One scam that has caught our attention revolves around a certain Maureen Hinckley and her supposed foundation.
But how exactly does this scam work?
Is Maureen Hinckley even a real person?
If yes, who is she, and does she actually have a foundation?
Here’s what you better know.
yo contact us via email at mauhin62@gmail.com for further details.
Best Regards,
Mrs. Maureen Hinckley,
Copyright 2023 The Maureen Hinckley Foundation.
There are some glaring issues with the email, however.
The “All Rights Reserved” disclaimer is equally ridiculous.
How could anyone possibly fall for this?
Well, people do.
Not all of us are good with technology.
You’d probably never fall for this scam, but an elderly relative might.
Cybercriminals wouldn’t invest time and resources into sending out these phishing emails if they didn’t work.
Who Is Maureen Hinckley?
Does She Have a Foundation?
Here’s where this scam gets interesting.
The article even features a photo of the Hinckleys posing with their ceremonial check.
By claiming to be Mrs. Hinckley, they likely counted on their victims conducting a cursory Google search.
Presumably, they assumed this would lend them some credibility and increase the chances of the scam working.
There are no records of a Maureen Hinckley foundation.
This is neither the first nor the sole iteration of the Maureen Hinckley scam.
Emails similar to the one shown above have circulated the web for years.
The earliest instance of it we could find dates back to 2016 and was recorded by theOnline Threat Alertscommunity.
Arguably the most advanced version of this scam circulated the web back in 2020 and was posted to theStopScamFraudforums.
This suggests that various groups or individuals have refined the scheme for their own purposes.
It also suggests that the scam has worked on a large enough number of people to incentivize its continuation.
This shows that cybercriminals adapt and demonstrates why it’s important to stay vigilant.
