I got an Instant Messenger note allegedly from a friend I had just become friends with on Facebook. The "friend" said she had just gotten a $50,000 empowerment grant from the Federal Government for empowerment and getting people out of poverty. She gave me the phone number and said to text it asking about the government grant program. When I did that, I got this message:
"Hello this is consultant Henry Flood from the federal government grant, your grant and package is here for you to claim.
I asked how I claim it? Response:
The grants priorities are to: *Assist those in need of financial aid in order to reduce poverty in the general public. *Support them in their effort to take risks in starting up businesses and creating opportunities for investment. *Recognize the vital role they play in providing public services to communities in which they are. *Help them realize projects that would not be possible without our support and also enable you to pay your bills.
I replied OK. Response:
AGENT
FILL THE CLAMMING (sic) REQUIREMENT, THIS WILL LET US HAVE the CONFIRMATION THAT YOUR PROFILE IS IN OUR DATA BASE
1 Full Name:
2 Telephone Number:
3 Contact Address:
4 Date of birth:
5 Occupation:
6 Sex
7 Marital Status
8 Deaf or hearing:
9 E-Mail Address
10 Worth of income:
11 Do you own a house or a car?
At that point I called DHS fraud line who switched me to the Department of Trade; they told me this was a common hoax: to steal someone's Messenger identity and contact their friends with some kind of offer. He also said government grants are difficult to apply for and difficult to get, so this was obviously some kind of fraud.
Also, my friend didn't sound like my friend who is a college graduate; engineer; she sounded like a foreing national with poor grammar.
Other clues:
- The website was a .com vs. a .gov address
- Whatis.com reported the owner had a hidden (proxy) address.