Just like Evan Trembley, an email circulating (since 2006!), about missing girl Ashley Flores is no more than a hoax.
Since writing about the Trembley hoax I have been inundated with further ‘missing child’ emails that contain no truth in them whatsoever.
Interestingly, like scam emails, several of them contain very similar wording, with just the name and picture changed - I guess the hoaxers are too lazy to write something fresh.
This is the email about Ashley Flores -
please look at the picture, read what her mother says, then forward this message on.
Maybe if everyone passes this on, someone will see this child. That is how the girl from Stevens Point was found by circulation of her picture on tv. The internet circulates even overseas, South America, and Canada etc. Thanks
Please pass this to everyone in your address book.
We have a Deli manager (Acme Markets) from Philadelphia, Pa who has a 13 year old daughter who has been missing for 2 weeks. Keep the picture moving on. With luck on her side she will be found.
“I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing. She has been missing for now two weeks.
It is still not too late. Please help us. If anyone any where knows anything, please contact me at:
HelpfindAshleyFlores@yahoo.com
I am including a picture of her. All prayers are appreciated!! ”
It only takes 2 seconds to forward this.
If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get.
From what I could discern, this hoax email may not have been created by Ashley herself but, rather, by a friend who may have thought it was a funny thing to do.
Personally, I believe the people behind these are reckless and stupid as these emails often become viral and distract from real missing child cases.
According to Graham Cluely of Sophos,”There is an Oprah mentality to some of these sites – people let it all hang out, and update their information minute by minute.”
To what is he referring you may ask?
Social networking sites and the rise in identity theft is the answer.
Facebook
Facebook was launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard. What began as a small network soon grew until it targeted all US students. Less than a year later, the network was opened up to all student around the world, subject to having an academic email address. Facebook really exploded in September 2006 when they allowed absolutely anyone to join, subject to being aged 13 or over.
Since that time, Facebook has grown exponentially, with the network now boasting over 42 million active members worldwide. According to Alexa, Facebook is the 7th most visited site on the whole internet.
When joining Facebook, each member creates their own profile, quite often including personal details such as date of birth, location, educational level and employment details. In fact, a whole range of information that would be invaluable to an identity thief. The information given on Facebook might seem trivial in itself but, when combined with other resources on the internet, such as the electoral roll, it can easily lead to a case of lost identity.
All too easy
Procedures may be different in other countries but here in the UK an identity thief could -
- Order a duplicate birth certificate of any other person born in the UK for a small fee. This can be paid in cash by anyone.
- Use that birth certificate to easily acquire a Passport.
- Obtain a driving licence by providing the passport and a photograph.
- Use the passport and driving license as proof of identity to open a new bank account.
Considering how easily common information found on Facebook can be used to steal someone’s identity, I believe anyone who uses such services should think very long and hard before telling the world absolutely everything there is to know about them.
Several months ago now (when my writing style was very poor by the looks of things 
), I wrote a series of articles about identity theft, in which some detailed the benefits of regularly checking your credit report, primarily for early warning signs of fraud and identity theft.
Ironically, however, applying for a credit report can sometimes increase your chances of becoming a victim to one of these crimes.
Scammers and identity thieves
Scammers, thinking outside of the box, have created websites that charge for credit reports (US citizens can claim one free report per year whilst Experian and Equifax in the UK do actually make a nominal charge).
Identity thieves are also in on the act, utilising their own websites and phishing methods to extract personal information and financial data in order to commit the very crimes against you that you are trying to prevent.
So what should you avoid when looking to obtain a credit report?
5 Ways To NOT Lose Your Identity With Credit Reports -
- Never give out credit card details when requesting a free report (some sites will give you a free report then bill you for future ones)
- Do not get conned into buying something else in return for receiving a free credit report
- Never follow emailed links to free credit report sites
- Do not search for credit report sites through the search engines (many bogus sites deliberately choose domain names that look very much like legitimate companies and even outrank them in the search results)
- Never request a free credit report via any pop-up adverts
Instead, visit trusted sites, such as Experian and Equifax, or contact them via the telephone. Organised gangs and clever individuals use many means to commit identity theft - make sure the availability and accessibility of credit reports works in your favour, not theirs.
In this scam, there are two dishonest people working as a team to deceive you and part you from your money.
Conveniently, Scammer#1 will “find” a bag, package, etc, stuffed full of bank notes, just as you pass by them in the street or shopping centre. They will then stop you to ask if you know anything about it.
Alternatively, they may have already “found” the cash and will bring it up in conversation after stopping you to chat about something else. Seemingly doing the right thing, the scammer and the potential victim then open up the bag and check for identification. This will reveal that there is none, however, a scribbled note will suggest that it is the proceeds of some sort of illegal activity, such as drug selling.
With this being the case you realise that returning the money is not feasible. Enter Scammer#2, the passer-by who just happened to see the bag get dropped or chucked out a car window or whatever.
Teamwork
Working as a team, Scammer#1 and Scammer#2 will then try and entice the victim into sharing the money. By encouraging the victim to partake in the decision making process they aim to appeal to their sense of greed.
One of the scammers will, naturally, work for a lawyer, thereby giving them the means to lay a legal claim to the cash. It’s not a simple question of just filling in some paperwork though. No! The lawyer has a lot of legal maneuvering to do which of course costs money.
Therefore, the scammers will suggest that you all make an equal contribution to the cost of claiming the small fortune. They will get the victim to add, typically at least a few thousand dollars, to the bag and will then drive to a lawyers. Once there, the victim will be left outside whilst the scammer enters the building. Unseen, the scammer will leave the bag somewhere safe or pass it off to another accomplice before exiting. The victim will then be told to contact the lawyer in a week or so and they will have a one third share of all the money.
The pigeon
It goes without saying that after the week has passed the victim will call or visit the lawyer only to find they don’t exist and that their money has gone. Another alternative to this is that the two scammers will be in a hurry and need quick cash - they will take a few thousand dollars as their share and leave the victim with the entire bag of money. In this scenario, the victim takes the cash to the bank only to open the bag and discover that it has been switched for an identical one full of worthless paper (hence why the victim is called a pigeon - they are left holding the scraps) whilst they were expertly distracted.
It is useful to remember that, whilst we would hope everyone would do the right thing, it is unlikely a stranger would offer to share a large sum of money they have just found - it’s far more likely they would keep it to themselves!
The Federal Trade Commission released a report today which applies some figures to the scams and frauds which American’s fell victim to most often in 2005 -
- Fraudulent Weight-Loss Products (4.8 million victims)
- Foreign Lottery Scams (3.2 million victims)
- Unauthorized Billing - Buyers Clubs (3.2 million victims)
- Prize Promotions (2.7 million victims)
- Work-at-Home Programs (2.4 million victims)
- Credit Card Insurance (2.1 million victims)
- Unauthorized Billing - Internet Services (1.8 million victims)
- Advance-Fee Loans (1.7 million victims)
- Credit Repair Scams (1.2 million victims)
- Business Opportunities (0.8 million victims)
The report then goes on to offer some advice to the 30.2 million victims (13.5% of the adult population). Though basic, their suggestions include -
- Know who you’re dealing with: Do business only with companies that plainly provide their name, street address, and phone number
- Take your time: Resist the urge to act now. Most any offer that’s good today will be good tomorrow, too.
- Free means free: Throw out any offer that says you have to pay to get a gift or for something that’s called “free.” If something is free or a gift, you shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Of course, you could always find more detailed advice about scams and fraud here
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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