Another email Scam: this One Appears to have Originated in the UK but it Reeks of Nigeria

From what I can tell from their email this Mr. John Butler who told the IMF that he was my next of kin and relation and I guess that I died in a car accident four months ago. And I didn’t even know that I was dead let alone that I had died in a car accident.

I feel like George Kerby (Cary Grant) in Topper. I died and didn’t even know it. Maybe the IMF is really talking about Mr. John Buttler and not me.

Using a Currency Converter the IMF has $11,160,720 waiting for me.

OK so the IMF is only going to give me “a part-payment of 7.5M EURO”.

Some of the interesting “hi-lights” of this email are:

• sent from a Yahoo email address
• return address is a gmail address
• it is sent not to me but to the golivemod-owner@yahoogroups.com
• the sent IP address is located in the UK (I got this information from the long header info)
• the english is very lacking
• they request I send them my personal details
• the email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed (golivemod-owner@yahoogroups.com)
• they/he requests “Make sure you reply to my alternative Email address (payned100@gmail.com) for confidential reasons”
• it is from the International Monetary Fund Agency

From: INTERNATIONAL OPERATION DEPT (paynedaniel78@yahoo.com)
Subject:[spam?] RE-OUTSTANDING PAYMENT
Date: October 16, 2009 6:30:56 AM PDT
To: golivemod-owner@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: payned100@gmail.com

---

RE-OUTSTANDING PAYMENT

This is to inform you of your long overdue Payment outstanding our Banking records. I discover your name from our Central system among list of unpaid inheritance claims individuals and have to update your informations through this email contact for immediate confirmation.

Your name appeared among the beneficiaries who will receive a part-payment of 7.5M EURO (SEVEN MILLI0N, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND EURO) and it has been approved already for payment months ago. However we received an email from one Mr.John Butler who told us that he is your next of kin and relation and that you died in a car accident last four months back.

He has also submitted his account informations to the office department for transfer of the fund to him as your Benefactor. We are now verifying by contacting your email address as we have in our Bank records before we can make the transfer into his account and for us to conclude confirmation if you are dead or not. we also want to avoid any problems that will arise if you should contact us again in future regarding this funds and transfer to you. Please, confirm response immediately before any further action to release the outstanding payment against your name listed out.

Upon this, we request you send your personal details as soon as possible to enable our office finalize the transfer of the fund release, to your nominated foreign Bank Account.Do contact our office with your below details correctly. (payned100@gmail.com)

1. Full Names……….
2. Telephone & Fax Number……….
3. Contact Address……….
4. Age……….
5. Occupation……….
6. Sex……….

NOTE: HOWEVER, WE SHALL PROCEED TO ISSUE ALL PAYMENTS DETAILS TO THE SAID MR JOHN BUTLER, IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN THE NEXT SEVEN WORKING DAYS FROM TODAY. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MIGHT CAUSE YOU.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This E-Mail is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Once again, we apologize to you on behalf of International Monetary fund Agency towards this contact and proper confirmation required urgently from you if alive. Make sure you reply to my alternative Email address (payned100@gmail.com) for confidential reasons

Thanks,
Yours Sincerely
Mr. Daniel Payne
International Monetary Fund Agency
INTERNATIONAL OPERATION DEPT
……………………
payned100@gmail.com

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) even released the following news brief back in 1996.

NEWS BRIEF No. 96/14
November 18, 1996

International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20431 USA

IMF AGAIN WARNS OF FINANCIAL SCHEMES MISUSING ITS NAME

In view of widespread and continuing inquiries from individuals and companies who have been approached by parties in connection with offers of participation in various financial instruments and schemes promising high returns and unauthorizedly using the name of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Treasurer of the IMF today again warned potential investors to beware of such schemes. He had already issued warnings in the past (see News Brief Number 94/5, published February 23, 1994 and News Brief Number 94/11, published May 13, 1994). Today he reiterated that the IMF does not issue or guarantee any obligations called “Prime Bank Notes,” “Prime Bank Guarantees,” “Bill of Exchange,” or “Bill of Equity,” or extend any credit lines through commercial banks or other agencies. Moreover, the IMF does not guarantee debentures or other financial instruments issued by a member country or any other entity. It does not sponsor investment programs, “high-yield financial programs,” or issue to countries or to outside parties an “IMF Number,” “IMF Country Registration Number,” or an “IMF Approval Number for Projects.”

Other examples of bogus instruments often featured in such schemes which unauthorizedly use the name of the IMF are:

• fictitious stand-by letters of credit–falsely portrayed as risk-free and sanctioned by the IMF;
• securities allegedly backed by the IMF; and
• bonds supposedly issued by the IMF.

The IMF is an intergovernmental organization whose financial transactions and operations are carried out directly with its member countries and only through a fiscal agency designated by each member for this purpose (such as the member’s Central Bank or its Ministry of Finance). The IMF does not operate through other agents and it does not endorse the activities of any bank, financial institution, or other public or private agency.

IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Public Affairs: 202-623-7300 – Fax: 202-623-6278
Media Relations: 202-623-7100 – Fax: 202-623-6772

So maybe I’m not going to get a part of the $11,160,720.

Should I send my personal information to them any way?

ME THINKS NOT! (it must be the pirate in me surfacing)

Late,
Gary Pool

I Have Inherited 7,500,000 Euros from Mr John Butler is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

When I got up this morning the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of clean white snow. (I’m not talking about Aurora Snow that was another post.) I had plans on heading out to Beaverton this morning. The trek to would have included a trip over the Sylvan Pass. This Sylvan Pass is known for gathering large amounts of snow even when everything else is passable. Did I make it?

