Kim, was able to uses Spoofcard to get into Rashad’s cell phone’s voicemail to see if there was anything worthy of confirming Khloe’s fears. Let’s just say that she ended up dumping the guy.

See this all unfold in the video below.

This is not a new trick.  Paris Hilton used the same method to get into Lindsay Lohan’s voicemail back in 2005.

If you watch the video above, you will see that they were able to use Spoofcard to get into his voicemail by entering the phone number you wish to call and then making the number which shows up on the caller id the same as the number being called.

The voicemail system will think that the call is being made from the cellphone handset based on the number passed over the caller id and pass you directly into the voicemail without verifying a passcode.

To try out Spoofcard click on the banner ad above. You can use their free trial system to make up to 3 free calls.

Scam artists are making Jamaica an even larger scaming center than the previous scamming hub of Nigeria.  Jamaicans speak better English and are more familiar with the American culture and way of life.  This makes it easier for them to try and scam Americans.  Many scammers try to be extremely polite and speak professionally.

Most of these scams are run by groups out of Montego Bay, some of the groups operate out of Kingston.

It’s still quite easy to recognize their accents.  They will refer to you as “Mr. Dave” or “Mrs. Sarah” instead of by your surname which is common in Jamaica, but not in the United States.  They may also tell you to “go to THE Moneygram at THE Wal-mart” instead of “go to Moneygram at Wal-mart”.

876 is the area code in Jamaica.  Some will call you without blocking their number so that you can return the call.  Many make these calls from their cell phones.  Others have gone as far as using services like MagicJack to obtain local phone numbers through out the United States which they can make or receive calls from over the internet using a phone number in the area code of their choice.  If you hear an echo or feedback chances are that you are talking to someone using MagicJack and their volume is turned up too loud.

Calling an 876 number will cause your phone carrier to charge you international calling fees which seem to be between $0.35-1.25 a minute depending on your phone carrier.

Some Jamaican numbers who have called me with this scam:
(876) 576-2014
(876) 479-9786
(876) 862-8868
(876) 474-3431
(876) 894-8896
(876) 437-9931

I talked to a few of the scammers.  Some of the scammers I sent on wild goose chases pretending to believe them, pretending to go to MoneyGram or Western Union, and then giving them false numbers or telling them I accidentally sent it to the wrong person.  If you want to mess with them be aware that MoneyGram uses a digit number as follows and Western Union uses a digit number as follows.

After messing with them several times and even telling them that I knew it was a scam and going as far as giving them advice and tips.  They began asking me if I was interested in helping them to scam other Americans for a cut of the money.  I asked them what this would entail and they said basically:

1) They wanted me to identify a local casino or a place where people win money, phone number, address, etc.
2) Get lists of people who frequent this area with their contact info.
3) Help them to set up a MagicJack number with a local area code and telephone number.
4) Their call center would call these people up and ask them to send a processing fee to a local person (me) with a fake identity.
5) They would set me up with a false identity.
6) People would mail, wire, and send me money using snail mail, MoneyGram and Western Union and we’d split the profits 50-50.

Of course I didn’t agree to doing this since I’d be taking all the risks for the potential of minimal gains.

Life in Jamaica is rough.  There is frequent violence and crime and the majority of people outside the major resorts live below the poverty level.  These organized scams have provided additional ways for Jamaicans to make money.  However they have also led to violence among different groups of scammers.  One group of scammers was recently murdered by a rival group to eliminate the competition.

One group identified themselves as a call center with over 50 people operating out of the Freeport area of Montego Bay in Jamaica complete with a modern office using computers, Voice-over-IP calling devices, caller id spoofing, etc.   This group claims to make thousands of calls a day resulting in hundreds of people sending them thousands of dollars a day.  They told me that they had convinced one 82 year old man from Florida who had been in Jamaica 3 weeks prior that he had won a cash prize and needed to pay them $15k in taxes to collect the money.

