Author: Olly

Whilst catching up with emails one morning, I spotted what looked like an enquiry appearing in my inbox. I opened it, and straight away my alarm bells were ringing! It was a John Lewis Scam!

It was addressed to me (not personally, but in a generic fashion) and claimed to be from Gabriel Jude who worked in the purchasing department at John Lewis. It looked reasonably legit, the email wasnt some crazy @yahoo.co.in or anything like that, in fact they registered the domain;

www.JohnLewisStores.uk & he had gabrieljude@johnlewisstores.uk.

Easy to trick someone not in the know, as a lot of internal/company emails dont use the domain the main corporate website is on.

Amazingly, I had another email almost identical to the first but from Robert Collins, also in the Purchasing Department in John Lewis (apparently) except this email was from robertcollins@johnlewisstores.co.uk, not just .uk.

I guess it’s the same people but i must be on multiple lists? Either way ive replied, lets see if they get back to me 🙂

Email 1;

from: Gabriel Jude <gabrieljude@johnlewisstores.uk>
reply-to: Gabriel Jude <gabrieljude@johnlewisstores.uk>

Compliment of the Seasons.

John Lewis Plc is a UK Wholeseller and retailer shop. We are looking for new products to buy, create new partnership with companies dealing with different products.

Could you please send us your catalog through e-mail to learn more about your products and wholesale quote.
We hope to be able to order with you and start a long-term friendly and solid business partnership.Our Payment Terms is within 15 days as we operate with all our suppliers .

Waiting for your response.

Gabriel Jude.
Purchasing Department.

www.johnlewis.com

Email 2;

from: robertcollins@johnlewisstores.co.uk
reply-to: robertcollins@johnlewisstores.co.uk

Hi,

John Lewis Plc is a UK Wholeseller and retailer shop. We are looking for new products to buy, create new partnership with companies dealing with different products.

Could you please send us your catalog through e-mail to learn more about your products and wholesale quote.
We hope to be able to order with you and start a long-term friendly and solid business partnership.Our Payment Terms is within 15 days as we operate with all our suppliers .

Waiting for your response.

Robert Collins.
Purchasing Department.

www.johnlewis.com

As you can see, practically the same even with the same typos.

A quick google of some of the key info and it seems its been going on a while with varying domains and varying success;

• Different domain, same issue: https://www.thebrokersite.com/news.php?a=584
• Different domain(s) same issue: https://www.thebrokersite.com/news.php?a=635
• Same scam, different email wording: https://lkml.org/lkml/2018/5/8/960
• Times article about someone they scammed: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/crooks-posing-as-john-lewis-reps-steal-prams-worth-200-000-pwh00kdr5

Remember, if its too good to be true, its probably a scam.

Lots of piccies going up today, earlier I posted the first real photo of Simon Macbeth, and now I am posting an up to date photo of the infamous Stuart Paskin aka Stuart Retail aka Stuart Bianco.

Deffo the same slimeball from earlier pics we had of him.

Be warned, this guy is a CROOK!

Read about it all here: 1, 2, 3, 4

Stuart Paskin

Simon Macbeth – AKA Michael Thompson/Red Cloud Agency, 1to1 Web Design, The Web Design Room, Roundhay Web Design….

Im sure Simon Macbeth does not want this image circulating, so please make sure you tweet/share this article, repost this image, let’s make sure the internet knows what this guy looks like.

Also – Hi, Simon – I hear you keep your eye on my blog? Would you be interested in meeting me to do an interview, and to attempt to clear your name? If you’ve done nothing wrong, what have you got to lose? 🙂

xx

I’ve been getting a lot of emails about this kind of scam, it is tapping into a few emotions and the result could be a panicked user, and a scammer with a healthy bitcoin wallet!

Over the years we all sign up for websites, forums, online stores, social networks etc etc, and from time to time these websites get hacked. When they get hacked, if they’ve been built poorly then your details including your username and password could be exposed.

NB: To check if your details have been owned in a hack, click here.

Anyway, the emails are formatted like they’ve been personally written by a “Hacker” who apparently managed to get a trojan on your machine after you were watching some pr0n. heh.

