Die SMS SPAM Die!
Lets face it. One of the facts of online life is SPAM. An email address will only last a few days before it receives SPAM. Even IM (Yahoo! Messenger, etc.) gets SPAMmed. But there's one type of SPAM that I hate most -- SMS SPAM.
I have, in the past, already blogged about SMS Spam from a large global bank and it even attracted the attention of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Fast forward to today (May 12, 2007), I received yet another SMS SPAM and it goes like this:
From: 639178832466
Message: Greetings!
This is JEFF Simborios of AIM GLOBAL INC. You are cordially invited to our much awaited Business Symposium on Wednesday, June 13, 7pm at Unit 301, 3rd flr. AIC Burgundy Tower, ADB Ave. Cor. Garnet Road, Ortigas Center (back of Robinsons Galleria). Outline of event includes: Business & Livelihood Opportunities, Health, College Scholarship Assistance and a chancefor an all expense paid to USA. 3 Transferable scholarships will be given away to each lucky attendees! The company also is looking for result oriented persons who will work with us on a parttime or fulltime basis and be a part of our expansion program in Southeast Asia. Please text in your name/s to reserve seats for free. Thanks and God bless.
So, what makes the above message a SPAM? Firstly, it came from a cellphone number that I don't know, its not even in my phone's contact list. Secondly, it did not address me by name and it required me to text in my name (or names?) to reserve seats in their so-called obscure "Business Symposium" -- meaning this message was sent "blindly".
A quick "googling" brought me to a forum page in (of all webpages) the gov.ph website! A quick scanning of that particular page has given me this piece of information:
hi, AIM GLOBAL Inc. is just a 2months old, it's marketing system is a hybrid of binary, unilevel, stairstep, and point system marketing, and this is the only company that were manage by true blood top networker, jun kintanar, dr. ed cabantog, john asperin, and francis miguel, they have the experience and skills to manage. plus da product is very competitive, naturesway from state, a billion dollar debt free company, txt me for details 09216767661Hmmmm... the plot thickens! It turns out that AIM GLOGAL Inc. is some sort of a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. This means that the so-called "Business Symposium" will be some sort of a seminar that will ultimately try to fleece money from its attendees so they can sell "competitive, naturesway from state". How did I come to this conclusion? On the same forum page at the gov.ph website, a user named keans_16 says:
1. Membership is Php 7,000.00 and it is lifetimeSo, the plot further thickens! The so-called "Business Symposium" is actually a seminar for a multi-level marketing (MLM).
2. The Php 7,000 already includes product packages
3. Product included in the product package is (i think fixed) I can send you all the product packages for this.
4. You have to purchase at least Php 1,000 every quarter to keep your account active.
5. I have a BOS CD copy and I can send it to you.
6. Email me for the product listing (this includes the SRP and IME price) keans_16@yahoo.com
So two of my most hated things in this world was sent to me today -- SMS SPAM *and* an MLM "invitation". What a "lucky" day. :(
50 comments:
Hi this is Clarissa from Marikina and thanks for the post on receiving SMS Spam. Your blog was actually the first match that came up when I "Googled" for AIM Global since...surprise surprise... I also got a similar SMS to the one you poted, save for the fact that it was another sales (?) "associate" name on it using another number, and I wanted to find out more details about the company.
Atleast some light was shed on this. Their SMS sounds a bit (semi) good to be true. I do hope those who attended the so-called talk last June 13 will stumble upon your blog and share their experience and insights here too :)
hi.. thanks for your post.. my mom was about to register her name and personal info after receiving this text message.. she was delighted with the line "plus you'll get the chance to win a US Trip for 5 with entry visa" at that so-called Business Symposium.. i told her to wait until i get the details from the internet regarding this.. and glad i found your site..
i have no faith in these MLMs.. they will spend time and their marketing skills just to make big money for themselves out of these poor people who didn't know that the spots awaiting them are already to the xx,xxxth place..
well i guess Filipinos should realize the dangers on trusting sms and emails.. good day!
Glad to be of service to you all.
