Hi all,
"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." - Freud
Read the following and let me know, do you think I am being unduly suspicious?
I am on a few of the dating "apps." On one called "Grizzly," I got this message the other day, under a little blue teddy bear (which I know is NOT the official Grizzly logo!), which I copy out word for word:
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Oct 20, 2017
Dear User,
We happy to notify you that the result of the Grizzly App award is out and your profile emerge as the lucky winner of L (sign for English pounds) 300,000/ THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS). For more information to claim your prize contact the claims manager with the details below.
Event Manager:
Fred Wilson
Email: grizzly.claimscenter@gmail.com
Tel No (+44 7031926744)
Full Name:
Full Address:
Profile Name:
Age:
Email Address:
Nationality:
Tel Number:
Country of residence:
Happy dating
Grizzly Team
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(My first thought was, if you are legit, you should already HAVE some of that info, from when I signed up for Grizzly in the first place!)
I challenged back, "This is a fake, right? Tho your English has fewer giveaway clues than the fakes usually have"
and three days later, I got this response:
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Oct 23, 2017
Hello sir,
Kindly contact the event manager on how to claim your prize money.
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But right after I got the original, suspicion-arousing note from "Team Grizzly," I went first to the actual app to look for some way to contact Grizzly directly. Finding nothing useful for that purpose, I next went on line to look for an email address at the real Grizzly to mention this to. (Ever notice how hard it can be to find a real person under all the smoke and mirrors of a phone app to speak to, by the way?)
I did find an official looking site called "grizzly app," to which I sent the following note:
Hi, Please see in my mailbox a note I received from “Team Grizzly” purporting to offer me a large amount of money in return for some demographic data. It IS fraudulent, right?
And I got the following response - and again, pay close attention to the grammar and spelling:
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Hi,
this isn't our message :( I'm really sorry about that, but we are attacked by these fake users.
We are working really hard every day to go through our database and remove all fake accounts. Sometimes it’s not easy to say if the account is real or fake so when you see any report it please. It will helps us a lot :) Could you send us your Grizzly email address? We would like to give you one month Premium as our apology, maybe it will get better :-)
Thank you,
Your Grizzly Team