Scam Artistry – Where's the Pony and the Bogus-Meter?
by Robert Pritchett
P.T. Barnum said it best; "There's a sucker born every minute". I could write a book!
http://www.scamorama.com/scamming-for-dummies.html No, that's not it.
When Ronald Reagan was president of the USA, he often spoke of the pessimist and the optimist:
One of his favorite stories was of two young brothers, one a pessimist, the other an incurable optimist. For Christmas one year, their parents gave the first a room full of toys and the other a load of manure. The optimist gleefully burrowed into the manure, exclaiming, "There's a pony in here someplace!"
http://www.davidgergen.com/index.php?page=speeches&item=470
By the way, you might as well know now, there is no pony under this pile of manure, but some folks are making hay selling Anti-Scam software.
US Federal Counterfeit Check Law
"The laws that affect you as the holder of a Nigerian Counterfeit Check
US Criminal Code, Title 18, Section 113 Sec. 472. - Uttering counterfeit obligations or securities
Whoever, with intent to defraud, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or with like intent brings into the United States or keeps in possession or conceals any falsely made, forged, counterfeited, or altered obligation or other security of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Sec. 473. - Dealing in counterfeit obligations or securities Whoever buys, sells, exchanges, transfers, receives, or delivers any false, forged, counterfeited, or altered obligation or other security of the United States, with the intent that the same be passed, published, or used as true and genuine, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Sec. 479. - Uttering counterfeit foreign obligations or securities Whoever, within the United States, knowingly and with intent to defraud, utters, passes, or puts off, in payment or negotiation, any false, forged, or counterfeited bond, certificate, obligation, security, treasury note, bill, or promise to pay, mentioned in section 478 of this title, whether or not the same was made, altered, forged, or counterfeited within the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Sec. 480. - Possessing counterfeit foreign obligations or securities Whoever, within the United States, knowingly and with intent to defraud, possesses or delivers any false, forged, or counterfeit bond, certificate, obligation, security, treasury note, bill, promise to pay, bank note, or bill issued by a bank or corporation of any foreign country, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both."
Background
There are elements from the dark side of the Internet who are adept at taking your hard-earned money and running away with it. The Cons discovered the Internet a long time ago and continue to ply their trade since the beginning of recorded history. Consider them as playground bullies taking much more than just your lunch money.
http://oreneta.com/kalebeul/2005/06/14/walter-raleigh-and-nigerian-and-spanish-scams/
And we are not talking about the kinds of Journalist scams that folks like John Dvorak foists on the public either:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAWDYaWAVQQ
There are various schemes and scams that have been perpetrated on the public. There are the typical Nigerian-like 419 Scam variants and the 'we are looking for a relative of so-and-so who died and left behind a large bank account that will expire shortl' types. Some appeal to our good natures and plead and beg for help to assist them in transferring funds from there to here, so they can get out of desperate situations and some even request sponsorship to our country. Some have a large trunk or package that requires a courier to walk the item through the system via diplomatic pouch privileges. There is always a fee involved. Some want to do electronic banking transfers. And those are two-way, so what is in there comes out of your account if you aren't careful. I have a business associate whose retirement fund bank account got cleaned out!
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/fraud-investigation-checks-in-mail.cfm
Going, Going, Gone!
A year or so ago, okay, maybe two by now, I wised up to the money transfer scheme, after opening a bank account specifically for the purpose of accepting funds and then forwarding the majority of such funds to some other location outside my country for pickup via MoneyGram or Western Union. Supposedly, I was to receive a percentage for services rendered. Easy money, right?
In one instance, it was an internal bank transfer and extraction (Wells Fargo). I ended up paying a huge sum (to me anyway) to the bank afterwards, because the internal bank transfer turned out to be bogus – even though I had waited about a month to let the bank verify the funds were legit. I received lots of frantic phone calls around the clock from the original requester in the UK. Vonage records calls in a call log, but these always came from "Anonymous". I also was sent lots of Emails by this individual, ALL IN UPPER CASE. The rule of thumb is that if you don't know the person personally, donÕt send the funds, period.