The other group identified themselves as two seventeen year old high school boys from Montego Bay running the scam on their own using their cellphones and using the computers at their local schools.  They were looking to expand their group to partners within the United States and they provided me with their Instant Message contact info and MySpace page.  Below is a photo of one of the Jamaican scammers taken from his MySpace page.  Look how tough he looks!  Yeah right!

How the scam works:

Jamaican scammer groups obtain your name, address, and phone number from mailing lists purchased by legitimate Montego Bay Casinos from various American based casinos.  These Jamaican casinos either sell these lists to or have these lists stolen by scammers. 

They are also able to obtain lists of people who have visited Jamaica and stayed at local resorts.

The Scammers have call centers.  A caller will call you up and say that you won millions of dollars in some sort of lottery, but you need to wire a small fee to the company to cover the processing or delivery fee.  They ask you to go to your local Western Union or Moneygram and send a small amount of money to a person located either in Jamaica or in the United States.
If you send them money.  This request will lead to future requests for money.  These scammers may later even pose as the police or FBI and say that they need you to send additional cash to aid in their investigation.  Leading to additional losses in money.  These scammers work in groups and teams.

These scams look for people with compulsive impulses who are often elderly.  Some of these victims are like gamblers, they send money to Jamaica regardless of knowing that it might be a scam with the slim chance that they would eventually receive some money.  Some have lost their entire life savings.  A 72 year-old retired bookkeeper from New Jersey named Ann Mowle committed suicide in 2007 after sending more than $248,000 to Jamaica over the course of a year. 

This scam has grown dramatically over the past two years.  Western Union and Moneygram deserve part of the blame for this type of scam.  They allow so much money to be sent to Jamaica through their network.  It seems that they could do a better job of investigating fraud and be skeptical about lots of small and large transactions going to people in Jamaica.  But what do they care?  They their own cut of the profits!

These Presidential Dollar coins are sold in rolls of 250 for their exact face value of $250.00 along with free standard shipping.

There are 7 different types of 2010 Direct Ship $1.00 Coins, namely 2010 Native American, 2010 Sacagawea, 2010 John Adams, 2010 Thomas Jefferson, 2010 James Madison, 2010 George Washington, and 2010 Andrew Jackson.  They allow you to purchase up to two $250.00 rolls of each type of coin.  This would allow you to purchase a maximum of up to $3,500 per order. 

Initially during “Step 1″ of the check out process it will show an Estimated Standard Shipping & Handling charge of $4.95, however on ”Step 4″ this shipping charge will be reduced to $0.00 as seen below.

Since these coins are being sold by the US Mint at face value without any additional shipping costs you can purchase these coins using a 0% APR Credit Card and convert them to cash for free.  You could also deposit these coins into your checking account and then use the money to pay off higher interest credit cards.

Some Credit Cards offer travel, cash, or other reward for purchases made using the credit card.  You can use your reward card to purchase these coins. When you receive the coins you can simply store them in a high yield savings account until your monthly credit card bill arrives and then pay off your bill to get the full rewards from this credit card purchase.

If you want to really rack up the rewards you can even pay off the bill immediately online or using a photocopy of your bill to pay off the balance before your monthly bill arrives.  This way you can repeat this purchase several times over the course of a single month.

How to Get Started

1) Go to the US Mint’s 2010 Coin Promotion Direct Shipment program page.  There are 7 different types of coins for purchase and you are allowed to purchase up to 2 boxes of each type of coins for $250.00 each box.  You can purchase up to $3,500 in coins if you buy the 2 box maximum for all 7 types of coins.  You can also make multiple orders if you want to purchase even more.   Be sure to select “Standard Shipping”, it will say that this shipping and handling will cost $4.95 on the first page, but you will notice that on step 4 of the checkout process that this shipping charge is reduced to $0.00 and you are only charged the actual face value of the coins.

2) You should receive your coins in the mail within 1-2 weeks.

3) Take these coins to the bank and cash them in for paper money or deposit them into your checking account.  Since these coins are in regular circulation, they are as good as cash.

4) You can use this money as a free cash advance, pay off higher interest credit cards, or collect the rewards off your rewards credit card.  These credit card rewards will not cost your anything if you pay your credit card off by the end of the month.  

