Email: Center Security (noreply@facebookalert.com) Scam

Scam Score: 85 (Severe Risk)

Background: While reviewing emails in my inbox, I came across an email that was intended to look like Facebook warning me that a charge had been made on my account for 22.34 USD.

The link provided for me to login to "Facebook" actually resolves to http://74.7.88.163/aboutes.php which is obviously not Facebook. This server also appears to be hosting the websites: websiteincomesuccess.com, www.leidschdagblad.nl, and www.tweetprocesor.com which are obviously not owned by Facebook and seem sketchy themselves.

This email fails our tests by first, not identifying me personally. If anyone knows my name, it is Facebook (or at least the name I provide them). Second, the grammar and punctuation in the email are not professional. Third, the email is supposed to be from Facebook but the message ends with a reference to PayPal Security. PayPal and Facebook are not the same company. Purchases notifications from PayPal will never be from a Facebook email.

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Net-Scams Scam Scores

New Scam Scores!

To quickly summarize the legitimacy of scam, we will now be supplying a Net-Scams Scam Score. This score builds on top of the existing rules we previously established and sums a score from those rules.

50 pts ~ Responsible Party

In all legit offers and giveaways, there will always a person or company held responsible for fulfillment of the prize. This company may or may not also handle inquires of possible participants. This responsible party must uphold their end of the agreement.

20 pts ~ Regulations and Tax Requirements

Do not account for US tax requirements and regulations

10 pts ~ Professional Conduct

Poor grammar used through out the site

10 pts ~ Server Location

Servers located outside the United States are not able to be governed by US law. This applies a sense of distrust.

10 pts ~ Other

This includes usage of Non-English languages in an English

Russian language used on the site

By adding points of each qualifying rule, we can derive a risk score of each potential scam:

 0 - 20 pts - Low risk

20 - 40 pts - Medium risk

40 - 60 pts - High risk

60 - 80 pts - Extreme risk

80 - 100 pts - Severe risk, extreme caution advised!

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Facebook: 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS Scam

Scam Score: 80 (High risk)

With the progressing popularity of social website, there has also been an increase in social scams.

One such scam is this one:

2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS Facebook

This page fails to provide a responsible party who will be fulfilling the offer. In addition, they make no reference to regulations (i.e. excluded regions, etc.) or tax requirements. Prizes over $600 in value must be reported to the IRS for tax purposes (the winner will be required to pay taxes on the value car).

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