I HEREBY CLAIM THIS TASK FOR THE REVOLUTION!


Jane Doe:
This task is scaring me.

I was so excited about starting it! Wishy was psyched too. You get
so much spam. What if you wrote back? Wouldn't that be cool?
Wouldn't it be neat to mess with them?

But when we actually tried it, it felt more... creepy. Unclean. I
feel polluted to have had contact with these people. I'm like Lady
Macbeth, running virus scans on my laptop over and over.


Wishy Washy:
We completed this task because it seemed like a lot of fun. I was particularly curious to see if we could actually get a response back from someone...and we did! What I still don't understand is how some people fall for these scams...especially when the cover stories used are so flimsy. In the end though, I share Jane's sentiment that in the end, these people are scammers and criminals...and I'm not entirely excited to have been communicating with them. Some things are better left untouched, right?


CHAPTER ONE--SPAMMER SELLING MAILING LISTS

We started off of course by making a new free email account,
sf0at0@yahoo.com. Our first target was to respond to a solicitation
that sneaked through Jane's spam filter for "Certified Medical Doctors
in the USA":

788,424 in total == 17,406 emails

Coverage in many different
areas of medicine such as Endocrinology, Pathology, Urology,
Neurology, Plastic Surgery, Psychiatry, Cardiology and much more

Over a dozen sortable fields
Price for new customers

### IF YOU ORDER THIS WEEK YOU GET THESE AS A BONUS ###
US Pharmaceutical Company Executives Database
Names and email addresses of 47,000 employees in high-ranking positions
Hospital Facilities in the USA
Complete contact information for the important jobs held at the
hospitals

Dentists in the US
A complete Listing or dentists
and related services (valued at $399a0
Chiropractors in the USA
Over than 100k chiropractors practicing in the United States
send and email to datapackages@live.ca

this offer is only valid until November 9, 2007

We started simply, replying:

From: sf0at0@yahoo.com
To: datapackages@live.ca

Thanks for your mail.
Does your database include psychiatrists?

Got mail back from a "John Barret":

From: john barrett
To: Jane Doe

yes, here's the stats for that specialty:

Psychiatry
Total Records: 43,314
Total Emails: 915

Our reply:

From: sf0at0@yahoo.com
To: datapackages@live.ca

That's great! Looks really useful. Where do you get your data from?

John:

From: john barrett
To: Jane Doe

Our data is collected using various automated and manual methods from
multiple public sources. Validity is fully verified and updates are
published yearly.

Our reply:

From: sf0at0@yahoo.com
To: datapackages@live.ca

Sounds perfect. Can you get me data on which doctors have had
malpractice issues in the past? That's the list I really
need--psychiatrists with malpractice issues. Thanks.

-- Jane

Alas, at this point poor John/Data Packages had had his account
cancelled, and our message bounced back. Such a shame.

Our plan was to slowly get weirder and weirder. The next step was to
ask if he could get us a list of psychiatrists with malpractice issues
resulting from having a sexual relationship with a patient, because
our law firm specializes in defending those cases. Ah the lost
potential!

CHAPTER TWO: "Hello,"

An e-mail from William Howell seemed promising:

Hello,

I'm William R. Howell, an Executive Member of the Audit and Compensation Committee of ExxonMobil in London ( http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk). I have a sensitive and private brief from the Senior Executives of this top oil company in need of your partnership to re-profile funds amounting to US$12.2M (Twelve Million Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars). I will let you have the details but in summary, the fund shall be paid to you through our operating bank where it is presently deposited as soon as the legalization and documentation process is concluded in your
name.


This is a legitimate transaction without government interference and you shall be compensated with 20% of the total sum, should you and your company agree to work with us. If you are interested, please reply for further details.

Warm Regards,

Clearly, he is a legitimate businessman engaged in a legitimate business proposal...and we cold use the money! So we replied:

Hello William,

Your proposition sounds very interesting. Can you send me more information please?