Many rewards cards give you 1-3% cash back which is better than most high yield savings accounts these days.  Also, you are not taxed on money made from cash back rewards cards because this cash back is considered a rebate on purchases that you have already made!

You could also use this trick to rack up your airlines rewards on certain rewards credit cards. 

For example, with Citibank’s AA Advantage credit card it offers you 25,000 miles once you make $1000 in purchases. This is a total of 26,000 miles and is enough for a round trip US domestic flight to anywhere in the United States. 

You are effectively getting a round trip airline ticket for free, saving you hundreds of dollars and getting a free cash advance from your credit card at the same time!

These video rental kiosks are essentially vending machines which allow you to use your credit card to rent movies for only $1.00 a night.  This business model is by far the most efficient, it can run 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week and can run by itself without any staff onsite.  However, there is also a trick to beat this system and actually keep your DVD for only $1.00 without ever having to return it or be charged any additional money.

Getting the Movie for only $1.00

The way these video rental kiosks work is that you select which movie(s) you want to rent.  You swipe your credit or debit card in the machine and your movie is given to you and you are billed $1.00 plus tax for one night’s rental.  If you don’t return the movie within 24 hours you will be billed an additional $1.00 plus tax for each night you keep the movie.  After 25 nights and $25.00 plus tax, the movie is yours to keep and you will no longer be billed.

The Credit Card Transaction Process

When you rent the movie, the video rental kiosk checks your credit or debit card and makes sure that $25 is available on the card.  You are initially charged $1.00 plus tax, which turns out to be $1.08 (with tax) in my area, you are not charged anything over this initial $1.00 for 24 hours.

The Trick

If you buy one of those $25 Visa or Amex Gift Cards, you will be able to use this gift card to rent the movie.  It will check to see that $25 is available, which it is and then it will charge you an initial $1.08 as a rental fee.   Leaving a balance of $23.92 on your gift card.  You can take your video and then go spend the rest of the money on the gift card, thus they will not be able to charge you anything additional beyond the initial $1.00 regardless of whether or not you return the movie! 

This trick would only allow you to rent one movie using a $25.00 gift card, because after the initial rental, the card no longer has $25 available on it.  That’s why I prefer using the $50 gift card, because it allows you to rent multiple movies and still keep $25 available on the card.  Using a $50 gift card you can rent 10-12 movies easily and still have over $25 left over. 

After you rent the movies using your gift card be sure to spend the remaining balance on your giftcard within 24 hours or you will be billed an additional $1 per movie.  I like using gas stations to spend my additional balance because you can buy beer, cigarettes, food, soda and then gasoline.  With pumping gas you can spend the remaining balance on your gift card to the penny.

You can easily use the process above to get any movie from the video rental kiosks for only $1.00 plus tax and keep it forever without being charged anything additional!

At airports around the world there are first-class lounges that offer their first class passengers free world-class meals, an open bar with free unlimited drinks, free internet access, self-serve bars, free gifts, private rooms, free magazines and newspapers, and private rooms. Some first-class lounges even offers private bedrooms, full buffet, massage services, gyms, spas, and swimming pools.

The top-ten first class lounges are:

1. Singapore - Singapore Airlines - Gold Kris Lounge.
2. Hong Kong - Cathay Pacific Airlines - Blue-Chip Lounge.
3. Dubai - Emirates Airways - Elegant Lounge.
4. Abu Dubai - Etihad Airways - Premium Lounge.
5. Instanbul - Turkish Airways - Millennium Lounge.
6. London - Virgin Atlantic - Clubhouse.
7. London - British Airways - Galleries.
8. New York - Lufthansa Airlines - Premium Lounge.
9. Miami - American Airlines - Admirals Club.
10. San Francisco - United Airlines - Red Carpet Club.

There is one easy little-known trick to get access to any first class lounge at the airport for free.

Simply follow the following steps:

1) Purchase a fully refundable first-class airline ticket which can be refunded without any fees.  Pick an airlines with a first-class lounge that you wish to access. 

2) Go to the airport, check-in, and get your first-class boarding pass.