I had to close out the account after paying a huge sum to the bank, so my name was cleared of any wrongdoing. I then submitted a police report on the activity and let the authorities attempt to go after the fraudsters. After the transfer was completed, the person disappeared and the Email address began bouncing when I sent him the information regarding what happened to me with the bank. And of course, the phone number I originally was given was dead too. Ever heard of "throw–away cell phones"? He got what he wanted and I did not. I fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
The Down Side – Serious Business
I have a big, fat portfolio of such things I turned over to the police (Email, bank account information, Phone records, etc) last year, so they could continue their investigations internationally. Feedback to me from them indicated some of these perpetrators have actually been killed by the authorities in their countries! And some of the investigators and informants have also been put to death by corrupt law enforcement types in Africa. These are serious organized crime kinds of things that include activities by terrorist organizations desiring the demise of our societies and general havoc of our economies worldwide. They seem to be having some, no, LOTS of success, as many banks haven't wised up to the situations fast enough. I also understand that with regards to some so-called courier services, they really do come visit here, but bad things happen as a result, if they don't get what they expected for their services. Hopefully, they will get what they deserve instead.
I remember one instance where a group from Nigeria (you had to guess, right?) supposedly sent this courier with a box full of cash to the US. Each time he called it was from a different airport around the country. No kidding! He never did show up, but the detective I was working with on this case said never send money, because those funds will walk away and the goods will never be delivered. I wanted to see the goods and check to see if they too were counterfeit, but that really needs to be a job for the Dept of Commerce and the Secret Service.
By the way, the Nigerian scammers have teams of gang members in various parts of the US now working their schemes locally, instead of from abroad and the authorities have been shutting them down as they become aware of them.
Some of these scammers are so sophisticated they have not just pictures, but videos of money going into the shipping containers full of cash to entice us into buying into the "inheritance" scheme. Those pictures and videos are delivered by untraceable Emails from them to us, by the way.
The "Investors"
Ever since I put out a request for investors for my business a while ago, these kinds of folks have been coming out of the Internet woodwork like fruit flies to sweet pickle juice! And these flies have been appearing from everywhere on the planet. Believe me. From Spam to Scam.
I was told this kind of thing has become commonplace. Lots of people have lost money on these ventures. I know of at least one person down the street who lost his ceramics business, because of one of these so-called cheques. He lost everything and has to pay back something like $75K USD to the bank. They own his house nowÉ
Company Rep Scams
These are where we are asked to be business reps and are provided part-time job offers with benefits, where foreign interests desire a stateside rep to accept funds on their behalf from customers. Once all the legal paperwork is done, checks or Money Orders supposedly arrive and the interested party is forwarded the lionÕs share of the fees for services or products sold. Does this sound familiar now? It should. Variations on a theme.
However, I got smarter, if not wiser. I requested that the bank do their fraud-checking before the funds went into my account, so I would not be getting hit with processing fees (I paid a few) when the funds turned out to be fraudulent. They agreed. I love my Credit Union! You might want to be forewarned about other banks, who don't do due diligence:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/31/AR2006053102004_pf.html
Bad Cheques (Rubber) and Money Orders (Oders, Like, In Something Smells Really Rotten)
To make a short story longer, 100% of the cheques ("checks", in American English) IÕve received from abroad over the last few weeks and months (so far) as opportunities for either doing business here or as investments in my business or working for them part-time, have all been discovered to be fraudulent, counterfeit or bogus. Every - Single - One!
http://www.joewein.de/sw/419rep-data.htm
The Cheque May be in the Mail, But...
My bank will not accept any more cheques from me that from abroad any longer. Canada, Great Britain, the European Continent, all of Africa, the Middle East and Asia are now on notice by me.
The bank was kind enough to return all of the latest Cheques and Money Orders that were mailed to me, so I could take those and turn them over to the proper authorities. I asked them to stamp each one with the appropriate red "counterfeit" stamp so they would not get recirculated somehow, with my name on them. I'm deeply indebted (pun intentional) to the Fraud Department of my Credit Union for taking their precious time and working with me on these activities. Unfortunately, they have been incredibly busy of late and they have cabinets full of sad stories to tell!
When I've gone back to the hiring entities to let them know what we've unearthed, they've all expressed surprise (no, really!) and said they would immediately investigate the situation from their end. I'm holding my breath (sarcasm).
