Comment from Mario
This alert is working and have poidrved me the valuable information about the recent account compromise. Unfortunately the damage was already done (not much, but unpleasant). At the same time this incident have shown me how sensitive indeed the information stored in my Gmail acc is. I have thought a bit how I would like to improve security (including taking my info back to PC - discarded as not secure). Here are some suggestions:1. Provide a gadget or an iPhone app to generate a temporary secure number in addition to the password (just like Blizzard provides for its BattleNet users - very, very convenient and unbreakable - take a look, it's nice). I WOULD GLADLY PAY FOR SUCH A FEATURE.2. My account was compromised from a South Korean IP. Why don't provide an option to restrict the access geographically? It's not a 100% solution, but still an improvement.3. I would like to press a button near this South Korean IP address: "yes, this is a bad intrusion, not a false positive". The lists of these IPs addresses can be later shared with law enforcement.Thank you.
to top ^Comment from HaRitha
Hello....yesterday my account was ceprmomisod as well. The same e-mail has been sent to all of my friends and family, some of whom have corresponded and had conversations with the impersonators. They have also deleted my facebook account. I have lost vital work-related material that was on the account. I am very upset that Gmail has no interest in helping me. I don't know what to do. I may lose my job because of this. I have filed a complaint with the indicated ic3.gov form for white collar crime but have heard nothing. I have also called Google and was told they couldnt help me. I have filled out the account impersonation form for Gmail and that was fruitless. The hacker has also changed the alternate email address and have locked me out completely, preventing me from changing my password. Does anyone have the solution? All that essentially needs to be done is to verify the user and then simply deactivate the damn account. What is the big deal? Thanks for nothing Gmail. I will be letting everyone I know and current friends and family who use Gmail that they should go to another server and start a new email address and cancel their Gmails because this could happen to anyone and Gmail will do nothing to help.
to top ^Comment from nike free run
nike free run
to top ^Comment from Antonio
Most of those scams oagiinrte from countries where their criminal justice systems are barely functioning if at all. While they may want to do something, they are simply overwhelmed.
to top ^Comment from taan
I love y
to top ^Comment from Darkwatch
sorry,her mail adress is now;jannakro@rambler.ru
to top ^Comment from Darkwatch
she is a scammer alright,we have the proof!!She is using the name of Janna Kropinova now,mail adress is :jaanakro@rumbler.ru !! And she is on the moove again with the name Marina Biletsky.She set a guy up for more than 3000 US Dollars and he is hunting her now! she wanted to find a match? she found one.So dont send money! NEVER !!Hope you dont will be set up again guys,good luck !!
to top ^Comment from Anonymous
She's still hard at work, it seems:
http://www.stop-scammers.com/scammer.asp?profile=1840
to top ^Comment from Ken
I sent "Irina" an e-mail which read, in toto:
"I've heard that Russian prisons are cold in the winter,"
and got this reply:
My Dear ken??
why no more letter
are you give up on me??? Irina
to top ^Comment from Don Welch
I've added her to russian detectives, and sent a detailed description of her scam to all of the US Embassys in Russia. The internet fraud center is next. I will also contact aol.match.com where she first showed up. I have another one doing the same thing right now. I reported her also.
to top ^Comment from Aussie
G'day fellas,
Further to my earlier posting of the Aussie Embassy Moscow email to me...I now have just received a message from the consulate, as was indicated by the Embasy. There is a lot of "general,commonsense warnings" in it, but it is worth the read as does comment on legal and Russian police relations etc etc etc. I have omitted the consulate's representative's name, for personal security reasons.
RELATIONSHIP SCAMS
BEWARE OF SENDING MONEY OVERSEAS TO A PEN-FRIEND OR PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE PARTNER TO VISIT AUSTRALIA TO FURTHER A RELATIONSHIP BEGUN OVER THE INTERNET.
Several Australian citizens have been defrauded by bogus internet friendship, dating and marriage schemes purportedly operating mainly from Russia. These large-scale, well-organised scams typically result from connections made through internet dating schemes or chat rooms. Once a virtual relationship develops, the Australian citizen is asked by their friend or prospective marriage partner to send money to enable travel to Australia. Once the money has been received, the relationship is usually terminated and any chance of recovering the funds is highly unlikely.
The scammers often make use of what appear to be Australian Government email addresses to send fraudulent emails to the Australian party, informing them that the friend or prospective marriage partner has been granted a visa to visit Australia to further the relationship. The message may include fake details of a non-existent visa.
The Australian Government has notified the Government of Russia about its concern over this matter BUT there is little the Australian Government can do to assist citizens who fall victim to the individuals and agencies behind these schemes.
TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Treat with caution any request to forward money. We understand that individuals have been asked to provide funding for airline tickets, visas, hospitalisation and excessive customs duty.
Verify the authenticity of an e-mail message purportedly from the Australian Embassy in Moscow advising you of visa details relating to your friend or prospective spouse. Unless you have been formally authorised to receive such information, the message is likely to be a fake. You can verify its authenticity by sending a new message to DIMA-MOSCOW@dfat.gov.au explaining the situation and asking for verification that the details did indeed come from that office. Do not simply “forward” or “reply” to the message sent to you since it may go back to the scammers rather than to the DIMA office.
Seek authoritative information about Australia’s visa requirements, procedures and costs through the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs’ website www.immi.gov.au or (for the cost of a local call) through the 24-hour national telephone service inquiry line on 131881. Information can also be found on the DFAT web-site at www.australianembassy.ru.
If you wish to proceed in assisting someone’s travel to Australia, consider prepaying for airline tickets directly with the carrier.
BEWARE
You can never be sure of the true identity, including age, gender or nationality, of an internet correspondent
Once money has been advanced, the Australian Government has no legal power to assist in its retrieval
The recovery of funds is a private legal matter and the onus for recovery is on the individual
The Australian Government can assist only by providing the names of in-country legal representatives
As with other types of scams, travel to the country in question in order to "sort things out" can be dangerous. It is not advisable.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF A FINANCIAL SCAM
The Australian Federal Polices advises you to report the matter to your State/ Territory Police Services and request that your report be forwarded to INTERPOL.
Useful Links
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs at www.immi.gov.au
Embassy of the United States in Moscow “Russian Internet Dating Scams” at http://moscow.usembassy.gov - American Citizen Services
You may also wish to visit or contribute information to the private web-site www.agencyscams.com. However, please note that the Australian Government is not associated or affiliated with this site and does not control or endorse the content or accuracy of the information contained on the site.
End of quote..........hope this helps someone,from ANY country.
to top ^Comment from Anonymous
Western Union knows about her now!! They know you guys have sent her money as well. She was very clever and said other womwn had the same name.. She has found a way to get money from men- and will say whatever to get you to reach in your pockets for it..She plays the small town girl that is naive and wants to start a family with you. She didn't even go away when I first confronted her with the scam, I didn't want to beleive Western Union.. too bad I didn't believe the professionals, and choose to trust her instead. she is worst than a prostitute....
to top ^Comment from Don Welch
Yep This one got me too. She sounded so sencere, unfortueatly Western Union tried to convince me not to send her money. I did.. I suspected deceite , when she would not answer question about her Parents names. from 2/22/06 -3/24/06 she has sent me daily messages. She has got $1200 of my money- It finally end when she said the visa application needed $700 more dollars to show as spending money. It was an obvious lie..
to top ^Comment from Ken
PS . . . and Brusova Tatyana from Homutovo, Russia, (yike! my heart!) uses the same letters as Ludmila from Dubokov, Russia, according to www.russian-detective.com
to top ^Comment from Ken (aka Anonymous)
Gentlemen: I think Randy has her busted, even if she hasn't actually scammed anyone. I entered "You looks like very seriouse" from an e-mail I received from her today into Google, and it came up with "Garshina Marina (Irkutsk Visa Agency)" and Ludmila from Dubukov, Russia, along with large verbatim pieces of my letters from "Irina." These other women look nothing like her (or each other), of course. The man who runs one of these anti-scammer sites has the right idea: DON'T SEND MONEY! Daniel's advice is good. I have a special "friend" in Ghana . . .
to top ^Comment from Anonymous
She ought to check the Sibircevo time zone (GMT +1000). She's heading off to the gym at 4 AM!
to top ^Comment from Aussie
Sorry, missed that comment Anon'. !!
to top ^Comment from Aussie
G'day fellas. I shall use this spot to report what I have just learnt from the Australian Embassy in Moscow.This is a paste of the main part of their letter to me....
"I have referred your query to our consular section, who may be able to advise you further.
Unfortunately, at this stage there is little that we are able to assist you with to recover your money. The Embassy has discussed cases like these with the Russian police, however, as the victim is located outside Russia (as can be the perpetrators), they have not expressed very much interest. You may wish to contact the Australian Federal Police, although I am not able to advise what action they may be able to take.
I hope this is of some assistance."
End of quote.
So,as I suspected, the Ruski Fed's are not really all that interested in our dilemmas....surprise, surprise. IF the consulate imparts more useful advice to me, I shall post it here.
I therefore think(at this point in time) that Danny's advice is the "go".
to top ^Comment from Aussie
Well done Danny !!! Heads-up you blokes that have been actually scammed of money. IF you did lose a substantial amount of money, sounds like it would be worth the efforts and the paper work....but have the facts, not hypothetical scams, and go for it.I am still awaiting a replt from my Embassy in Moscow.
to top ^Comment from Daniel
Pls follow this advise below as I have been told that many scammers have been caught & in many cases the funds were recovered. Good luck to all you scammed guys out there. Go get them guys
to top ^Comment from Daniel
Well guys I have been looking & just found some useful info on how & where to make a complain when scammed.
I hope it will be useful for many that have been scammed but you must follow it to the end so that the scammer is locked up. I am sure Aussie will help spread this info to others. Good luck guys
What to do if you have been scammed:
1. Apply to your local state or federal enforcement agency and request to prosecute the criminals that stole your money. (It is the nearest police station where you would report a house burglary, for example.)
2. Report it to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center of FBI at http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/
3. Send a complaint to your country's Embassy in the country where the scammer resides AND their Embassy in your country - for example, if you live in USA and the scammer resides in Russia, you should send your complaint to the USA Embassy in Russia and Russian Embassy in USA.
Send it via registered mail, and include with your report:
* Name and surname of the scammer (the person on whose name the money was sent, even if it is different from the name of the person your were corresponding with).
* Details of the scam - a complete story including dates, names of the persons and websites, printed copies of letters, copies of Western Union receipts etc.
* Request to hand your complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the country where the scammer resides (where you have sent the money to) and request to prosecute the scammer and recover your money.
* Your name, address, email address and phone number.
* Print the complaint, number the pages and initial every page, sign the last page.
* Include a copy of your ID/passport (page with your name and photo).
to top ^Comment from Aussie
Pre-guessing is not a scam, Randy,we have already had a "go" at people not actually having a scam suggested to them or an actual scam being carried out. This site is now under scrutiny by the scammers (or mafia)for weak links in out evidence, so please ensure that our postings are water-tight, and not hypothetical....otherwise our postings will appear non-factual and opem to ridicule, which weakens our position.
to top ^ 