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SMS Scam: Wrong Pasaload, Please Send It Back To Me

We got this SMS Scam yesterday. And as a public service to the readers of this blog, I am dissecting this sms scam attempt so that we can all avoid falling victim.

The sms scam is a 2-part text. The first message
sms scam

Sender: +63 907 664 9375

808

1/2 06-Nov 07:45: P200 has been transferred from 09076649375. To your mobile account Ref:290304390733

is supposedly a message about a pasa-load (sms load transfer) of PHP200 to your phone number, sent by the 808 number (local telco service number on sms load transfers).

and the second message:
sms scam

Sender: +63 907 664 9375

Sir/Ma’am
nagka mali po ako ng Pasaload sa inyo ko n load ang P200 para sa aking nanay, baka po pwede niyong ibalik ung load, kailangan niyo lang pong gawin ang instruction. 09108432236 (space) 200 send 808, replyan ng Yes ang susunod na mensahe, tx ko nlang po nanay ko n antayin ung load, pasensya n po s abala.

Rough english translation

Sir/Ma’am, I made a mistake in the pasaload/transfer load of PHP200 for my mother, and I sent it to you by mistake. Please be kind enough to return the load to me. Just follow this instruction, and reply yes to succeeding messages. I will message my mother to wait for the load. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Wow! The scammer levelled up from their former SMS Scam try. The new scam tries to play with some emotions now: first the “paawa” effect, next it tries to “exploit” Pinoy’s natural concern and consideration for the elderly (the money/load is for my mom, please return it), and they too are very courteous now. The spelling and sentence construction is good too in my opinion (wala na jejemon text, level up na talaga sila). Good try +63 907 664 9375 but you still phail Mister/Miss Scammer 🙂 Why? because I eat spam and scam for breakfast so I know you phail :-p and I wont tell you why. I just hope that you, Mr./Ms. scammer will have your own “karma” soon.

I have engaged my telco company support via twitter early this year, but they said they cannot do anything about this scam and they recommended I report it to the government agency (NTC) instead. (I might post about this some other time).

So my advice to my friends and readers is to ignore the SMS text scam, and DO NOT REPLY. If you have time, please report the incident to NTC too.

Some of my friends who replied and either played along with the scammer, “trolled” the scammer or even “cursed” the scammer to the ends of the earth had a funny convo with the scammer but this seems to be a not so good strategy in my opinion (but at least they got some good laugh that day). Most friends who trolled/cursed the spammer ended up receiving more SMS spam. I think this is because the perpetrators know that their mobile number is active and therefore it can be “recycled” for future sms mal-campaigns.

I am wondering why these SMS scams are always about 200 pesos. Maybe 200 pesos is their lucky amount? Hehe!

Again my advice is that if you receive similar messages/texts, ignore the SMS as it is an SMS scam, and DO NOT REPLY. If you have time report the incident to NTC too.

Do you also receive SMS scams like this? Share your stories by leaving some comments below 🙂

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SMS Scam: Roaming Number Charges, Send 200 to 808 Scam

Got this sms spam and scam…

sms-scam

Basically it says that my account was charged with 200 pesos because I called and texted a roaming number. And to cancel this 200 pesos “charged” to my account, I need to send message to 808 containing a specified number (09120009743 in my case) <space> 200, and reply to YES to all prompts/message confirmation from my telco. Let me just take this opportunity to tell Mr./Ms. 09120009743 and 09226908240 that I eat spam, scam and the entire clan for breakfast. We all know that that set of instructions will just transfer 200 pesos to the account of the scammer. In Filipino this is like doing “PASA LOAD” 200 pesos to the scammer’s number 😀

Its been a long time since I posted about SMS Scam, but I will dissect this incident (and related developments, including the reply from my telco) in another post in menardconnect.com soon. But today let me just do an awareness campaign against this Roaming Number Charges, Send 200 pesos to 808 Scam sms scam, and warn my friends and readers not to reply to that kind of sms messages.

Be vigilant and stay safe!

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Sam Mendoza SMS Scam 2015… Still alive and kicking

I receive several reports that a certain Sam is making some SMS Scam rounds again this year.

Background:
Several years ago I created a blog post awareness about an SMS Scam featuring one Sam Mendoza. She patterned it from a similar scam a year before (the Marie Velasco SMS Scam in 2009). That blog post got some 200+ replies from readers and the scam site kept on jumping and moving to several free domain (dot.tk domain redirects).

So fast forward to 2015, I checked the supposedly “Plea for help” website and behold… its the same old scam of Sam Mendoza in 2009. Same picture. Same old set of credentials and Transcript of Records. Oh wait,  there have been some updates on the year of birth and some changes and twists in the words describing her supposedly need for help in return of doing special favors (hehehe) to those who would help her. But overall still the same pathetic “Angel crying for help” epic fail scam.

Read for yourself below and compare it to my Sam Mendoza 2010 scam post.