Practically everyone of these scammers that I've talked to on the phone have incredibly bad accents and difficulties speaking English. Their phones start having communication problems when I mention the issues regarding bad Cheques and Money Orders. They all of a sudden can't hear me any longer. Same goes for those with those whom I've talked to verbally about not sending them any money up front for future services. I find that particularly interesting, don't you?
On Scammers
http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/faq.php
Advanced Fee Scams
Rodrigo De Rato (Rodrigo The Rat) represented himself as the International Monetary Fund Managing Director & Fund Release Official from the United Nations Money Laundering Agency mr.rodrigo.derato@hotmail.com and rodrigo.derato@imf.org
http://rjohara.net/nigerian-419-fraud/2006-interntional-monetary-fund
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/unlinks.html
How cool is that? I had $46,900,000 USD coming my way without delay. Did you know the UN had a Money Laundering Agency? That explains so much, (not)!
I was asked to correspond with Marcel Ospel. I think the real Marcel Ospel would perhaps like to get the pseudo-guys doing this and have them stop using his name in vain. Is this Identity Fraud? It is Computer Fraud.
Taking it further, after signing forms and submitting them, the next step is to obtain a CHIPS account for a Union Bank of Switzerland Escrow Electronic Telephone bank account. Once that is accomplished, a Financial Action Task Force CHIPS Transfer Authorization Order has to be created.
Next, a United Nations Payment Release Code needs to be obtained. Supposedly the Email and correspondence is from Marcel Opsel, Chairman of UBS, AG, but the Email is from marcel.ospel.@yahoo.com. A so-called UBS account is opened after signing 3 documents. Looks official and everything! That is when they begin asking for a fee. That costs 5,950 British Pounds Sterling to be sent via MoneyGram to Neth, Shelten G in Zurich Switzerland. Now your bogus-meter should be pegging out at the top of the scale! By now, you should see that sending funds via MoneyGram, Western Union or by other systems, should be considered suspect from the get-go.
Even after I served notice to Rodrigo, he still has me on his recent distribution list for the exact same thing. What Chutzpa!
Prof. Charles Soludo Scam
He keeps calling me, so I am going to let you know again that he is part of the 419 Scam system from Nigeria. Maybe he will get the message that we are on to him...ENOUGH already!! He still insists he'[s the "real" Charles Soludo and that I should do business with himÉ He doesnÕt let up one bit. He's still sending out Emails...He still calls!
http://419.bittenus.com/CharlesSoludo/
http://rjohara.net/nigerian-419-fraud/2005-04-22-charles-soludo
http://www.quatloos.com/submitted_419.php
Phishing Scams
http://worldwidespam.info/phishing/
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/04/13/irsphishing/
Money Laundering Scams
http://www.data-wales.co.uk/nigerian_laundering.htm
http://rjohara.net/nigerian-419-fraud/
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/consumer/spam_email_fraud2.html
Scam "artists" use Deaf System To Order Products
Since January, a phone system designed to help the hearing impaired has been hijacked by "Nigerian" Scammers to order equipment costing over $10K per order:
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/17393.php
Scoffing at Scammers
Go ahead, laugh all you wantÉbut the Scammers are dead serious.
http://www.how-to-become-rich-dotcom.de/
I enjoyed this one that wasn't on that website. It arrived April First:
"I have a new email address! You can now email me at: amalovotu@yahoo.com
Dear Sir/ Madam,
It will surely be a surprise to you to have received this mail from me. I didnt got your contact through your country's Trade Journal here in Spain. I was directed to you after much fasting and prayer and greed, seeking unholy intervention in my life regarding my plans to scam a foreign trustworthy person whom will serve as guardian of my Fund and family jewels (diamond) not worth several million in dollars for investment.
Please do not disclose my business intentions to any person or group of person, because I want the scam to be handled as confidential as possible. This is the reason why I decided to contact you by email. First I must introduce myself. I am Mr. Sanko Ama Otumuku the only surviving son of Mr. Kuala Amana Otumuku one of the key fictional officers who where serving under the then fcitional head of state Major Johnny Koroma in Sierra Leone.
As you are fully aware, my country relied heavily on the foreign earning generated from Scamming Trade. This money was personally kept by the then President, Major Johnny Koroma, since our banking system had collapsed during the war.
