Interesting e-mail addresses

Post scam emails to warn other rental owners, or if you are not sure if an enquiry is genuine, put it up here and see what others think.
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Alan Knighting
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Interesting e-mail addresses

Post by Alan Knighting »

These scammers seem to think the world is populated by morons. Is it?

Would anyone really respond to an enquiry which came from an e-mail address like this one I got today?

????@karadanoitibuga.hot.co.jp

Trouble is, I suspect the answers are "YES!" and "YES!"

Of course I sympathise with anyone who has been defrauded but when I was a lawyer I always had to ask myself "did personal greed contribute to my client's problem?".

The answer again was almost invariably "YES!".

Come on folks, don't be daft. Don't issue cheques on the basis of Western Union money orders, don't give anyone your personal PayPal or bank account details.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

I got an inquiry this year which I was sure was a scam, since it was a Hong Kong e-mail. However, it turned out to be real!

I think e-mail can always give a telling clue, but I nearly always wait for the cashier's check or similar offer before trashing the deal completely.
Brooke
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Would anyone really respond to an enquiry which came from an e-mail address like this one I got today?

????@karadanoitibuga.hot.co.jp
Yes! I would. That is a Japanese email address and they do things differently there. I have a renter whose email ends in @pp.iij4u.or.jp, which looked pretty odd to me, but he is a bona fide American banker in Tokyo.

I would look rather at the contents of the message they sent for clues.
Paolo
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Paolo,

I have taken a further look at the e-mail address and find that you are right. It is just another web address one can register on; a bit like MS Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, et al.

OK, it's the content which really gives the game away!

I stand by the rest of what I said.

Can you give me a good reason why somebody from Bosnia, with an African name and organising a group visit to an opera festival that doesn't exist should be using a Japanese e-mail address? Don't you think I should be slightly suspicious?

Regards

Alan
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

Fluffy wrote:Can you give me a good reason why somebody from Bosnia, with an African name and organising a group visit to an opera festival that doesn't exist should be using a Japanese e-mail address? Don't you think I should be slightly suspicious?
What? Why?

Clearly you are just being paranoid. *smirk*

:lol:
Brooke
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Brooke,

Of course I am being paranoid. How else can I get my message over? Don't be trusting and don't get ripped off!

Regards

Alan
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Alan Knighting wrote:Can you give me a good reason why somebody from Bosnia, with an African name and organising a group visit to an opera festival that doesn't exist should be using a Japanese e-mail address?
He may have organised a group trip to Japan and found the opera festival wasn't there, then assumed it was in your part of France. Previously he may have been a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia and liked it so much he changed nationality.

Definitely a genuine enquiry...
Paolo
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alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

"He may have organised a group trip to Japan and found the opera festival wasn't there, then assumed it was in your part of France. Previously he may have been a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia and liked it so much he changed nationality"

I can see the logic behind this, Paolo - now that you actually point it out, it is totally credible. (I'm marginally uneasy about the Japanese email, but that's probably just exagerated caution on my part. That's what is so great about this form; it keeps us sane and on our toes. It is so OBVIOUS that he was a UN peacekeeper.)

Yes, it definitely is a genuine enquiry - Alan, if you can't accommodate them, pass the enquiry on to me, please .
Best,
Alexia.
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

My lack of initial enthusiasm seems to have to put him off - don't quite understand why.

It seems he now prefers Live Aid to Lucia di Lammermoor. Ah! well, can't win 'em all.

Genuine imitation bargain with half your money back - through Western Union of course.

Fluffy says "Bye, bye Bosnia, nice to meet you".

Alan
A-two
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Post by A-two »

You haven't heard from him because he's booked with us instead. Obviously prefers Opera of The Hamptons. I can only think he must have been in Japan when he contacted you, because the inquiry I received came from a UN email address. Charming fellow who was very anxious to confirm everything for the middle of September before rushing off to Europe for 3 weeks. I'll let you know how it works out.
Waves from America
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Joanna,

That'll be interesting! This chap gets around a lot, doesn't he?

Alan
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Garri
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Post by Garri »

As my main business is with Japan I have had endless problems with sending money to and, in some cases, receiving money from my clients in Japan.

My bank informs me that Japan is being targetted by money launderers and such like as its banking system is pretty archaic
and I guess some devious people have discovered ways to exploit it.

There was something on this forum about Holiday.com's domain being registered in Japan. A smokescreen perhaps. They think that because it's in Japan then it's untouchable for some reason.

I've noticed an increase in spam lately emanting from emails generated with .jp domain names.

The spammers/scammers have probably discovered ways to exploit free email servers over there.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

Since I run a linux box with an open ssh port I have logs of a few attempted breakins every day. (These happen with windows too, just slightly differently.)

Most of the IP addresses turn out to be from Japan, China, or Korea. There are a few that are from the US, and in that case I always send an e-mail to the ISP administrator about it. But the ones from Asia, I don't even bother. I don't think the standards are quite the same.
Brooke
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Post by A-two »

When I grow up, I want to be as computer literate as Brooke and Alan..... :lol:
Waves from America
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Joanna,
When I grow up, I want to be as computer literate as Brooke and Alan.....
I think I am now growing "down". I used to be heavily involved in IT but, now that I am retired, I find that I am not keeping up. The technology is running faster than I am.

I don't mind though - there are compensations for having become a human being again.

Regards

Alan
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