3) Use your first-class airline ticket to bypass security.

4) You can now use your first-class ticket to access the first-class lounge.

5) You can then cancel your ticket anytime before the flight takes off to receive a full refund credit back on to your credit card.  It is recommended that you call the airlines to cancel the ticket from inside the lounge, immediately after you gain access.

You could book the actual flight that you will be taking this day in advance.  It is possible to book both a first class and a coach ticket for the same person in advance as long as they are on different airlines.   It would also be possible to book your coach ticket after you cancel your first-class ticket.

If you are flying out of a larger International Airport like New York, San Francisco, or Chicago O’Hare, it would be possible for someone flying domestic coach to also purchase a fully-refundable International First-Class ticket from the same airport and gain access to the International First Class lounge while they are waiting for their flight.

In some cases you might want to cancel your ticket and get your refund “before” accessing the first-class lounge, because it may be possible that airlines won’t refund all of your money if they realize that you used your ticket to access the lounge.  However, even if the ticket is canceled in the system you can often use the paper ticket itself to access the lounge. 

This trick would also people to purchase fully-refundable international tickets to access the duty free shops without leaving the country.

Watchmaker9 is the world’s best maker of replica Rolex watches, they have a team of Rolex Certified watchmakers on their staff.  They only use the highest quality materials and all their watches are individually handmade to be an exact 1-to-1 copy of a Genuine Rolex. 

All their watches have the same weight, diameter, and water-resistance rating (300m) as their authentic Rolex counterparts.  The movements are Swiss made and have 28,800 beats per hour (same as Authentic Rolex) to ensure that they have the same timekeeping accuracy of the original. 

All watches have Super-Luminova applied to the hour index, hands, and bezel so that the watch face glows in the dark.  These watches can be read in total darkness.

All Watchmaker9 watches come with a full 12 month warranty.  The quality and craftsmanship is always top quality, and they guarantee the value of all their watches. Every watch sold undergoes a 48 hour quality control test to fulfill the Swiss watch making standard of accuracy, C.O.S.C. 

(Click on any of the pictures below, to see a full sized image of the watch).

Rolex Two-Tone Submariner

The Rolex Two-Tone Submariner is a Swiss made mechanical watch which is an exact copy of the 2009 Submariner equipped with an ETA 2824-2 movement.

The “solid 18k Gold” links are actually made of Brass Alloy the same material that trumpets are made from, however it is solid all through and despite the age or the wear on the watch it can always be polished to a high luster.

This watch is available for $550 shipping included and is available with either a Blue or Black Dial and Bezel.

Click Here to see more details on the Rolex Two-Tone Submariner.

Rolex 50th Anniversary Submariner

The Rolex 50th Anniversary Submariner is a Swiss made mechanical watch which is an exact copy of the 2009 Submariner equipped with an ETA 2824 movement. 

This watch is solid stainless steel and is built to the same dimensions and weight as the original Submariner watch.

This watch is available for $475 shipping included.

Click Here to see more details on the Rolex 50th Anniversary Submariner.

Rolex Yacht-Master

The Rolex Yacht-Master is a Swiss made mechanical watch which is an exact copy of the 2009 Yacht-Master which is available in several different movements including an authentic Rolex movement.

This watch is made out of a white gold alloy so that it’s the exact same size and weight as the orignal.  Click here to see the contruction log of this watch and to see pictures of every single part and the entire assembly process.

This watch is available for $495 (KU24 movement), $625 (ETA-2824 movement), $975 (ETA-2892 movement), or $2,295 (authentic Rolex 3135 movement).

Click Here to see more details on the Rolex Yacht-Master watch.

Elton John “Gaytona” Edition - Daytona Rolex

The Rolex above was an actual Rolex Daytona designed by Elton John. 

50 Cent “Bling-Bling” Edition - GMT Rolex

The Rolex above was an actual Rolex GMT designed by 50 Cent and retails for around $450,000. 

Rolex Swiss ETA Movements

Watchmaker9 only uses top quality Swiss ETA 21 jewel or 25 jewel movements.  These movements are all Tier One Grade with Incabolic Shock Protection Systems, are completely tune-able, and built to C.O.S.C standards.  

