Winona Daily News - 6.0

Winona Daily News - 6.0: "Nigerian scam artists took Winona businessman Carl Fratzke for $750,000. Unfortunately, a third of that money didn't belong to him.


On Monday morning in Winona District Court, Fratzke, 59, 412 W. Fifth St., admitted to using a scam of his own to raise $207,000 from seven friends and bouncing a $49,259 check at a local business to send to the Nigerian con men.


Testifying before Judge Lawrence T. Collins, Fratzke said he also drained more than $500,000 from his own savings and retirement accounts before he recognized the fraud for what it was.


Fratzke, president of Fratzke Sales, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by swindle and one count of theft by check.


In March and April 2000, Fratzke approached seven Winona-area people, individuals he described as friends, and offered them an 'investment' opportunity that would double their money in a month. He claimed he had a chance to purchase $500,000 worth of gloves that he had arranged to sell to Wal-Mart for $1.2 million."

Scam_Details The scammer gets scammed

Scam_Details: "The scammer gets scammed!On Jan 4th of 2006 I decided I would sell my Canon GL2 video camera because Ive rarely used it since its purchase. I had a few options if I wanted to sell the camera online, either ebay.com or amazon.com. Since I had recently sold a MAGELLAN ROADMATE 760 on amazon.com I decided to stick with amazon.com. I searched amazon.com for the current price of the Canon GL2 and much to my surprise there weren't any used GL2's for sale. I listed my Canon GL2 for $1879.00 which was a few hundred dollars less than a new Canon GL2.

A day or so after listing the GL2 I started receiving emails from interested parties. I was immediately suspicious when I received multiple inquiries wanting to pay for the GL2 via Bidpay and requesting that I ship the Canon GL2 to Nigeria. Each time I responded that the Canon GL2 had to be purchased via the amazon.com purchasing system and that I could ship the GL2 to Nigeria. I also would inform the prospective buyer that I would ship the GL2 as soon as I received confirmation from amazon.com confirming the sale of the GL2. Soon after responding I would receive another email that looked as if it originated from amazon.com, I believe this is called phishing, stating that my camera had been sold and to ship it to some person in Nigeria. Whenever I receive a sale confirmation email from amazon.com I log into my account at amazon.com to verify the legitimacy of the email and each time the camera was still listed as not sold and there was not any money transfered into my amazon.com account. At this point I was certain that the confirmation emails from amazon.com were fraudulent and I was being scammed. "

Federal Bureau of Investigation - New E-Scams & Warnings

Federal Bureau of Investigation - New E-Scams & Warnings: "An e-mail claiming to be from 'Sergey Bodrov, Special Agent of the IC3.' The e-mail states several complaints were filed regarding the recipient's web site. These complaints may be forwarded to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation. The recipient is advised to shut down their web site and provide Agent Bodrov with their name and phone number, so Agent Bodrov can contact and interview them. IC3 reminds all Internet users not to provide personal information in response to e-mail received from unknown users.
An e-mail advising recipients that the IC3 was contacted numerous times by the International Money Order regarding a transaction between the recipient and a buyer in an online auction. Instructions from the International Money Order encourage recipients to send the item being sold, the shipment tracking number, and the courier used for the shipment to an Agent for the International Money Order.
Failure to abide by the instructions set forth by the International Money Order would result in being labeled as a 'scammer.' Also, the victim's name and address would be forwarded to a law enforcement agency within the victim's country of residence.
E-mail addresses included in this e-mail are:"

Farmville making plans for Dogwood Festival golf tourney

Farmville making plans for Dogwood Festival golf tourney: "Farmville making plans for Dogwood Festival golf tourney

By Woody Peele, The Daily Reflector

Sunday, February 12, 2006
Farmville Golf and Country Club is making plans for the annual Dogwood Festival Golf Tournament.
The tournament is scheduled for April 29 and will be a two-person Texas Scramble.
The entry fee is $45 per player and is open to the first 50 teams to pay the entry fee. The entry fee includes green fees and carts for the tournament, a practice round (cart extra) and prizes.
Anyone interested in playing in the tournament should contact the pro shop at 753-3660.
Bradford Creek
Bradford Creek holds a Shoot Out each Wednesday at noon. For more information on this event, which is open to anyone, call the pro shop at 329-4653. "

The golf show is like Christmas - gifts everywhere

The golf show is like Christmas - gifts everywhere: "GRAND RAPIDS -- Drivers, wedges and putters were pulled out of bins, put back, held up, held down, inspected in every way. It wasn't a frenzy, but close, as in gimmee close.
A shoulder-to-shoulder crowd found equipment deals popping around 1 p.m. Saturday at the 18th annual West Michigan Golf Show inside DeVos Place.
Several golfers were hitting golf balls into huge nets to test drive new clubs, some sought putters, some the still-hot hybrid clubs while others were seeking the ever-missing extra 25 yards from a driver with a head the size of a dog's noggin. "

Independentng.com homepage - Home of Independent Newspapers Nigeria LimitedBerger Tasked On Golf Development

Independentng.com homepage - Home of Independent Newspapers Nigeria LimitedBerger Tasked On Golf Development: "Berger Tasked On Golf Development

By Orkula Shaagee
Correspondent, Abuja

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has been urged not to relent in its continued sponsorship of the annual Julius Berger Cup Invitational Tournament for amateur golfers in the country.
Captain of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) International Country and Golf Club, Chief J K Gadzama who made the appeal at the closing ceremony for the 6th edition of the tournament in Abuja on Saturday, said the tournament is one of the major events on the club�s calendar.
He commended the construction firm for the great job it has been doing in the promotion of golf in Nigeria, saying the entire golfing community is appreciative of the efforts of Julius Berger in advancing the game of golf in the country.
He praised the company for the design, construction and maintenance of the IBB International Country and Golf Club, which he said is the best in the African continent.
Aside from that, Gadzama charged Julius Berger to ensure that the standard of the annual tournament is taken to a highest level.
Also speaking, the Chairman of he board of Directors of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson (rtd.) hailed the standard of IBB Golf Club, which he said is because of the involvement of Julius Berger in its construction and maintenance."