Hi this is Timothy from Pasig. I too received this text message today and already thought it to be a pyramid scheme because I fell for the same thing with NUSKIN a few years back and attended a seminar that I didn't want to be in.
These people try to act vague when it comes to your questions. I googled it before and it led me to your post. Thanks dude.
Hi this is Ann from Laguna. I too received that "same message". And he just reveal his name " Nestor Gonzaga" from AIG Global. And then his number "0929-2346515/09174081196. So I search it through google and thank God that I have found this page.
This will be a lesson for us...(,")
thanks for the info, i too recieved the exact message you posted. The US trip and multiple entry visa really caught my attention so googled the company after i called a friend then i found this page... so its a big trick i guess haha! better luck nxt time. =) ---kaye of rizal
thanks for the post, you just saved me a worthless trip! :)
I actually gave my name to register for the "symposium." Tsk tsk..It couldve been worse though. I was ready to cancel my appointments and commute the whole way from Paranaque to Ortigas. Thank you very much to the good soul who posted this warning. You really helped me out.
Beware ads that offer "all expense paid" trips to the US. These SPAMmers know what kind of bait to reel us Pinoys in with.
hi..i received the same txt message last nyt..but this time, he used the name "nestor gonzaga"..using this no.-09065875430..it caught my attention so i went online and found this page..buti nlng i stumbled upon your blog..haaaayyy...hehehe..
Hi... thanks for the heads-up... I just received this message today.. I'm still at school so I really didn't intend to text them my name. I was thinking to tell my cousin about this but this SMS also got me thinking so I turned on my computer and searched for the said company and lo and behold... I read this message... I just hope that people really do become cautious about this kind of things so as not to be scammed by anybody.
hi...AIM Global, Inc.is in again for yet another round of sms spam!!!late last night, i received a similar sms. it was really so catchy that I quickly decided to give it a try. i reported for work today early so i could accomodate the scheduled "symposium". But, thank God, i stumbled upon your blog before i made a fool of myself for stupidly believing so readily with their spam!!!Too bad, I'd already given them my name but still, I'm so thankful that I didn't actually attend it. Kudos to you. You're such an angel for creating this blog!
wala lang. naggoogle lang ako para hanapin ang aim na yan dahil sa text na natanggap ko.. at iyon nga! hehhe salamat sa blog mo:
-maiah
I'm Lance from Legazpi City. I just received an sms from "AIM Global" a while ago. Your blog is a BIG BIG help for other Filipinos who could be fooled with this spams...
My golly! I just received a text message from these creeps a few minutes ago. It goes exactly like this:
"Linked: 1/2 Greetings! This is Nestor Gonzaga of AIM GLOBAL INC. We're looking for result oriented individuals who want to do business with us on a parttime or fulltime basis and be part of our expansion program in South East Asia. You are cordially invited to our much awaited Business Symposium on Aug. 12, 2008, Tuesday 3pm @ Unit 301 3rd flr AIC Burgundy Empire Tower ADB Ave. Cor. Garnet Road Ortigas Center (back of Robinson Galeria). Outline of event includes;B
Linked: 2/2 usiness & Livelihood Opportunities, College Scholarship Assistance and a chance for an all expense paid USA trip with multiple state entry visa. Come and be part of this once in a lifetime even! Please text in ur name/s on this number or to (0920)8271777 to reserve free seats for free. Thank you so much and God bless."
This SMS came from cellphone number (0929)525-5997. Why don't we bombard it with hate messages? =)
Seriously, somebody ought to do some investigation here. Why not check them out at the address they mentioned?
