Off topic: Scam? Russian asking for food donations, etc. Thread poster: Sonja Tomaskovic (X)
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Sonja Tomaskovic (X) Germany Local time: 21:18 English to German + ...
Today I received an email from a Russian person who is asking for food donations, amongst other things. Of course, my first thought was "Scam!", and I was already heading toward the delete button. However, there are two things that actually make me think: firstly, this guy does not primarily ask for money (he does later on in the email) but for donations of any kind, be it canned food, medication, old clothing, etc. Secondly, he gives his address so people can actually... See more Today I received an email from a Russian person who is asking for food donations, amongst other things. Of course, my first thought was "Scam!", and I was already heading toward the delete button. However, there are two things that actually make me think: firstly, this guy does not primarily ask for money (he does later on in the email) but for donations of any kind, be it canned food, medication, old clothing, etc. Secondly, he gives his address so people can actually send him the goods. I am not sure scammers would give out their address which can be used to trace them. Nevertheless this may still be scam, and this person may still try to make a profit by selling the things people send him, etc. Anyway, before I really delete this one I wanted to make sure that it is scam. Has anyone else received this kind of email? Alternatively, is there a Russian colleague out there living near or in Kaluga, Russia, and can confirm that ...Due to the deep crisis, authorities stoped gas in our district ... Thanks for your efforts and sorry if this has been discussed before. I searched the fora but only found something in the Russian forum. Unfortunately I don't know any Russian at all. Sonja ▲ Collapse | | |
Hynek Palatin Czech Republic Local time: 21:18 Member (2003) English to Czech + ... |
Ricki Farn Germany Local time: 21:18 English to German |
Kirill Semenov Ukraine Local time: 22:18 Member (2004) English to Russian + ...
I found an article in Russian which describes the case in details. http://www.oxpaha.ru/view.asp?390 Unfortunately, it's too large to translate, but it's obviously a scam. The guy was under trial (possibly twice), but due to not very good law system he cannot be convicted. The article is a long story of the guy who sent thousands of emails a month. In particular, t... See more I found an article in Russian which describes the case in details. http://www.oxpaha.ru/view.asp?390 Unfortunately, it's too large to translate, but it's obviously a scam. The guy was under trial (possibly twice), but due to not very good law system he cannot be convicted. The article is a long story of the guy who sent thousands of emails a month. In particular, the article states: "In December 1998 and January 1999 the family (the author himself, his older brother and his mother) received in 30 different post offices 79 parcel from abroad, and during the first 5 months of 1999 - 24 more parcels + 48 small packages. People sent them clothes, food and money. It's probably due to these that Mihailin and his family, without having any regular work, not only managed to pay for the Internet service but also to hire a lawyer". ▲ Collapse | |
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Anne Bohy France Local time: 21:18 English to French Ask hoaxbuster... | Dec 10, 2005 |
Sonja Tomaskovic wrote: Today I received an email from a Russian person who is asking for food donations, amongst other things. Of course, my first thought was "Scam!", and I was already heading toward the delete button. However, there are two things that actually make me think: firstly, this guy does not primarily ask for money (he does later on in the email) but for donations of any kind, be it canned food, medication, old clothing, etc. Secondly, he gives his address so people can actually send him the goods. I am not sure scammers would give out their address which can be used to trace them. Nevertheless this may still be scam, and this person may still try to make a profit by selling the things people send him, etc. Anyway, before I really delete this one I wanted to make sure that it is scam. Has anyone else received this kind of email? Alternatively, is there a Russian colleague out there living near or in Kaluga, Russia, and can confirm that ...Due to the deep crisis, authorities stoped gas in our district ... Thanks for your efforts and sorry if this has been discussed before. I searched the fora but only found something in the Russian forum. Unfortunately I don't know any Russian at all. Sonja The best place when receiving such mails is hoaxbuster : cut a significant part of the mail you received and paste it into the search box at http://www.hoaxbuster.com Every mail that I receivd turned out to be a known hoax... If not, you can contact the hoaxbuster team with your finding. They may decide that it is not scam ! Here's what they say: Vous avez reçu un message suspect qui ne se trouve pas dans notre liste, envoyez-le nous, nous entamerons les recherches et y apporterons des réponses claires. Vous souhaitez nous aider, rien de plus simple, rejoignez-nous, écrivez nous à : [email protected] | | |
Sonja Tomaskovic (X) Germany Local time: 21:18 English to German + ... TOPIC STARTER
Thanks to all. I did a search on Google Germany, but all that turned up was a page that could not tell whether this was a genuine request or scam. Sonja | | |
Kirill Semenov Ukraine Local time: 22:18 Member (2004) English to Russian + ... More details | Dec 10, 2005 |
Another Internet resources state that Valentin and a friend of his sent to the developed countries emails where they demanded from people some material assistance and money. Otherwise they threatened to perform terroristic attacks in the USA and Western Europe. The emails were `signed' by a group of military officers from a local division of Russian strategic forces (with nuclear weapons). In the result the friend of Valentin was sent to prison for 1 year, but Valentin himself being... See more Another Internet resources state that Valentin and a friend of his sent to the developed countries emails where they demanded from people some material assistance and money. Otherwise they threatened to perform terroristic attacks in the USA and Western Europe. The emails were `signed' by a group of military officers from a local division of Russian strategic forces (with nuclear weapons). In the result the friend of Valentin was sent to prison for 1 year, but Valentin himself being under-aged was granted a pardon.
[Edited at 2005-12-10 10:25] ▲ Collapse | | |
Same here... | Dec 10, 2005 |
Hi Sonja! I received the same mail approx. 10 days ago. I'm relieved you asked since I believed it was genuine, and not a scam. Anyway, I deleted it the same as I thought it was too expensive for me to send a parcel to Russia. A well-conceived scam, isn't it? B. | |
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The first result of Russian embargo... | Dec 11, 2005 |
...on Polish food imports. I'm kidding of course, but I could not stop myself. Piotr | | |