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By Charlotte
Russell, Information Security Coordinator
Recently, a significant number
of scam E-mail solicitations have been sent to UNT E-mail accounts. They
are often referred to as the "Nigerian Letter" or "419"
Fraud. The
E-mail solicitation schemes are of the same type that have flooded the
United States and other countries, and are believed to be sent from many
different sources. The solicitations vary in content; however, the
intent (to defraud) is the same. The U.S. Secret Service is
investigating these schemes.
The E-mail solicitations urgently request your partnership in an
investment opportunity that will transfer millions of dollars through
your bank account into an overseas bank account. There is a promise to
compensate or reimburse you for any incurred expenses (or advanced fees
that you have paid) if you assist with the transfers. There may also be
a request to keep all communications with the sender of the E-mail in
strict confidence (secret) and there may be an invitation to travel
overseas.
The sender of the message generally claims to be a director, chairman,
officer or representative of a bank, a government agency, a foreign
ministry, or some other type of organization in a foreign country. In
some cases the sender claims to be the spouse, relative or acquaintance
of a high ranking official. Your bank account information and other
information (i.e. E-mail address, fax number, and/or telephone number)
is also requested.
If you receive E-mail (or other type of solicitation) with this
description, please do not believe the promise of monetary compensation
and do not provide any information to the sender. Always guard your
personal and bank account information. Delete the message or use bulk
E-mail filtering rules (if you use GroupWise - instructions can be found
at
http://ncs.unt.edu/rules/spam_rule.html ).
If you know someone who has been victimized by one of these schemes,
encourage that person to contact the
U.S. Secret
Service as soon as possible.
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