So straight away, many most all warm blooded males would panic as im sure most of us have visited a pr0n site at least once in our lives! And then the fact this “Hacker” seems to know your password- double panic! Pay the Money! NOT!

The emails read similar to the following;

Hello!

Oh hai. Quite pleasant start to a scam email tbh lol.

I’m a hacker who cracked your email and device a few months ago.
You entered a password on one of the sites you visited, and I intercepted it.
This is your password from info@domain.com on moment of hack: an4c7ualpa55w0rd

Obviously I changed the email and password, im not a sausage! 🙂 PS the bad english has started already! “On moment of hack” Whaddafack!?

Of course you can will change it, or already changed it.
But it doesn’t matter, my malware updated it every time.

You’re goddamn right I can will change it! Heh. Engrish.

Do not try to contact me or find me, it is impossible, since I sent you an email from your account.

You’re in India though, and if I carried on looking I could find out more about you; https://www.ip-tracker.org/locator/ip-lookup.php?ip=203.115.102.90

I swear these scammers think we’re all fu**ing special. Your email has a sender IP address logged against it you tool.

Through your email, I uploaded malicious code to your Operation System.
I saved all of your contacts with friends, colleagues, relatives and a complete history of visits to the Internet resources.
Also I installed a Trojan on your device and long tome spying for you.

Oh noe! You got into my Operation system! 

You are not my only victim, I usually lock computers and ask for a ransom.
But I was struck by the sites of intimate content that you often visit.

Hahaha yh m8 course. Why why not lock my PC and ask for a ransom then? If you can? Loser.

I am in shock of your fantasies! I’ve never seen anything like this!

Hey, Donkeys and Midgets need love too.

So, when you had fun on piquant sites (you know what I mean!)
I made screenshot with using my program from your camera of yours device.
After that, I combined them to the content of the currently viewed site.

Oh god. This guy can take screenshots with my camera of mys device. Hahaha take your foot out ya mouth mate.

There will be laughter when I send these photos to your contacts!
BUT I’m sure you don’t want it.

So much laughter.

Therefore, I expect payment from you for my silence.
I think $859 is an acceptable price for it!

Its a lot of money, but its probably affordable for most people, so if they’ve been tricked so far, they now see a way out!

Pay with Bitcoin.
My BTC wallet: 1JTtwbvmM7ymByxPYCByVYCwasjH49J3Vj

Seems to be a common bitcoin wallet used, and seems to be empty also. So they’re failing!

If you do not know how to do this – enter into Google “how to transfer money to a bitcoin wallet”. It is not difficult.
After receiving the specified amount, all your data will be immediately destroyed automatically. My virus will also remove itself from your operating system.

Oh thanks for the instructions mate, thats really nice of you. Haha. Also a Bitcoin wallet with an API that somehow connects to my PC and removed the Wirus you put on there? OH wow. You’re talents are wasted mate. Do you know how much they pay Blockchain developers?? Ahaha

My Trojan have auto alert, after this email is read, I will be know it!

HE WILL BE KNOW IT! ALL HAIL HE WHO BE KNOWING THINGS!

I give you 2 days (48 hours) to make a payment.
If this does not happen – all your contacts will get crazy shots from your dark secret life!
And so that you do not obstruct, your device will be blocked (also after 48 hours)

Crazy. Yeah man, i’m sure you got tons of crazy shots. Mek sure you dont obstruct, peeps!

Do not be silly!
Police or friends won’t help you for sure …

Hahah, honestly, the formatting and wording used in this mail are hilarious. I love seeing how these absolute morons put an email together, terrible general English but then a random English word in that no one in the history of England has ever spoken (Piquant? lol!)

Its so obviously a scam.

p.s. I can give you advice for the future. Do not enter your passwords on unsafe sites.

Oh, thanks 🙂

I hope for your prudence.
Farewell.

Don’t fall for BS like this peeps – no one is hacking your webcam, noone has pics of your touching yourself to naughty videos – and if they did they wouldn’t try and blackmail you into paying them some Bitcoin. Monero maybe, but not Bitcoin. lol.

If you’re in doubt tho, just change your passwords, try and use a different password for different thing. I find having one weak shitty throwaway password for BS signups, and then have a couple of complex ones for more serious logins.

If you’re not sure if your password will be secure, then try generating one here.