Best Email Scam Yet!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I just checked my email and found this little beauty:
Subject: Stef, We have not heard from you

[Quote]

Dear Stef,

The International Society of Photographers Convention and Symposium is fast approaching, and I have not heard if you will be attending. Stef, I can only hold your place for two more weeks and then I will have to release it so another deserving photographer may attend.

The ISP is very proud of you and your artistic accomplishments, and that is why you were nominated for 2007 Amateur Photographer of the Year and the $10,000.00 grand prize. I also feel that you are very deserving of the Outstanding Achievement in Photography Crystal Award Trophy. You will receive your trophy at the event in front of your fellow photographers and family, while competing for the one of the largest cash prizes ever awarded in amateur photography. Most importantly, you will have a chance to share your work and celebrate the art of photography. Stef, this is your final chance to register for this event. Please call me at 410-363-4800 extension 102 or go here to register.

Sincerely,

Craig Foster
Convention Chairperson
DON’T MISS OUT . . TIME IS RUNNING OUT

[quote]

Now, let it be known that I have no recollection of ever submitting any sort of photograph to anything at all. I am not a photographer. My interest in photography is limited to gazing in admiration at other people’s work and crying myself to sleep at night because I can’t take a decent photo to save my life.

It does make me wonder though; does this work for people? What are the chances of actually finding someone who’ll believe it?

2

I bet there’s a million permutations of this. There’s probably one for scholastic achievement, another for some kind of scientific discovery, another for music.

Whoever is coming up with these is beginning to get pretty inventive, I must say.

3

My favorite “phish hook” was not e-mail but a junk fax I got at my office at work.

We get a ton of these for some reason, mostly ones shilling penny stocks or hawking CHEEP VACATIONS TO RIO!!, but one caught my eye so much I saved it in a folder somewhere.

It merely said, “Would you like to continue receiving these offers?”, followed by two very large boxes in the middle of the page, YES and NO. The instructions continued below these boxes: “Please put an X in the box indicating your answer and fax the response back to us at 1-900-xxx-yyyy.”

Fine print at the bottom indicated that the charge for the (fax) call would be $5.95 the first minute and $0.95 for each additional minute.

I shudder to think if anybody ever fell for this. Or worse… Paid upwards of $6+ to tell them they wanted MORE junk faxes.