An angel crying for help…

I don’t know if what I’m doing is right but I just need guidance and little chance in life…

I’m a girl from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Orphaned since high school but still surviving. I’m a College graduate / DOST Scholar. Dito po ako lumaki but my family is really from Surigao. I can’t trace back my relatives there anymore… Ngayon, naka-boarding house lang po ako because before, nangungupahan lang din kami ng kwarto nung buhay pa parents ko..

Nag-apply po ako ng work sa San Miguel Bacolod plant and they told me na walang masyadong computer job vacancy ang plant nila because beer factory lang daw po sila. Though i-foforward daw po nila sa main office sa ortigas ung application ko and after a few weeks, I was asked for a final briefing interview sa Ortigas. I-hihire na daw po ako dahil ok naman daw ang interview ko dito sa plant nila sa Bacolod…

… The problem is di ko po kayang pumunta… Di ko na po alam ang gagawin at this point. I don’t have the basic means to go to Manila. I don’t have any relatives na malalapitan dito. Ito siguro ung something for me na “so close, yet still so far..”. Kung may makabasa man pong tao dito sa ginawa kong blog, I’m asking for a little help lang po sana. Mabigyan lang po sana ako ng chance na makapunta ng Manila and to get the job na inapplayan ko po sana..

May matutuluyan naman po ako (pero pansamantala nga lang) sa Novaliches kung sakali. Siguro po, if dumating man sa point na kailangan kong ibaba at ipagpalit ung sarili ko… gagawin ko., makapunta lang po ng Maynila.

Hindi ko na rin naman po sana gagawin tong magmakaawa at humingi ng tulong sa ibang tao kung binigyan lang sana ako ng Diyos ng magandang buhay at hindi katulad ng sitwasyon gaya nito… Desperate na po ako…

Wow she did not run out of tears after 5 long years of crying (and scamming), and I believe we have a new Guiness record here 😀

sam_mendoza_scam_2015_1
New URLs/domains include the ff:

provincegirldream.blogspot.com
www.agirlsdream.tk

So again: Hello there Sam the Scam! better luck next time!

To all my friends and readers: this Sam Mendoza is a scam so please do not entertain any solicitation from her. And please do spread this awareness campaign against this Sam Mendoza scam.

Read the following post from my archives:

If you have received the same scam, or have a new site hosting/containing her scam, please feel free to leave some comments below. Thanks!

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SMS Spam Alert: Grace Poe Foundation Spam

It’s been a long time since I got some SMS Spam. So imagine my surprise when I got this one yesterday morning (April 23).

sms-spam-grace-poe-foundation

SMS Details:

Sender:
+639123745771

Congrat’s Ur sim#had won. Php780,000.2nd price.winner.From.”grace poe”FOUNDATION” to claim ur prize.Plz.call me now..I’m sec.rey v.acosta.Dti#6303s14

So this type of “You just won XXX thousand pesoses, Call me now” sms spam still exists in 2014?

Again dissecting the spam, it contains the usual “big money” promise with the usual spin of using a popular political figure (to gain trust). Now this spam contain the DTI permit number series of 2014. But sorry Miss or Mr. SMS Spammer, I’m not new to this SMS Spamming and scamming world. Why? because I eat spam’s cousin for breakfast :-p .

I am sure that the good senator (Grace Poe) is _NOT_ in anyway connected to this SMS spam. But I am not sure if the supposed foundation (Grace Poe Foundation) do really exists. Honestly, I decided there is no need to contact her Senate office or her PR folks to confirm because my spider sense tells me that this sms is an SMS SPAM.

One surprising information here is “WTH is this Sec. Rey V. Acosta” the guy I need to call to claim my prize. No exact match in my gathered spam intel so this character remains a mystery to me. Another interesting note here is that this is the first (or maybe second) SMS Spam I got this year (Good job to new mobile telco :-D, yah my new telco is the one that does not recycle/reuse old mobile numbers !). The last noteworthy SMS Spam I recall was the Manila Banker SMS Spam which I also featured here at menardconnect.com.

To my readers and friends, always be wary of SMS spam and scam campaigns as they are still making rounds in the Philippines.

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Manila Bankers SMS Spam

I got this SMS spam over the weekend. I consider this as SMS SPAM because I did not subscribe to anything related to MANILA BANKERS.

manila-bankers-sms-spam

Sender’s Number: +639998886367

Message from:
MANILA BANKERS

FINAL NOTIFICATION:
Good day!
As part of our THANKSGIVING PROGRAM, you are entitled to receive EXCLUSIVE REWARDS and PRIVILEGES from MANILA BANKERS.

For further information, call:
(02) 5776949
(02) 5708339
(02) 5776972
from 9am-5pm only and look for Ms. Grace Laza for assistance. Thank you and God Bless.

The text message have the classic “enticing reward” bait but sorry MANILA BANKERS spammer, it was a epic fail sms spam. Try it again so that I may consider upgrading your classification to sms scam.

It is interesting to note that with my previous mobile service provider, I got tons of these sms spam and scam but with my new mobile service provider this was the first SMS spam in about six months of subscription.

And speaking of sms spams, I got some replies from twitter that it seems Sam Mendoza SMS spam and scam is making rounds again in 2013? Maybe I need to do an update post here at menardconnect.com soon…