emails. A goodly portion of them are very similar to the \u00a0“dying widow” \u00a0scam I’ve quoted below. \u00a0But, despite a great deal of publicity about advance fee scams<\/a>, people still fall for them. Every day. All over the world. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, if you replied to \u00a0“Mrs. Malauren Ryan’s” email for more details as requested, you would very soon be asked to send money to allow your unexpected “windfall” to be processed. “Malauren” will claim that you must pay various fees upfront \u00a0or the deal will fall through. Supposedly, the money must be sent to cover banking, insurance, tax, and a host of other – totally imaginary – fees. \u00a0 If you had \u00a0the temerity to ask that said fees be payed out of the supposed donation itself, you \u00a0would be sternly told that such a process would violate various laws and simply would not be possible. The scammer will warn you that, should you not be willing or able to pay the requested fees, the ‘fortune’ will be given to somebody else instead!<\/p>\n

And \u00a0“Malauren” will \u00a0also insist that you provide a large amount of your personal and \u00a0financial information, ostensibly so that \u00a0you can verify your identity and facilitate the transfer of the funds.<\/p>\n

But, alas, there IS no inheritance and the email is from a grubby little criminal, not a dying \u00a0widow. \u00a0Any money sent will be pocketed by the scammer. And, if you have \u00a0sent enough of your personal information during the course of the scam, you may also have your identity stolen.<\/p>\n

You most probably know about this type of scam and others of its ilk already. \u00a0But don’t assume your friends, work-mates, and family members know about them \u00a0<\/a>as \u00a0well. \u00a0You might \u00a0be surprised!<\/p>\n

If you have a less Internet savvy friend who you think might be potentially vulnerable to such scams, you could gift him or her a copy of Hoax-Slayer’s eBook ‘Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft, Internet Scams & Phone Scams<\/a>‘. The eBook, available on Amazon in Kindle format, covers many common Internet scams in detail. It also provides a great deal of information about malware, Internet and phone security, and protecting your identity online.<\/p>\n

Amazon allows you to purchase the eBook and send it to a friend as a gift.<\/p>\n

You can read more details about the book here<\/a>. Or go directly to the book’s\"\" \u00a0listing on Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n