Nigerian Scammers Sending Spam to Target Pet Lovers

According to a news by an authentic source in the fourth week of August 2009, Nigerian e-mail scams have resurfaced with a new twist.

It is said that scammers have made Aussie animal lovers their target in e-mail campaign which is known as a spam campaign. In this campaign, scammers have tried to earn money by selling kittens and puppies.

The modus operandi of the Nigerian and Cameroon scammers is stealing the images and names of pets from legitimate Australian pet houses to put them for sale of non-existent animals on fake websites.

In fact, scammers have added new details to make their e-mails look genuine and legitimate. For instance - they have talked about the transport companies which will deliver pet to buyers' homes. Moreover, the scammers have attempted to make the deal perfect one by saying that the pet will be killed if not sold quickly.

Security experts state that the statement of killing the pet creates panic among e-mail recipients who have soft corner for animals in their hearts. Therefore, they exhibit great eagerness to make a deal as soon as possible, without even checking the legitimacy of e-mails.

Cyber criminals are exploiting the benevolence of people towards animals to gather information or to strike a deal with people interested to help these troubled pets, said security experts. If the pet lovers send reply to scammers, they will try to capture their personal details or make cash out of it.

Jackie Murray, a resident of Central Coast, was intelligently tricked by scammers. She was contacted by an unknown person who had offered her a puppy for sale at a price much cheaper than others.

Besides, she received an e-mail that contained logo of legitimate transport company and shipping tracking number that made the deal more reliable and authentic. The e-mail also had bank account information from Western Union in Cameroon.

However, when she found a pet at much cheaper rates than other places, Murray did not reply to the e-mail instead went ahead to strike the deal.

Security experts added that the Nigerian scammers forward a large number of spam like in present case with a belief that someone would definitely show interest in their offer.

Related article: Nigerian Scammers Secure Huge Money from Australian Victims

» SPAMfighter News - 9/5/2009