Don’t send out the snow patrol. I stayed comfortable and cozy by the fire and watched the show through the big picture window and Lethal Weapon 5. No I watched Lethal Weapon 3 (Directors cut of course) and 4 on the tube. Lethal Weapon 2 according to the TV Guide had been on TV this week and it just primed the pump for me to watch the last 2 in the series, at least until Mel Gibson changes his mind and they film they film Lethal Weapon 5.

I didn’t have to worry about which was the best snow blower or even which were the top rated snow blowers. Later in the afternoon all the walkways, driveways, and streets had cleared them selves.

I find that snow is always better if you don’t have to go out in it for anything but to have fun. Those of you who have to live in the real stuff will probably get a good chuckle from my snow tales. Those of us who live in the areas where it is an occasional thing get a real kick out of the snow.

Late,
Gary Pool

Just a little bit of snow shuts me down! is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

30 years ago today “Star Wars” premiered and fans are celebrating around the world.

Los Angles is expecting more than 20,000 “Star Wars” fans to converge on downtown the next few days.

“Star Wars Celebration IV” at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is open to the public Friday through Monday. The celebration kicked off Wednesday with a marathon screening of all six films — includes live entertainment, cast-member appearances, film and video presentations and an exhibit of movie props and costumes.

“Star Wars” was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1978 and won six. In 2005, the American Film Institute named John Williams’ iconic score the most memorable of all time. The film has shown up on additional AFI lists, including the “100 Greatest American Movies” list, where it ranked No. 15.

Of course Warner will be taking advantage of the publicity by including a preview of a new video game, “The Force Unleashed,” which will be available on multiple game platforms in early 2008. In the game, the player takes on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice.

“Star Wars” and George Lucas began a new era of geekdome with his groundbreaking visual effects techniques.

TechRepublic even has a post entitled TechRepublic’s best of Star Wars. There is even a list of every blog post on the subject.

The best of the best stuff, however, is listed below:

• Idiot sci-fi question: Why do X-Wing fighters have…um…wings?
• Who’s who of great lightsaber duels
• Vader to Palpatine: “About that Death Star…”
• Video Mashup: Star Wars vs. Monty Python
• The physics behind the Death Star superlaser
• Everything that’s wrong with the Death Star trash compactor
• Top 10 Star Wars Lines Improved By Replacing A Word With “Pants”
• Video: The (animated) origin of Boba Fett
• Poll: The greatest sci-fi film of all time (isn’t Star Wars)
• Video: Star Wars super-parody on the way
• Photos of “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination”
• Photos: In the shadow of ‘Star Wars’
• Geek Trivia: Besides THX 1138, what other numerically named film reference has George Lucas ‘hidden’ inside the original Star Wars?
• Geek Trivia: What movie has the highest inflation-adjusted U.S. box office gross since the advent of television?
• Geek Trivia: What celestial object in our solar system bears a strange resemblance to Star Wars‘ Death Star?
• Geek Trivia: Which fan-favorite character debuted in the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special?
• Geek Trivia: What other famous science-fiction spaceship forced a redesign of the original Millennium Falcon model for the original Star Wars film?
• Geek Trivia: Which famous horror film shared casting sessions with Star Wars?

Here is a great video space battle between the USS Enterprise and the Death Star.

What were you doing when Star Wars premiered?

May the Force be with you,
Gary

Star Wars Turns 30! is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Today was the first day of Webvisions 2007, May 3-4, 2007 in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center.

Exploring the Future of the Web
Join the rockstars of design, user experience and business strategy for two days of mind-melding on what’s new in the digital world. Get a glimpse into the future, along with practical information that you can apply to your Web site, company and career.

I attended a workshop presented by Robert Reinhardt.

Robert is the VP of the Multimedia Platforms Group for Schematic and an internationally regarded as an expert on multimedia application development, particularly in Macromedia Flash. Robert is the lead author of the Flash Bible series and the Flash ActionScript Bible.

The workshop covered everything I needed to know and more about Flash Video, from shooting quality video to delivering real-time streaming video. We learned key pre-production factors that affect final Flash Video output, such as camera quality, lighting, audio, green screen shooting and format choices. We had a demonstration of the basic tools for capturing and encoding video, as well as advanced encoding strategies like multiple bit rates, codec decisions and options, and SMIL.

After the lunch break we learned how to bring the video into Flash, building custom code players and how to utilize the FLVPlayback component. We also learned about the best options for deployment and the differences between progressive web video and real-time streaming video, including large scale deployment using Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) providers.

One of the most valuable things I have learned about is a flash support site that Robert offers.

Stay tuned for more information from Robert about Flash Video and a more detailed explanation of my notes.

I am going to give you my Flash Video notes in bullet points.

• cbr and vbr encoding
• Inflluxis (flash streaming server access)
• lv requires 2 files a flv and a swf.
• vp6 has a better compression algorithm.
• You can turn smoothing on or off with actionscript
• spark vs vp6
• width x Height / Compression ratio = bit rate starting point
• Flash will only scrub to keyframes
• keyframes should be 10 x the frame rate
• Sony HBR A1U Video Camera
• Alfa chanel
• swf object – best
• ActionScript 2 and 3
• A2 using bindings tab to add videos to your flash movie (this can be done without any actionscript)
• Video Markers reading cue points.
• Captions (captioning) MAGpie
• “smil” files
• ServiceCapture
• Buddy extra (for director) Buddy API

Webvisions – Event Sponsors:

• Adobe
• Adobe User Groups
• MacPac
• VTech
• Hot Pepper Studios
• DevGroup NW
• Digital Web Magazine
• Portland Development Commission
• Easystreet
• Portland State University

See you at Webvisions tomorrow.

late,
Gary

The Secrets of Flash Video | Webvisions 2007 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician