FRAUD WARNING: ‘Rev Fabio Lopez’ aka ‘Rev Paul Mark’ aka ‘Bishop Joseph Arsenault’ out on the prowl hunting for your money!
Photo by: jurvetson
People, Beware! A Nigerian email scam is doing the rounds on the internet trying to lure people in, by promising them with loans. The scam is using the Church of Christ, Bedminster in Bristol (UK) as a front in carrying out its act. A Nigerian fraudster posing as Rev Paul Mark, Rev Fabio Lopez or Bishop Joseph Arsenault is sending out email by the thousands trying to scam by relying on the natural reaction of people to instinctively trust anything linked to the Church.
The international scope of the scam was quickly revealed. A Lecturer of Business Studies in Philadelphia has come forward and revealed how she almost fell for the scam. However, she said she was alerted when the fraudster demanded a security fee of $1000 to start with the process of issuing the loan. Unfortunately for her, this happened after she had already divulged her personal mortgage information to the fraudster. This leaves her open to risks of identity theft and of the fraudster leaving her to fend with new loans issued against her name.
Don’t let ‘Reverend Paul Mark’ scam you!
The best way to deal with these emails is by ignoring and not responding to them. The email may direct you to click on a link to a website presumably to start with formalities of processing the loan. Do not click on any links given in the email. It may trigger download of malicious programs into your computer. These extract such vital info as login details of your online bank account or your credit card number and relay them to the fraudster. With these details he would be able to make merry with your money.
Further, he could make use of these details to request and receive loans made out in your name. This can happen without your having an inkling as to what is happening. He would receive the loan amount and later vanish, leaving you to tackle new debts and debtors.
Unluckily for the fraudster, the BBC found him out. It ran a documentary yesterday night in its Inside Out series to make more people aware of the fraud.
If you wish to be more convinced of the scam, you can read through hundreds of such emails archived at the 419legal Forum. This could reveal the emails for what they are worth.
As of now, awareness is the only sure weapon you have that is always handy against online scams.
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January 1st, 2009 at 8:16 pm
has anyone heard of a company called kremloans they said they do loans