However, as the war progressed, it became apparent that we were going to lose the war to the superior and better armed West African Allied Forces (ECOMOG). At this point, the key officers of the Administration started making frantic efforts on how to leave Sierra Leone safely, thereby sharing the proceeds / money from the Diamond Trade. My Fictional Father being one of the key officers who succeeded in getting the sum of US$14.5 Million (Fourteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and four cubes of Africa blue diamonds.
This Money and valuables was not transferred through diplomatic means to South Africa and kept in a fake security company, My Father and I along with my two younger scammers lived for good three years in South Africa till the untimely death of my Oga through heart attack after 3 years of exile in South Africa, I and my two sister automatically became the illegal owner of the said money since we were the only surviving members of the family as my mother died long ago before the war.
My two ugly sisters are now still in South Africa, after I realized I need to invest the Fund outside African country, I decided to steal from Europeans with the help of the courier company, on arriving here, I deposited it a security company for safe keeping although thes security company is not aware of the content of the consignment.
Presently I'm not living in Spain seeking political asylum, just to make sure I can secure my staying here also to monitor my Fraud. Although we have not met, I need you as a trustworthy victim that will assist me and my family to transfer this money to his or her account outside Europe, as the strict monetary laws here do not allow thieves certain financial rights to open a foreign account.
I shall be grateful if you assist me to accomplish this transaction and hoping too that you remain addlebrained, that you will not take any advantage of me after the Fund is under your custody.
As I promise you that, you will regret knowing me, you will regret your effort and assistance; I am prepared to give you 30% of the total sum while 5%will be set aside for all the expenses incurred during the course of this transaction. The rest 65% will be for my family investment in your country.
Note that this transaction is 100% risky as such the only thing I ask from you is total asshattery to transfer this money, complete trust and assurance that my own part of the money will be safe when transferred to your country.
If you are touched in the head and interested in assisting me please contact me by email.(sankoama@netscape.net)
Kind regards.
Mr. Ama Sanko Otumuku,
0034-654-140-652.
- sanko otumuku
On Cheques from Foreign Countries and Business Opportunities
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060601/031244.shtml
Fraud Identification http://www.fraudinvestigator.co.za/cheque_fraud.htm
http://www.bizpack.com/forgery.htm
http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/sea/merchants/riskmgmt/travelerscheque.shtml
Money Order Fraud http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_order
Protect Yourself http://www.ncua.gov/
http://www.secretservice.gov/financial_crimes.shtml
Some get caught
http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6053370.html?part=rss&tag=6053370&subj=news
http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,62124,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_5
Fighting Back and Toiling With Fire
Here is recent correspondence from a Nigerian bank (supposedly) regarding funds they hold from a relative of mine (so I was told). He has the same last name and he died from an accident and they were looking for someone to accept the funds from his bank account. I figured I could do it and deliver the funds to his other relatives on his behalf. Being a nice person, I agreed to help. After all, I could track down his relatives with the portion I would receive, right?
I finally told them no, after they wanted me to send them money to cover account transfer charges. So you might see me on CNN, if their threat is carried out. The Fraud Department thought this was hilarious!
By the way, all mispellings, etc. are originals and I have not edited them.
UBA HOUSE, 57 MARINA LAGOS NIGERIA
INTERNATIONAL/FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT
PHONE: 234-56044358
DIRECT FAX: 13605307391
DATE : 06/06/2006
OUR REF: UBA/RC/146695
ATTENTION: ROBERT PRITCHETT,
THE RECIEPT OF YOUR APPLICATION FROM BARRISTER AHMED SODIQ, FOR INHERITANCE FUND CLAIM AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO THE LATE MR. DONALD PRITCHETT, WITH THE DEPOSIT OF US$11,200,000.00 (ELEVEN MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) AND TOTAL ACRUING INTEREST FROM THE DATE OF DEPOSIT, IS HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGED.
HENCE, YOU ARE HEREBY REQUIRED TO FILL THE ATTACHED FORM AND SUBMIT IN NOT MORE THAN 72 HOURS OF RECIEPT.
YOUR APPLICATION FROM YOUR LAWYER IN NIGERIA HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THIS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION HAVEN SATISFIED OUR REQUIREMENTS.
