Nigerian scammer has my info...help!
December 11, 2009 9:29 AM Subscribe
A Nigerian Scammer has my full name and webpage address...what should I watch out for?
I did something stupid. Very stupid. I posted an ad on craigslist to sell some high end electronics that I am looking to get rid of. Right off the bat I got a scam reply from an individual asking for my paypal ID and saying that he wants to purchase the item and have it sent to his "cousin" who lives out of the country. I am familiar with all sorts of internet scams, and red-flagged this one immediately. A google search yielded similar emails using the same script. At any rate...I never respond to these...and when I do respond to craigslist buyers I use an anonymous email account.
This morning, however, I was feeling punchy and retorted back "Your cousin doesn't happen to live in Nigeria does he?" As soon as I hit send, I realized I had replied from my personal email address, with my full name and website in the signature. Big booboo.
So...this guy trying to scam me has my name and my internet address. Things I am worried about:
-That he may attempt to get my SSN
-That he may do a Denial of Service attack on my site
-That he may somehow steal my identity or use my mistake to his advantage
What should I be watching out for? I know I can't place a fraud alert on my SSN...but how reasonable are my concerns? Would love some insight to help damage control my bad impulse...Thanks!
I did something stupid. Very stupid. I posted an ad on craigslist to sell some high end electronics that I am looking to get rid of. Right off the bat I got a scam reply from an individual asking for my paypal ID and saying that he wants to purchase the item and have it sent to his "cousin" who lives out of the country. I am familiar with all sorts of internet scams, and red-flagged this one immediately. A google search yielded similar emails using the same script. At any rate...I never respond to these...and when I do respond to craigslist buyers I use an anonymous email account.
This morning, however, I was feeling punchy and retorted back "Your cousin doesn't happen to live in Nigeria does he?" As soon as I hit send, I realized I had replied from my personal email address, with my full name and website in the signature. Big booboo.
So...this guy trying to scam me has my name and my internet address. Things I am worried about:
-That he may attempt to get my SSN
-That he may do a Denial of Service attack on my site
-That he may somehow steal my identity or use my mistake to his advantage
What should I be watching out for? I know I can't place a fraud alert on my SSN...but how reasonable are my concerns? Would love some insight to help damage control my bad impulse...Thanks!
I guess you could make this question anonymous for a start.
I’m no expert, but judging from the spam in my inbox I feel like a lot of Nigerian scammers already know my personal email. Are they hackers that can find anything they want from me? I’m sure they could if they wanted to, but I doubt they’d waste their time – these guys do wide dispersal spam and only make money off of the naïve. I wouldn’t worry – they aren’t supervillains, they’re just low grad conmen.
Again, others know way more about this than I – forgive me if this is totally bad info.
posted by Think_Long at 9:33 AM on December 11, 2009
I’m no expert, but judging from the spam in my inbox I feel like a lot of Nigerian scammers already know my personal email. Are they hackers that can find anything they want from me? I’m sure they could if they wanted to, but I doubt they’d waste their time – these guys do wide dispersal spam and only make money off of the naïve. I wouldn’t worry – they aren’t supervillains, they’re just low grad conmen.
Again, others know way more about this than I – forgive me if this is totally bad info.
posted by Think_Long at 9:33 AM on December 11, 2009
err - low-grade conmen
posted by Think_Long at 9:33 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by Think_Long at 9:33 AM on December 11, 2009
He wants money. You are offering him none. Next victim.
posted by thejoshu at 9:38 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by thejoshu at 9:38 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
You have absolutely nothing to worry about.
The combination of a name plus internet address is not useful for fraud. People make these things public all the time, fearlessly. I bet I could even find out the name of the guy behind metafilter.com with a little digging. What good would it do me?
posted by cincinnatus c at 9:42 AM on December 11, 2009
The combination of a name plus internet address is not useful for fraud. People make these things public all the time, fearlessly. I bet I could even find out the name of the guy behind metafilter.com with a little digging. What good would it do me?
posted by cincinnatus c at 9:42 AM on December 11, 2009
Most people who have websites put their name on those websites; even if they don't, it's usually possible to find the owner of any website with very little digging. If you're screwed, we're all screwed.
posted by crinklebat at 10:01 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by crinklebat at 10:01 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
He will probably move on to easier targets. I wouldn't be that worried.
posted by chairface at 10:02 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by chairface at 10:02 AM on December 11, 2009
I started using the web before spamming was a problem and as a result, every single spammer in the world has my name, email address, web site, and old home address in their database. I'm guessing if you buy a spam software package, it probably comes with my contact info installed.
So far, nothing bad has come from this except lots and lots of spam.
Your typical spammer (and scammer) has lots of access to contact information. So unless your email triggered some personal vendata against the scammer, it didn't change anything.
posted by justkevin at 10:18 AM on December 11, 2009
So far, nothing bad has come from this except lots and lots of spam.
Your typical spammer (and scammer) has lots of access to contact information. So unless your email triggered some personal vendata against the scammer, it didn't change anything.
posted by justkevin at 10:18 AM on December 11, 2009
Name and webpage? WHOIS domain data is full of that info for millions of people. I really wouldnt worry about it.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2009
My email address is at the bottom of every website I run.
I've had the same address for 10+ years.
Pretty much he's not going to get anything from these two data points.
If you're actually worried about a DOS, then looking into what your hosting company has to prevent these. If you use a CMS that might have options as well (mine can throttle or deny requests).
And to further your relaxation, I've tried to engage some of these people. I often try to get spammers to send me a physical address, so I know I have sent them email from my accounts. I do what you did on a pretty regular basis. I never get a response, not have I ever had a problem with any of my sites.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:27 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
I've had the same address for 10+ years.
Pretty much he's not going to get anything from these two data points.
If you're actually worried about a DOS, then looking into what your hosting company has to prevent these. If you use a CMS that might have options as well (mine can throttle or deny requests).
And to further your relaxation, I've tried to engage some of these people. I often try to get spammers to send me a physical address, so I know I have sent them email from my accounts. I do what you did on a pretty regular basis. I never get a response, not have I ever had a problem with any of my sites.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:27 AM on December 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: My paranoia has been assuaged...thanks to all!
posted by jnnla at 11:14 AM on December 11, 2009
posted by jnnla at 11:14 AM on December 11, 2009
Nigerian spammers don't generally do attacks or launch involved scams at specific people or even steal identities (other than a hacked email that sends out a "send me money" request to that email's address book)... they're like guys at night clubs. They hit on every girl, and eventually someone is dumb enough to laugh at their pickup line. They do not spend ages researching one person and working hard to get them. It's a lot easy to keep trying until you find an easy mark.
As everyone else has said, you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, they don't have anything on you that isn't effectively public knowledge.
posted by glider at 8:37 PM on December 11, 2009
As everyone else has said, you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, they don't have anything on you that isn't effectively public knowledge.
posted by glider at 8:37 PM on December 11, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:31 AM on December 11, 2009