Watchmaker9 is a certified Rolex watchmaker and service center so you can rest assured that the movements are all top quality.  He can even order an authentic Rolex 31 jewel movement directly from Rolex for only $1,795.  This is the exact same mechanical movement that goest into all authentic Rolex Watches.

On New Years of 2008 some absinthe came my way so I figured I would try it out.  I took 3 shots of it without a chaser.   It was actually very good tasting alcohol.  After about 10 minutes I felt something that was defintely not your normal alcohol buzz.  Mild Euphoria set in and everything seemed to be very funny.  No hallicunations though.  After about 20 minutes these feelings started to subside.  It was very strange indeed, after I had drank a little all I wanted was more and more.  I believe this absinthe was just the usual 30mg thujone content as described on the label.

By the time you drink enough to feel the effects of it you’ll end up being dog drunk because of the high alcohol content (most absinthe is above 45% alcohol some even reaches as high as 80%).   However, they don’t regulate the amount of thujone that goes into absinthe in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.   In these countries there are higher concentrations of absinthe produced.

At thujone concentrations of 100 mg and higher it’s fairly easy to hallucinate from drinking a couple of shots of absinthe.

Thujone is a natural chemical compound derived from plants and flowers (namely wormwood).   Thujone has a similar chemical structure to Tetrahydrocannibinol (active ingredient found in marijuana or THC) and Menthol (peppermint odor found in many over-the-counter medicated creams).   Therefore, it’s not surprising that you would be able to feel mild hallucinations from higher thujone concentrations.

I thought I should add that the traditional way to drink absinthe is to pour 1 ounce of absinthe into a glass and place a sugar cube on an absinthe spoon, which is a spoon made specifically or this purpose, and drip about 3 ounces of pure ice water over the cube so it melts it into the absinthe, once you have a 1/4 absinthe to sugar water mixture you are ready to drink it.  This is the official and traditional method which has been used through out the history.

The flaming sugar cube is a method which tons of attention at the bars and is great for marketing this drink.  However, it is frowned upon by most true absinthe connoisseurs.

Higher Concentrations of Thujone

King of Spirits Gold - Originally based on a Swiss recipe this Czech Absinthe has no artificial color or preservatives, and contains 100mg of the psychoactive thujone adored by some of the world’s most notorious artists and writers.  Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemingway…Bob Dylan, Marilyn Manson and Eminem are just a few who used and drew inspiration from this original Absinthe and its effects.

Naturally green in color, the ‘King of Spirits Gold’ is 70% alcohol (140 proof) and is bottled with fresh herbs and wormwood that distill inside and enhance the taste and thujone content.  All the ingredients are carefully selected to ensure its distinctive taste.

Click Here to order King of Spirits Gold Absinthe with 140 proof alcohol and a potent 100mg of the psychoactive thujone from Absinthe Supply.

Zele AbsintheX - Contains a whopping 75.5% alcohol (151 proof), and a potent 111mg of the psychoactive thujone and offers a taste that’ll definitely get your attention. This classic absinthe is made from the original Swiss recipe and contains no artificial colors or preservatives. Naturally green in color, AbsintheX uses a blend of 13 herbs the most important of which are wormwood, mint, aniseed and chamomile which distill inside the bottle and enhance the taste and thujone content.

Click Here to order Zele AbsintheX with a whopping 151 proof alcohol and a potent 111mg of the psychoactive thujone from Absinthe Supply.

Although these higher concentrations of Absinthe are not allowed to be sold by businesses located inside the US and most of Europe.   They are still legal to posess in the United States.  It is also legal for customers in these countries to buy from international companies (such as AbsintheSupply) and they currently ship worldwide.  All absinthe is legal to possess in the United States.  With each shipment they offer a standard guarantee that you will receive your order safely.