Just a hunch: just last week, I updated my jobstreet.com profile. I haven't updated it for a long while now. After updating it, I've received a couple of offers online and via SMS. And to be honest, upon receiving this weird SMS from Mr. Gonzaga (whoever he is), the first thing that came to my mind was, of course, who is he? And how did he know my number? And then, strangely, I was reminded of that resumé update that I did on my jobstreet.com profile. Hmmm. Again, it's just a hunch...
thanks for the info bro.... i received the same message today but from a different number and person. MARY ANN MORENO daw sya ant number nya ay 09052429963
hello! bro thanks for the info. The spam is alive again aka Engr. Jeff Simborios is back. So pls, beware of this SMS Spam i just received it and check it in the net. Guys if you received an txt or email to unknown address and mobile number first things you do is to check it. The msg of mr Simborios is almost the same info same schenario like a chance to have a visa for 5years. sorry for him di ako ganun kagago para maniwala sa kanya. I know how hard to have a visa now a days. Sana naman matahuhan ka kapatid na Jeff. Mga Kabayan, ingat lang lagi huwag maniwala kaagad. Again, thank you so much kapatid. God Bless
i forgot to post the mobile number 09274944056 thanks again Mr. Bernie
This Nestor Gonzaga associate being told in this forum is now operating under a different cell no.: 09295344549, but with the same proforma of message.
Beware about giving out personal informations, not even your names, and not even a hint of interest. These people will not stop they get through your pockets: snatchers in disguise...very disappointing.
i received the same text today, and i knew the first time that this is a scam.
to whom should we report this to? this has been going on for a year, and is still continuing. this should be stopped.
should this be reported to DTI?
wow... i just got a text message with similar message and out of curiosity, just googled the name NESTOR GONZAGA and was directed to your site. thanks for posting your blog. the invit though was quite interesting, thanks for your blog, now i know its a spam... read on..
"Greetings! This is Nestor Gonzaga of AIM GLOBAL INC. We're looking for result oriented individuals who want to do business with us on a parttime or fulltime basis and be part of our expansion program in South East Asia. We are introducing a business system thatgenerates residual income.You are cordially invited to our much awaited Business Symposium entitled "INCREASING YOUR INCOME POTENTIAL" on Jan 13, 2009, Tuesday 3pm to 5pm @ Unit 301 3rd flr AIC Burgundy Empire Tower ADB Ave. Cor. Garnet Road Ortigas Center (back of Robinson Galeria). Outline of event includes;Business & Livelihood Opportunities, College Scholarship Assistance and a chance for an all expense paid USA trip with multiple entry visa. Come and be part of this once in a lifetime event! Please text in ur name/s on this number or to (0920)8271777 to reserve seats for free. Thank you so much and God bless."
this time, the message came from a different mobile number, +639196296262, repeat, +639196296262
Hello bloggers! I received the same text message from a certain Nestor Gonzaga of AIM Global Inc. I actually registered and went to their office at Unit 301 Burgundy Empire Tower. I even dragged my husband with me. When we first get there, what we first noticed was the "crowded" corridor towards Unit 301. Ang daming tao. In addition, Unit 301 seems too small to hold their allegedly much awaited business symposium. Then we became suspicious na and we became very hesitant na to proceed because it's impossible to hold a symposium in such small and crowded place. Then somebody asked who we're looking for and I said Nestor Gonzaga. Then suddenly, someone said na-cancel daw ang kay Nestor Gonzaga and they told us to follow someone na lang. Then all of a sudden, biglang naglitawan ang mga "ti-next din daw ni nestor gonzaga". Then we followed nestor's replacement daw. Usap usap sila sa elevator, which for me seems to be an invitation for us to join their discussion. When we get to the ground floor, they went outside, supposedly to go to the building on the left. Instead of following, my husband and I decided to leave na lang towards Robinsons place. Kasi sobrang suspicious na sila. May nagsasabi sa loob ng elevator, sa basement daw. Tapos pagbaba sa groundfloor, biglang pupunta sa ibang building, which is very different from their representation na sa Unit 301 ang symposium. Then when my husband looked back, he said all the people who went down with us in the elevator were looking at us. So we have this suspicion na magkakakilala sila and we were the supposed victim. I didn't know how their modus works but thanked God, nakaalis kami before its too late. Kaya fellow bloggers, be careful and dont believe the text messages.
i just received a similar sms from 09202695557.