PJI :: National : Fertilizer scam evidence submitted to Ombudsman next week

PJI :: National : Fertilizer scam evidence submitted to Ombudsman next week: "Fertilizer scam evidence submitted to Ombudsman next week

By Bernadette E. Tamayo
THE Senate will submit anytime next week to the Ombudsman the evidence it gathered on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

The staff of Senate President Franklin Drilon is now busy collating more documents on the case for eventual transmittal to Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Drilon last week challenged the Ombudsman to initiate its own investigation and file graft charges against officials of the Department of Agriculture and local government units involved in the fertilizer anomaly. "

Shell Game Scam on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Shell Game Scam on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "Coming back from downtown this group of folks were playing the 'shell game' scam. The one where you have three shells and you have to guess which one is hiding the pea?

I always find it interesting to try and figure out who's who in the scam. The fat guy was the one running the game. The three guys around him were his 'shills' they would win and try to get everyone else to play.

At first I thought the guy closest to me was a bystander because he started to get upset with the guy about picking the wrong one, etc. But then The Fat guy got off at the stop before me and ran to the southbound train. Meanwhile the other guy got off at my stop and waited for the southbound train so they could hook up again"

Sleight of Hand and other Street Scams

Sleight of Hand and other Street Scams: "Good Neighbor Scam
One door-to-door scam involves a man who approaches an elderly homeowner and tells him, or her, that he has been involved in a vehicle accident and that he is the relative of the homeowner's neighbor who is not presently at home.
The con uses both the homeowner's name and the name of the neighbor while asking for money to pay for the wrecker. After being given whatever money he requests from the elderly homeowner he then leaves. Later, the homeowner contacts the neighbor and learns the neighbor does not know the suspect and has no knowledge of the supposed accident."

Sleight of Hand and other Street Scams

Sleight of Hand and other Street Scams: "Sleight of Hand and Other Street Scams

It's Like Driving on Air
Dreamshare International engaged in what is commonly referred to as a 'Christmas scam' to defraud consumers during the holiday season.
They ran a series of misleading quarter page ads in a major metropolitan area newspaper beginning in November which pictured a Lamborghini Diablo priced at $250,000 and the suggestion you purchase the 'unique Christmas gift' of a test drive in the car beginning at a minimum of thirty minutes for $95 and up to $400 for three hours.
The ad also promised you a free sixty minute test drive in a Dodge Viper if you purchased a minimum of a one hour test drive in the Lamborghini.
An investigation into the ad determined that Dreamshare International did not own or have access to the Lamborghini displayed in the ad and did not own or have access to a Dodge Viper. The investigation also disclosed that they had paid for the ads with bad checks totaling $32,000 and had gone by different aliases in past scams."

GeekPress: Scamming Google

GeekPress: Scamming Google: "The Google Scam
I discovered this scam through Jimmy Wales of Bomis, who was checking out some Google results for 'his own nefarious purposes.' He noticed that the first result of a Google search for 'Phoebe Cates nude' was a sham discussion of Phoebe Cates in which all of the links (interspersed in the text) lead to Nude Celebrity World News. As Wales noted, 'the [sham discussion] page looks, to anyone other than a human, like a sincere discussion of the 'issue' of Such-and-Such Person Nude on the Internet.
(It comes as no surprise to me that this scam was designed by a porn site owner. They're always ahead of the curve.)
This Google scam is more extensive than it seems at first glance. For each of 2201 celebrities, there are at least four web pages (each with a separate domain name): two discussion pages, a FAQ, and a search results page. To us humans, each of these pages is obvious as an automatically-generated search engine 'spam' designed to bring searchers to Nude Celebrity World News"

IPO Scam: Time to examine systemic issues

IPO Scam: Time to examine systemic issues: "A few weeks ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) levied tiny fines on banks involved in what is known as the IPO Scam, patted itself on the back, and sought to bury the issue. But the good news for investors is that the government and the capital market regulator are inclined to do a lot more than that, even without the BJP seeking to extract political mileage from the scam.
For starters, the Finance Ministry wants the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to find a way to reallocate scamsters� shares frozen in the Yes Bank and IDFC issues. The regulator must take this forward by forcing a disgorgement and re-distribution of profits earned by Rooopalben Panchal and gang in at least 20 other IPOs where they had cornered disproportionate shares while perfecting their mischief."

News Tribune

News Tribune: "New banking scam targets elderly

The Missouri Bankers Association is issuing a warning to consumers to be aware of telephone scams aimed at obtaining private, personal financial information.

Among the false stories used on potential victims:

* They are told the caller wants to make sure their account is secure. Part of the customer's bank routing number is read and the rest is requested.

* They are told the bank is failing and the caller wants to protect their money.

Banks do not ask for information over the phone, they already have the information in their files.

The Missouri Bankers Association recommends that bank customers contact their bank immediately if they have given out any information over the telephone, so the bank can stop money being taken from accounts. "