Absinthe Supply sent me a bottle of Zele Absinthe X and I drank 6 ounces over a short period of time.   It caused a very pleasant out of body experience.  It felt like I had floated up out of my body and was exploring the room, flying around weightless.  My body was safe, surrounded by friends sitting on a couch.  Eventually I felt like I got “pulled” back into my body.  It was a very strange, but rewarding experience.

Class 1 = False Identity (ID Card or Driver’s License belonging to someone else.)
Class 2 = Altered (A real Driver’s License or ID Card that has been physically changed to represent false information such as Date of Birth.)
Class 3 = Fake (Completely manufactured as a counterfeit ID Card.)

Class 1 False Identity

If you are planning on using someone else’s ID Card there is a very high probability that you will get caught.  Typically this method only works with a younger sibling that looks very much like an older “of age” sibling.  Many bars and night clubs will not accept expired ID Cards to prevent this type of activitiy.

In order to be effective you would need the older sibling’s Current Driver’s License, using the Original ID Card can be risky for both siblings.  Therefore, it makes more sense and is safer for the younger sibling to borrow the “of age” siblings Birth Certificate and Social Security Card and go to the DMV and claim that the Original license was lost.

The younger sibling can now get a Duplicate ID with their own picture (younger sibling) and the pertinent info belonging to the older sibling.  The older sibling can continue to use the Original ID card and the younger sibling can use the Duplicate ID Card (with the younger sibling’s photo) obtained from the DMV.  Most DMV offices require no proof to walk in and obtain a Driver’s License other than a Birth Certificate and a Social Security Card.

Class 2 Altered

Years ago with the traditional laminated ID Cards it was possible to easily to alter the Date of Birth on a Driver’s License by “Chalking” the ID.  The term “Chalking” refers to using colored pencils (Yes, that’s right, Colored Pencils!) to alter the Date of Birth on a Driver’s License.

This is not possible to do in all states, but is especially popular an easy to do with New York State Driver’s Licenses.  If done correctly contrary to what you might think, a chalked ID Card can look extremely convincing to a bouncer or bartender - especially in the dark.

Some “chalked” IDs can be foiled if a bartender wets his finger and then runs it across the Date of Birth causing the colored pencil lead to smear.

With the help of technological advancements, such as holograms and textured lamination - today’s Driver’s Licenses are nearly impossible to alter except by a professional.

Class 3 Fake

One of the biggest giveaways on a well made fake Driver’s License is a bad photo.  Never use a photo of a person wearing a hat as this is a dead giveaway.  The DMV would never allow a person to pose for their Driver’s License photo wearing a hat.

Be sure that your photo shows your face looking directly forward with your head level and a forward aligned profile.  Don’t use a picture of a person looking up, down, to the left, or to the right.  Be sure that the photo is taken against a plain white background.  Also be sure that there is no red eye in the picture.

Be sure to wear appropriate casual clothes.  The girl in the photo above looks fine in the full profile picture, but looks naked once the photo is cropped into an ID sized image.

The print on your ID card should be high resolution, all printed information needs to be solid and clear.  If the print is fuzzy, pixelated, or grainy then it will be a clear indication that the ID is fake.

Make sure that the lamination is done well.  It should not peel, there should be no bumpy surfaces, and it should form a solid piece with the rest of the ID card.

Make sure that the holograms, barcodes, and magnetic strips look accurate.  People often check the holograms.  Scanning the barcodes or magnetic strip occur less often so even if the ID doesn’t scan accurately, it should pass most of the time as long as the magnetic strip and barcode looks realistic.

Make sure that the information on your card is accurate and realistic.  The height and weight should be around your height and weight.  The date of birth should also be as close to your own age as possible.  Do not use ridiculous information that would attract unnecessary attention.

Additional Tips

- Always put your fake ID or Driver’s License in a different wallet separate from your real identification cards.  Having your real ID and your fake ID in the wallet can spell trouble.  If someone spots your real ID they will want to see that ID as well and you’ll be caught.

- Always carry additional identification or cards with your fake IDs name on them.  Often times bartenders and bouncers will ask to see a second form of ID.  They know that most  people who have fake ID  cards, do not have backup identification.