"this is nestor gonzaga of aim global inc. we're looking for result oriented individuals who want to do business with us on a part time or full time basis.... text in your name & desired time on this number or 09208271777 to reserve seats for free..."
hope this will help those who google the names & numbers find this site & be warned about this scam.
i received exact the same text message you guys got. i am currently here in the US and i don't know how in the world this SPAM people get your Smart roaming number? i mean hello?!
anyway good thing there's google!
hi, im merlou, I received the same text message regarding this nestor gonzaga and I was really enlighten by your blogs,thanks for that without that maybe i'm already there.I really appreciate this website for posting this, it helps a lot.
Hello... AIM GLOBAL INC is in another round of SMS SPAM. I just received similar invitation yesterday. The sender was Ms. Lani Leonor (09274270137). Unfortunately, I already gave my name before I goggled your blog. Thanks for the warning though.
I received that SMS just now. I doubted the SMS and luckily found this link at Google! Thanks Bernie!
it's a good thing I found this page and this page (http://bcocatb.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/liven-coffee/) about AIM GLOBAL.
some in person approached my close friend about this company called AIM GLOBAL which is alledgely associated with NATURE'S WAY (herbal producer in America).
they said that I could get as much as P15K per month recruiting agents to sell their products. the company have a CEO that's a doctor and they have lots of products that claims it has theraputic results.
they even showed me a check of their commission that says P15,000. the problem is, they have not cashed/deposited the check (no stamp of the bank that claimed the check). I would also like to see their bank statements to see if it is true that they have deposited close to the same amount in the past.
They asked me for a P7k sign-up fee and to bawi-bawi the fee I have to recruit as many as posible. with all the Ponzi Schemes (look it up in wikipedia.com) out there and specially here in the Philippines I think this fits that SCHEME.
they are promising 4x returns for little to no work. To be honest with you something that gets that much of a profit can only be seen if they sell shabu or marijuana.
nag punta ako sa 2 seminars nila at marami nag attend ay mahihirap (poor people). these people at just out there to LEECH as much as possible from the under-informed and desparate.
BEWARE OF AIM GLOBAL.
Hi ... I just received the same message from a certain Mr. Nestor Gonzaga of AIM Global, Inc. He is using a different Global simcard this time. His new number is: +639165999980. Thanks for the blog. Gigs
Good Morning ..
In this case wewill report it to proper authorities.
This is a clear Marketting SCAM.
Good for us ,information is available in the net.
Hi! I too received this SPAM. AIM GLOBAL Inc is a spam and a scam. They will just want you to become a member of this multilevel marketing so they can earn money. 7,000 is a big amount of money. Are you gonna spend that money on non-sense products? maybe not even registered with BFAD. We should report their products to BFAD!!!
Hi guys, I received the sms today. Their new number is 09158189015.
Thanks for you people for this post
Hi this is Nico of marikina. I too received an exact txt message that you posted in your website. Yeah it is really quite convincing like me who assumes to get a free college scholarship. I was really surprise that this spam have been sent to many txters since last year and at this very day I've received it and was confused if it's true, that's why i google it and thanks to your site i was enlightened with this. And for the prospected victim of this message here is the sender's new no. its09165999980.
Thank's again
hi!this is lily from marikina,i just received a tx coming from nestor gonsaga of aim global last july 30,may ENTERPRENEURAL workshop daw entitled 'INCREASE YOUR INCOME POTENTIAL' sa aug.6,7.@8 2009.buti n lng hi-tech.n nag search agad ako s internet kung totoo b yun buti n lang nabasa ko blog mo. salamat. eto yung bagong number n ginagamit nila sa panloloko. #09206928856/#09208271777.thanks for the big help.
hi, i've also received this kind of message today from...
"Nestor Gonzaga from AIM Global" ("DAW") :P haha. walang magawa sa buhay. nko.
good thing i've search the net.
he's using another # ---09165999980.
My mom and I also received text messages from a certain Nestor Gonzaga. 09272454830..
This is Jhoan, your post is a big help! Fast forward 2009 and they are still pulling the same stunt tsk tsk tsk. Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I almost fell from the same trap. You made a difference man! Kudos!
