Woman out $400K to 'Nigerian scam' con artists

[A*O]

Probably not. But it's a good rule NEVER to give out personal info to strangers on the net or txt. Trust nobody.

[AliceInWonderland]

OREGON

[greysfang]

Yes, I think Oregon is a strong third in the crazy state race, while Florida and Ohio remain steady at first and second.

[Folieadeux]

For more than two years, Spears sent tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Everyone she knew, including law enforcement officials, her family and bank officials, told her to stop, that it was all a scam. She persisted.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! I assume this idiot has probably indebeted her children (if she has any) because of her stupidity.

How does she expect to 'fix' this problem in three to four years? Does she also think that there is a money tree or pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?

Dumb. dumb. dumb. DUMB.

[A*O]

A lot of victims think that law enforcement can track the scammers down, arrest them, throw them in jail and retrieve the money they stole. Not a chance in Hell.

The scammers will often pose as a Govt agency or law enforcement and email their victims telling them the crims have been caught and they can have their stolen money back. All they have to do is send a processing fee...

[cheetopia]

Yes, and scammers sometimes pass victims back and forth between them, milking them for the maximum money by promising that they will help expedite the payment. Scammers are clever and experienced for the most part, the thing that you can trip them up at is that they don't have the greatest knowledge of America or Europe or understand the vernacular.

[AliceInWonderland]

"processing fee"

you can always ask to waive those btw people...

[aabbcc]

Regarding fake cheques ...

My bank will NOT cash cheques. They must be deposited into your account and then a hold is placed on the amount until it clears and the bank knows the cheques are good. I remember being really pissed off over that policy a while ago when I couldn't cash a LOCAL cheque from a perfectly reputable woman here in town.

I hate to say it, but with everything that is out there now about these scams, it's hard to feel sorry for people who fall for them. My children know better, for heaven's sake!

[A*O]

The problem is that a cheque may have "cleared" ie, the funds are put into your account which normally takes 2-3 days when in fact it's still a fake and the problem is only spotted sometimes a long time later when the cheque goes through formal clearing at head office.

Effectively the bank "loans" you the money on the assumption the cheque will eventually clear. Meanwhile you can withdraw the "cleared" funds from your account and spend them. The scam takes advantage of this anomaly in the banking system. THEN the fake is spotted and they come after you for a full refund.

[aabbcc]

Here, it's longer than just a couple of days ... usually 5 to 7 "business" days. If they're going to be that picky about a small local cheque, you would think they would be even more cautious with foreign cheques for large amounts.

Not that I'll ever have to worry about that.

[msdeb]

LOOK!!!!! i'm part of the group! it came in my email today. My yahoo email, not my 'good' email address.

ATM PAYMENT UPDATE
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF AUDITOR TO THE PRESIDENT,
INTERNATIONAL CREDIT SETTLEMENT

SIR/MADAM,

THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE VERIFIED YOUR CONTRACT
/INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR
PAYMENT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT FUFILLED THE OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN
RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT.

SECONDLY WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE NONE
OFFICIALS IN THE BANK, ALL IN YOUR ATTEMPT TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF
THE FUND TO YOU. WE WISH TO ADVISE YOU THAT SUCH AN ILLEGAL ACT LIKE THIS
HAVE TO STOP IF YOU WISHES TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT SINCE WE HAVE
DECIDED TO BRING A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ARRANGED YOUR
PAYMENT THROUGH OUR SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTER ASIA PACIFIC, THAT IS
THE LATEST INSTRUCTION FROM MR. PRESIDENT, ALHAJI UMARU MUSA YARADUA
(GCFR) FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

THIS CARD CENTER WILL SEND YOU AN ATM CARD WHICH YOU WILL USE TO
WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, BUT THE
MAXIMUM IS ONE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS PER DAY. SO IF
YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND IN THIS WAY, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY
CONTACTING THE ATM PAYMENT DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR AND ALSO SEND THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION AS LISTED BELOW.

1. FULL NAME
2. FULL ADDRESS (P.O BOX NOT ACCEPTABLE)
3. PHONE AND FAX #
4. YOUR AGE, SEX AND CURRENT OCCUPATION
5. ATTACH COPY OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION
6. MONTHLY INCOME

HOWEVER, KINDLY FIND BELOW THE CONTACT PERSON:
INTEGRATED PAYMENT DEPARTMENT
NAME: DR.AHAMED BELLO
EMAILdr.usmanali06@gmail.com)
TEL:+234- 803-791-9045

THE ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTER HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT
$2,300,000.00 AS PART PAYMENT FOR THIS QUATER. ALSO FOR YOUR INFORMATION, YOU HAVE
TO STOP ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(s)
TO AVOID ANY HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT.

NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF IMPOSTORS, WE HEREBY ISSUE YOU OUR CODE OF
CONDUCT, WHICH IS (ATM-811) SO YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN CONTACTING
THE CARD CENTER BY USING IT AS YOUR SUBJECT.


REGARDS,

MR.BELLO
CHIEF AUDITOR TO THE PRESIDENT
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

[Flak]

It disturbs me that someone that dumb had 400k to blow.

[Kittylady]

I'm far from being the brightest bulb in the box, but when I got an e-mail telling me that I only had 4 weeks left to claim my £200,000 lottery money I just deleted it straight away, simply because (a) I haven't bothered buying a lottery ticket in years and (b) because even if I did still play the lottery, there is no way that the organisers would have my e-mail address to notify me of unclaimed winnings.

Is sparing a few seconds to engage your brain so difficult for these people?