- Know the information printed on your fake ID card.  Many people make the mistake of using a fake ID without knowing the information printed on the card.  If a bouncer or bartender suspects that an ID is fake they might ask your birth date, middle initial, address, or zodiac sign.  If you hesitate, don’t know the answer, or get it wrong it will be a major indication that the ID you are using is fake.

You may want to listen to someone’s voicemail because you are suspicious of a rival, suspecting a lover of cheating on you, or just plain curious.

A service called SpoofCard allows you to change what a person sees on their caller id when they receive a phone call.   This SpoofCard service allows you to MAKE ANY PHONE NUMBER APPEAR on the caller id of the person that you are calling, CHANGE YOUR VOICE to sound like a man or a woman, digitally record your calls, and even GAIN ACCESS TO OTHER PEOPLE’S VOICEMAIL!

GET INTO VOICEMAIL BOXES

If you want to get into someone’s voicemail with SpoofCard simply enter their phone number as the number you wish to call and provide the exact same number as the number you wish to appear on the caller id.

This SpoofCard trick works especially well on cellphone voicemail systems. I have found that AT&T, Sprint, Boost Mobile, Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile USA telephone networks use Caller ID to identify voicemail users without requiring passwords. So users on these networks are totally vulnerable to this trick.

There was even an article two years ago talking about how Paris Hilton got into trouble for using SpoofCard to break into Lindsay Lohan’s voicemail. Paris also used SpoofCard to make harassing calls and made them appear to be made from Lindsay’s cellphone.

Read this article by clicking here.

Get 10% off SpoofCard! Use coupon code SPRING at checkout.

These ATM scams are highly effective and have accounted for millions of dollars worth of money scammed.

The equipment that these scammers use to capture your ATM card number and PIN is carefully disguised to look like normal ATM equipment.

A credit card “skimmer” is mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot which reads the ATM card number and either stores or transmits the number to the scammers.  This card reader “skimmer” is designed to fit into the ATM and be relatively undetectable.

Once in place it’s very difficult to tell that a skimmer is attached to the ATM machine.  Any cards used in this machine will have their magnetic strip recorded and the scammers will be able to use this information to create a “clone” of this card using a magnetic strip writer.

The scammers can take things even further and install a pamplet box containing a concealed camera to record the user’s PIN number.  The camera installed in this pamplet box is relatively undetectable and can be used to record the users PIN number.  Once the scammer has the magnetic card info and the PIN number they can encode a blank card and use this card and PIN number to withdraw money from this person’s account.

This setup is virtually undetectable even with both the pamplet box and magnetic strip skimmer in place.

Look at the picture above, there is only one subtle difference between the regular ATM on the left and the ATM on the right with the skimmer installed.  Notice that the card slot where you insert your ATM card no longer dents inward, instead it bulges out?  This is because there is a skimmer in place which will read your ATM card. 

The skimmer will still allow the ATM to function normally, but it will read the information off the card and the scammer will be able to swipe the magnetic strip encoding when the card is placed into the slot and then create a clone of your ATM card.

The Lebanese Loop Trick

Another trick that Scammer’s use to physically steal your ATM card is known as the Lebanese Loop Trick. 

The Lebanese Loop consist of a strip or sleeve of metal or plastic (such as x-ray film or VCR tape) that is inserted into the ATM’s card slot. When the victim inserts their ATM card, the loop prevents the card being drawn into the machine, fooling the user into believing the machine has malfunctioned or retained their card.

These Lebanese Loops tend to be made out of thin, black material that can easily blend into the ATM card slot.

The Lebanese Loop is carefully inserted into the ATM card slot.  The ends of the strip are folded upwards.

The foldered ends are glued to the outer surface of the ATM card slot, making the Lebanese Loop virtually impossible to detect.

Slits are cut on both sides of the Lebanese Loop to prevent the card from being returned at the end of the transaction.  This causes the card to remain in the machine.

Once the ATM user leaves the scammer can now return to the machine and pull down the ends of the loop to retrieve the ATM card and remove it from the slot.

The scammer now has the ATM card and is free to use it provided he was able to record or view the user entering in their PIN number.