Scammers and spammers

The Phnom Penh Post reports that internet scams have hit Cambodia. Course they hit ages ago but I suppose the news takes time to filter through.

Kim Sothea Thangdy was very nearly the victim of a recent email lottery scam that is doing the rounds in Cambodia. She received an email two weeks ago claiming to be from The National Lottery Company, based in the UK. It informed her that she had won US$300,000.

The 21-year-old says the email seemed very believable, so she replied with a series of questions, and though excited, kept the news of her supposed winnings a secret until she was sure. "I was thinking, ‘It is my time. It is my time for change'," she said.

The National Lottery Company, which does not exist, replied at length to Thangdy's queries and seemed very happy she had contacted them. The scammers began an extended correspondence with her to organise payment. She decided to tell her family and friends the good news. But her suspicions were aroused when the company began requesting highly personal information, including details about her bank account.

There's no way to really stop the spammers but net education would be good. It could be as simple as not sending personal information to unknown web email address.

The Boston Globe has a funny piece on someone who replied to a scammer (H/T Donna) with the title of "The spam victim strikes back"

Dear Representative,

We will like to congratulate you for you willing to be our representative in your region, but we want you to know that you did not fill your details in the form we sent to you earlier. [The information requested: name, address, city, zip code, state, home phone, cellphone, age, gender, marital status, occupation, and name of bank.]

Thanks for your Co-operation
Mr. Ben Winners

Dear Sir,

In my excitement, I overlooked the form. I shall send the information required. My commission will be 20 percent, yes? And could you perhaps provide a bit more detail on the type of work I will be doing? If it has to do with crafts, I excel at that!

...

Very amusing, though probably not very effective in combating the problem :-)