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 Claims of Christianity Used for Phishing - Part 2
By Robin Laudanski
December 17, 2004
When we think about Christianity most of us will get an image in our head of Jesus, Mary, Moses, the cross , the burning bush or some other well known biblical figure or event. We often think of our local churches, Sunday school, or perhaps someone in the church body which has been particularly kind or encouraging. What we don’t generally think of is people trying to use Christianity as a way to Phish.
I would like to take this time to thank one of our CastleCops members for forwarding this information to me. For the purposes of this article we will call him “Chuck” leaving both his real name and username unknown for the purposes of privacy and security. Chuck has made it possible to uncover another avenue which the criminal element of the world is attempting to dupe unsuspecting trusting people, through their own faith and belief system.
The following is based on real events and is factual as it was provided to me.
The initial contact came in a Yahoo Christian Chat room, from someone claiming to be a 65 year old widow, going by the username black_tribe_org and claiming to be a Pastor. For those who aren’t familiar with the reference “black tribe”, it refers to a group of people who believe they are descendents one of the 12 lost tribes of Israel. Thankfully the member who reported this was not only not taken in by it, but also thought to change the medium to instant messenger and save the conversation. Initially I was going to include part of the YIM conversation into this article, so people could see there was a particular theme to it. However I chose not to because I believe I can convey the information without having to force everyone to read through a bunch of broken sentences.
Several things about the conversation seemed out of place from the start. She flatly told Chuck that God told her to give away all her money because she had no more time left on earth, but to him it was an even 10 Million. She was asked for a reason why God wanted him to have the money, and she said "I don't know". She complained several times about being sick, and in the hospital. There were several times where the opportunity came up that she would be able to preach, teach, and/or fellowship and she chose not to, instead mostly staying outside of the realm of the scripture. She didn't know what tithing is. None of this is normal behavior for a Pastor (at least the ones I know). The biggest thing was that she was quite adamant about an email being sent immediately to her lawyer. Interestingly enough the name she gave to Chuck, Sussie Martins, is not quite the same as the one the lawyer gave to him in the reply email.
The following is the reply email received from the "lawyer" subject line URGENT! Please note the obvious spelling and grammar errors.
ATTN:
I have been waiting to hear from my valuable client
(Mrs Sussie Fredmartins)intentions to give out funds
for ministarian works and having you as her bonafide beneficiary.
I got an instruction from her that i should contact you that
you are the entrusted beneficiary owner of her estate.she is an
orphan and still remains like one.she lost her husband and
children in an auto crash long years ago and she is critically ill
with her health now.If the lord has chossen you for his good work
it is either you accept or decline.The said funds is with Bond Finance
Services In Amsterdam,Netherlands deposited in a deposit box as
consignment.
Now that i have confirm her unreserve intent and your
undiluted resolve to take up this challenge i will in
my possition as the lawyer open up proper negotiations
with you to this regards. We must put things in order
before anything can be done,this includes the
notarization of all the paper work,making this
transaction legal in your name to enable us
make transfers effectively to you and into your
nominated accounts and country of your choice by the
deed of change of ownership.
To this effect i would require you to send me the
following information,this will enable me draft out an
agreement which will be binding on you and my client
and further help me in the process of legalization of
all documents for this transaction,just note that your
informations are safe with me.
1.Full name and address
2.Direct telephone and fax numbers.
3.Office Address.
This information will enable me to write a letter of
intent, claim etc to enable this project in your name.
Untill i get this informations i will then relate to
you modalities of transaction,let me hear from you
soonest.
Warm regards,
Otto Swens.
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While trying to get some information on "bond finance services" I found a reference to this scam on Internet-Fraud.com Interestingly enough the lawyer used the same surname in the email to Chuck, as was used in the letter published on Internet-Fraud.com, but it is not the same surname as was directly given to him during the YIM conversation. There is an additional reference using "Sussie Fredmartins" published on 419sport.tk
It should be noted that the only constant in this scam is that the woman has Rheumatism and she is in the Netherlands. Why the name change and difference in age now? Most likely because Googling for "Sussie Martins" doesn't return any results, the results for "Sussie Fredmartins" returns results for a 78 year old woman. Slight differences but in some cases it might be enough to cause her to be overlooked as a possible fraud. Do not be deceived! In each instance this scam is clearly targeting Christians, hinging on the hope and belief that the scam will be taken as a "gift from God", thus not investigated, and even if it was found out they are hoping that as "Christian's" you will forgive them.
There is a lawyer in Amsterdam named Otto Swens, I have not contacted him nor will I. Simply because this information has been passed on to the appropriate authorities. I believe it is their responsibility to notify him.
What do you do if someone approaches you like this?
I know it is tempting to believe that it is a gift from God, but wisdom suggests that you err on the side of caution. They will ask you personal questions, like where you live, if you are married to do you have children etc. It will seem like normal small talk. Do not give out personal information. They are trolling! What is trolling? In this case, they are not only trying to gain more information from you, they are trying to gain your trust. The more they have the easier it is to take your identity from you. It doesn't suprise me that they have chosen to move into a chat medium. It is easier to gain little bits of information from someone during a regular conversation then it is through email, and it is easier to gain trust, because you feel that you know them. They instill in you a feeling of friendship. You might question the motives if the questions were asked in a random email. If you are talking to someone via chat or instant messenger, be wary of what you tell them. If they ask for personal information tell them flat out that you would rather not give that information out over the internet. There is nothing wrong with being cautious, and there is nothing wrong with protecting your own identity, or that of your family. You do need to be protective of it. There are folks that you might be able to forge strong friendships with over the net, but you need to keep in mind that this kind of scam is a perfect example of a wolf in sheeps clothing. Just because you speak to someone more then one time in a chat room doesn't make them your friend, and it doesn't make them legitimate. You have to take the responsibilty of protecting yourself, your identity and your family. Giving them just a little bit of information could possibly open everyone up to becoming victimized.
If you have been a victim of a Phishing scam and would like to share with the community please send Feedback to Robin with some details and I will contact you. If you would like to ask specific questions related to Phishing, or have information to share please visit CastleCops Phishing, Fraud and Dastardly Deeds forum.
The criminals aren't going to help us protect ourselves, we as a community need to help each other.
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