Grabi hangang ngaun andyan parin yang SMS spam...i receive a messge today..."ora mismo" stating the same Text. "from nestor gonsaga of aim global this day October 15,may ENTERPRENEURAL workshop daw entitled 'INCREASE YOUR INCOME POTENTIAL' sa oct.21,22.@6-9pm & 2-5pm of 2009."...hahahaha binago lang ang date ng dati, thnx po sir sa info na bigay mo kundi marami naman ang maloloko...this is Hans of Iligan city,mindanao lanao del norte,umabot na pla d2 yan..tsk tsk tsk tsk....maraming salamat ulit
Thank you sooo much. I got this message, but the only difference were the dates and the number they used to send this SPAM SMS thing. Good thing I googled Nestor Gonzaga and found this. :) LOL. Anyway, I replied...but at least I don't have to leave home on Thursday. Sana makita din ito ng iba.
... and guess what? I just received this message today.
From: +639267238505
Greetings! Attend by special invitation only. You're one of those chosen to attend AIM Global's Entrepreneural Workshop entitled "INCREASE your INCOME POTENTIAL" on Dec. 29, (Tuesday) 2:45pm to 5:30pm at Unit 301 AIC Burgundy Empire Tower ADB ave. Ortigas Centre Pasig City (at the back of Robinsons Galeria).
Outline of event includes:
~ Business & Livelihood Opportunities
~ College Scholarship Assistance
~ A chance for an all expense paid Japan & USA trip with multiple state entry visa assistance.
R.S.V.P.
Please text in your fullname with the phrase 'YES! I WANT TO BE PART OF IT!' for a free seat reservation. Come and be part of this once in a life time event. Reserve now! Thank you so much and God bless!
~Mr. Nestor Gonzaga of AIM Global, Inc.
What's really upsetting is they sent this at 12:03am.
I just got that now. I wonder how these low lives get our numbers?
Is it just random?
MLM is for noobs. It was my first attempt at making money online when I was 16 lol.
Thanks for your 2007 post. It's now 2010! And buhay pa ang gimik nilang ganito. You just saved me a half day leave sa office. Sigh... I was hopeful pa naman to really get extra income - not extra expense!
thanx for the blog...i receive a text message also came from jeff simborios of aim global the no is09053128048...thank you very much your blog is very helpful.
I'd say 5% of the email i recieve is actually wanted. Thank god alot of web hosted emails are cracking down on this. I wouldnt know about sms spam as i have a cheap old phone :P
Asteg.2007 pa pala yung post na 'to.Actually I just received the same sms early this morning came from Yvette Galvez.2010 na ngayon at buhay pa rin pala ito.
Good thing at naggoogle ako and I found this blog dahil nagdadalawang isip ako na pumunta.After reading all the comments, hinding hindi na talaga ako pupunta.
Kung hindi lang ako busy puwede ako magspy sa event nila sa Feb 10 at 13 ayon sa text saken.Well anyway, salamat po sa inyo.
"Greetings! Attend by special invitation only. You're one of the chosen ones to attend AIM Global's Entrepreneurial Workshop entitled "Increase your INCOME POTENTIAL" on:
>March 17(Wednesday)
>MArch 19(Friday)
3pm at unit 301 AIC Burgundy Empire Tower ADB ave. Ortigas Centre, Pasig City.
>BUsiness and Livelihood Opportunities
>College Scholarship Assistance
>A chance for an all expense paid Japan and USA trip with multiple entry visa assistance.
If interested, text in your fullname/desired date to 0917-5118465 for seat reservation. Come and be part of this once in a lifetime event. Reserve Now! Thank you so much and God bless!
~Ms. Yvette Galvez of AIM Global Inc."
I got this message from this unknown number: 09166406978
I got the same message on SMS yesterday. Unfortunately, I've already deleted the message and along with it, the number. I did leave the sender something to remember me by before deleting it.
I replied, "ULOL."
Thank you for blogging about this!
Hi! Seems like this spam is still active. Just got one earlier from 09208272375 (from Nestor Gonzaga)
Hi , I have to inform you that this scam /mlm is still active. I just received another text from the same organization.
Good thing I came across your blog. Thanks for the information. May I suggest to do more awareness against this swindlers
just received another text from "nestor gonzaga". he's using the number 09276759464 this time. careful guys
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