Snatching an expensive phone via email

Like other modus operandi, through text messages, chat apps, or phone calls, your money, jewelries or even your precious smartphone can be snatched via email.

How was this kind of fraud done?

Mr. Roy was selling his Samsung S8+ online at OLX. An interested person, named Frank (for sure not his real name) contacted Mr. Roy with regard to the condition of the phone and price. To make the story short Mr. Frank paid Mr. Roy through a money transfer. The weird thing, out of all well known money transfer companies in the Philippines, it turned out to be a British company with the name of Xe Money Transfer. Unluckily, Mr. Frank was not intelligent enough to offer his bait. But Mr. Roy noticed that the email with the logo of Xe had no link to the main website of Xe Money Transfer, no contact number, and the worst of all there were many obvious wrong grammar in the email.

What if there was a link embedded in the logo that led to a homepage of Xe Money Transfer website. What if there was a contact number in the email that they themselves (the syndicate) would do a "make believe" confirmation of the transferred money, which happened in another form of fraud. What if the grammar in the sentences were all correct. Then Mr. Frank would immediately make a false emergency situation in order to hasten the shipment, for example, "Sir Roy could you do the shipment right now because I have a flight the next day, anyway everything had been confirmed by the Xe official as you were talking to him over the phone. Kindly do it the soonest. Thanks for understanding" What will you do? Will you ship your Samsung s8+ to Mr. Frank? Well, your reaction is No , because you know it consciously that the circumstance is fraud as you read through.

Well Xe Money Transfer was a bit suspicious with this situation. How about replacing it with a popular Western Union which Mr. Frank's forged transaction with the latter is sent to your email, with contact number for verification as the syndicate may answer with fabricated details, then a sent SMS of false emergency situation like a flight for the next day, etc. so to hasten the shipment, are good combination of maybe an effective bait for few. Well, I am not showing these villains the better way, but I just show things that may happen.

If everything seem legitimate as the example above, without double checking the real office or true website, for there can be duplicate website with similar homepage for fraud purposes, some may become victims. But Mr. Roy declined to ship his S8+ because there was no hard money in his hands, a very practical and reasonable reaction against doubt and uncertainty. Just be careful and share this to your friends.

Disclaimer: The author is aware that the name Frank Cordova may have existed in the real world but it was being used by unknown person in fraudulent transactions.