Jane

We soon heard back:

Dear Jane Doe,

Thank you very much for your response. My correspondence with you is on my business proposal for you to become a contractor with ExxonMobil in London. Firstly, your company will be registered as an eligible contractor with ExxonMobil and if you have none, one shall be incorporated and registered on your behalf. This is to enable us re-profile the outstanding US$12.2M in your name as the contractor / bonafide beneficiary after which another contract of US$31M for the supply of modern safety equipments and gadgets in all our outlets in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East will be awarded to you.

However, the reason you were contacted and how come we choose you is not far fetched. Based on the sensitivity of this transaction, a lot of search, consideration and selection was conducted for a capable hand to work with, by the various heads of department and officials involved in this transaction and you were selected and contacted accordingly. We are professionals in our various fields and you need not fear or worry. All it takes to achieve the desired target is your understanding, cooperation and strict compliance with stipulated instructions and guidelines. This is because we are still in active service with the company and cannot handle the business on our own.

The US$12.2M was generated from several already paid over invoiced contracts which will be transferred to you at the successful end of the documentation or re-profiling process. We started with this to prepare you for the other contract of US$31M. You shall have 20% of the US$12.2M in the end while the proceeds of the new one shall be shared equally among the parties involved. Please note that this is a legitimate transaction without government interference and you shall be paid without delay once the documentation process is completed.

The following are my personal experience prior to my resumption with ExxonMobil and telephone number with which you can reach me. A brief introduction of the company is also included for a better understanding:

William R. Howell
Principal Occupation: Chairman Emeritus, J.C. Penney Company

Recent Business Experience: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.C. Penney Company

Public Company Directorships: American Electric Power; Halliburton; Pfizer; Williams; Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (non-public, wholly owned subsidiaries of Deutsche Bank AG)

BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION TO YOU:
ExxonMobil Corporation is the world's leading publicly-owned energy company with a presence in some 200 countries and territories around the world. ExxonMobil's business in the UK is conducted through individual operating companies. These include:

Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited
Esso Petroleum Company, Limited
ExxonMobil Chemical Limited
Mobil North Sea Limited
Advanced Elastomer Systems Limited

In addition, specific international operations are stewarded from the UK by ExxonMobil subsidiaries including:

ExxonMobil International Limited
ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited
ExxonMobil Marine Limited
International Marine Transportation Limited
The registered address for all of the companies above is:

ExxonMobil House
Ermyn Way
Leatherhead
Surrey KT22 8UX
United Kingdom
My personal Telephone is: 44-703-590-0528

Hope to hear from you soon for further advice.

Sincerely,

William R. Howell

Wow! That's a pretty impressive resume you have there Mr Howell. I guess you really are legit because when we looked you up on Wikipedia... we found you ! (see screenshot just in case someone decides to update the wikipage...)

From here on things got pretty boring. Essentially, we'd email him asking questions and trying to set something funny up, but all we'd get back were messages say things like:

Dear Jane Doe,

Thank you very much for your response. I'm honest and diligent in my dealings, and that is why I command enviable respect in my office. The transfer process is very simple and would be concluded as soon as the documentation and filing process is completed in your name. What I need of you to initiate the claimant process that presents you as the contractor / bonafide beneficiary of the fund are the following details:

1. Full Name:

2. Company Name (if any):

3. Home and Company Address (Mailable Address not P.O.Box):

4. Means of Identification (either a copy of your International Passport or Drivers License):

5. Personal and Company Telephone and Fax Number(s):

After due documentation with these, the money shall be fully yours and then transferred to you via any means you deem fit. Moreover, this partnership, which transcends this particular business venture as you shall become a “class A” contractor with ExxonMobil and shall be eligible to formally bid, receive and execute contracts for and on behalf of the company, requires your transparency, honesty, dedication and confidentiality till the fund is successfully transferred into your account. I await your response to enable us start the documentation process immediately.

