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Wanna Russian Billionaire’s Fortune? Spammers Do
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-01-16
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
A spam email is floating around the web promising billions to a few million lucky individuals. Spammers email attempts to fool people into thinking they will receive some money from jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The emails claim to be from the personal secretary of Khodorkovsky and offer $10 million if the email recipient will assist in the transfer of $46 million of Khodorkovksy's money.
Khodorkovsky ran oil corporation Yukos before he ran afoul of the Russian government. He was arrested at gunpoint in Siberia in 2003. He's currently working on an 8-year sentence.
"Originally we saw the scammers sending their messages about Khodorkovsky in Russian, but now they spreading their wings and sending their scam emails all around the world in English. The notoriety of the case against the Yukos CEO has made his fame a prime target for exploitation by internet criminals," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Email users should be on their guard not to believe everything they receive via email, and ensure their spam defenses are kept up-to-date."
This email con-trick is the latest of many 419 scams. These scams are named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal code where many of the scams originated and are unsolicited emails where the author offers a large amount of money. Once a victim has been drawn in, requests are made from the fraudster for private information, which may lead to requests for money, stolen identities, and financial theft.
Other examples of 419 email scams include a message claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir space station.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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