Friday, March 28, 2008

Influenza? Spam Email? What de Jevu!

You go to visit a graduate program and what do they give you in return? The flu.[1] Second time this semester, which translates into two different strands. Man, I love that thing called evolution. Buggard viruses get the best lot of biology: they do no metabolism yet reap the benefit of being able to multiply abundantly in their hosts.

So I've previously commented on some funny spam. Now for a not-so-funny spam. Unfortunately, some people may actually fall for it. It's a phishing attempt, and it's very easy to see why it's a phishing attempt.

Take a gander at the following communication from "services@irs.gov":

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $2839,49. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access your tax refund, please click here [LINK REMOVED].

Best Regards,
Tax Refund Deparment
Internal Revenue Service

© Copyright 2008, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Okay, I know I haven't been doing taxes for very long, but when did I ever fill out a request form to get the money the government owed me? Never? That's what I thought.

But that wasn't the most blatant errors I noticed. How about who in the United States uses commas as the decimal notation? No one. That is common in non-English speaking countries. The decimal comma is common in Europe and Africa; not in America. So strike one.

Strike two: I know our governmental employees may not be the best at all times, but who would misspell department?

Just for lagniappe, I don't think the IRS can hold copyrights due to it being a government agency. Though I might be wrong here since the flu may be acting with my brain.

Now, if someone does have over $2K and wants to give it to me, leave me your name, number, and mother's maiden name in my email :-)

1 comment:

Ψ*Ψ said...

The flu sucks. Get better soon?