Thank you very much once again and God bless as I wait to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

William R. Howell

So, we got tired of this....we had planned on having Mr. Howell contact some of our friends who might also be interested in his business proposition (ie, Mr John Barret from our previous experience).


CHAPTER THREE: YOU HAVE WON!

In this chapter, the stakes go up a bit. Here's the message we replied to:

Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
We are pleased to notify you of the released by UK National
Lotto/International Promotions programs held on the day of 12th
November,2007.As a category B winner,You are therefore approved to
claim a total sum of 1,000,000 (One Million pounds sterling) in cash
credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.
Contact Louisa Estrada (Dr.) Official Email:trada_101@echina.com

Our reply:

Oh wow! I'm so excited! What do I do to receive my winnings?
Thanks!
-- Jane

Reply back:

From: Louisa estrada
To: Jane Doe

Hello Jane Doe,

How are you doing today?Thanks for your response to the winning
notification that was sent to you.Please note that you qualified as a
lottery winner because your email address was randomly selected via
our cyber email selection machine.Please be rest assured that it will
be kept strictly confidential.I have forwarded your details to our
cash payment office that you have been cleared for payment and you
will be contacted soonest within the next 24 hours on how to transfer
your funds to your nominated account.Please endeavour to update me
once you have been contacted by our cash payment office so that i can
guide and give you further advise on the procedures.Have a nice day
and congratulations once again.

Regards

Dr Louisa Estrada

And an immediate follow-up message came a couple hours later:

From: CHARTEREDHOUSE BANK
To: Jane Doe

Hello Jane Doe,
How are you doing today? We have received your
details from your agent that you have been
cleared for payment of your award to you.
Please endeavor to fill the accounts details below
and get back to us soonest so that we can open an
account for you.Have a nice day and we await your
urgent response.

Full Name:
Address:
Nationality:
Occupation:
Age:
Phone Number :
Mobile Number:
Fax Number:
Email:

Note: You have also been advised to fill online
transit account under the section of type of
Account.Thanks for your co-operation.

Regards,
Howard Atwood
Accounts Director
+44 2070600230

A second copy of this message was sent almost immediately. This is
starting to get creepy. At this moment, it dawns on Jane and Wishy
that these are not nice people. They're real crooks. They want to
hurt us. They think we're pigeons. Even if we aren't using a real
account, maybe there's an IP address in the header somewhere.
Eeeeeek!

Our reply:

From: Jane Doe
To: chcconline@yahoo.co.uk

I'm so excited! I've never won anything before. Here's all my info:

Jane Doe
1605 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC

Nationality: US
Occupation: Security Guard
Age: 27
Phone number: 202-456-1414
Mobile number: same
Email: sf0at0@yahoo.com

Thanks!

-- Jane

We thought the 1605 Pennyslvania Ave was a nice touch. Can't really
write 1600, can we? The phone number is the White House switchboard
number. Do you think they called? Oh for a recording!

We thought this'd be fun and funny. It sort of was. But these are very
creepy people. And we've had contact--our bits have touched their bits.

The spam I get seems somehow more ominous now.
Run the virus scanner again!
Hide!


Update

We've sent William Howell (Chapter 2 above) an email asking him to explain the information we found on his Wikipedia page. You can refer to this completion to understand what's going on. :-)

Hello William,

I'm sorry I haven't written back to you sooner but I was out of town. I'm sure you've also been busy with Thanksgiving and the coming festivities. I am writing you so that you can help me assuage some of my fears regarding our coming business venture. I've been doing some background investigation and I find that your resume is, as you have mentioned, very impressive. However, I found mention on a very famous website that you might be engaging recently in fraudulent activities?

Please tell me it isn't so! How did this information come to appear on this site?
I would like to clarify these matters as soon as possible so that we can keep going forward with our business venture.

The website I mentioned is this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Howell

thank you,

Jane Doe