THE SUM OF US$3,800:00 (THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS) FOR " INHERITANCE FUND TRANSFER STAMP DUTY FEE" TO ACTIVATE THE ACCOUNT FROM DOMANCY TO TRANSFER READY ACCOUNT TO YOU SHOULD BE PAID IN PERSON BY YOU OR THROUGH YOUR ATTORNEY HERE IN NIGERIA TO EFFECT THE TRANSFER PROCESS.
THIS IS IN VIEW OF THE FINANCIAL AND BANKING REGULATIONS HERE,WHICH THE FIXED DEPOSIT NATURE OF YOUR LATE RELATION'S ACCOUNT AND THE LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT HE SIGNED WITH US PREVENTS US FROM DEDUCTING ANY AMOUNT/CHARGES WHAT-SO-EVER BEFORE THE INHERITANCE FUND IS REMITTED TO THE NEXT OF KIN.
THE BANK MANAGEMENT SHALL EFFECT THE PROCESSING OF YOUR FUND TRANSFER TO YOUR DESIGNATED BANK ACCOUNT CONSIQUENTLY AFTER RECIEVEING THE COMPLETED FORM AND THE REQUIRED FEE..
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MANAGEMENT, UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC.
On Wed, 7 Jun 2006 09:36:13 -0400, "United Bank" <uba-foreign-transfer@Safe-mail.net> wrote:
UBA HOUSE, 57 MARINA LAGOS NIGERIA
INTERNATIONAL/FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT
PHONE: 234-56044358
DIRECT FAX: 13605307391
DATE : 07/06/2006
OUR REF: UBA/RC/146695
ATTENTION: ROBERT PRITCHETT,
THIS IS VERY INCREDIBLE AND UNSERIOUS OF YOU.
YOU HAVE JUST GIVEN US IMPRESSION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN PERTAKING IN A FRAUD,
IS IS NOT?
FINE, SINCE YOU DECIDED TO RUBISH OUR IMAGE AND INSULT US, WE SHALL
FORWARD ALL THE DOCUMENTS INVOLVED WHICH YOU HAVE SIGNED WITH YOUR
ORIGINAL SIGNATURE AND ALSO YOUR DRIVER'S LICENCE TO FBI, CIA , OTHER LAW
AGENTS IN THE STATES AND GO AS FAR AS PLACING THEM ON THE WORLD WIDE
INTERNET AND PROVIDE YOU AND THE WORLD WITH THE WEBSITE WHICH MILLIONS OF
AMERICANS AND OUTSIDE PEOPLE WOULD VIEW AND HAVE A VERY BAD IMPRESSION
ABOUT YOU AND EVEN AVOID DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU AND YOUR COMPANY MPN LLC.
BUT WE BELIEVE YOU DO NOT WANT THIS RIGHT? SO THINK ABOUT IT FAST AND GET
BACK TO US IN YOUR OWN INTEREST.
THEN, YOU HAVE TO FINISH THIS TRANSACTION ON A GOOD NOTE AND PROVE YOU ARE
REALLY THE NEXT OF KIN TO RECIEVE THIS INHERITANCE.
WE WOULD EXPECT THIS PAYMENT OF 3,800 USD OR WE SHALL BE FORCED TO GO EVEN
BEYOND WHAT WE EXPLAINED ABOVE.
THIS IS NOT A CHILD'D PLAY AND WE ADVISE YOU TO ADHERE VERY STRICTLY IN
THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MANAGEMENT,
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC.
From: "United Bank" <uba-foreign-transfer@Safe-mail.net>
Date: June 7, 2006 12:25:31 PM PDT
To:
Subject: YOU ARE TOILING WITH FIRE
ATTENTION: ROBERT PRITCHETT,
YOU HAVE JUST IMPLICATED YOURSELF EXCEPT YOU DO NOT KNOW AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE US LAWS IMPLY.
THIS IS AN INTENT TO STEEL AND DEFRAUD ON YOUR PART, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO US THAT YOU DONT EVEN KNOW THE DEAD PERSON LET ALONE RELATING TO HIM TO CLAIM HIS ESTATE.
ON THAT NOTE, YOU ARE CULPABLE AND WE SHALL DO OUR BEST TO LITIGATE THIS AGAINST YOU AND PUBLISH YOUR NAME AND IDENTITY WITH US ON MOST FRAUD WEBSITES AS A FOREIGN PARTNER AIDING AND ABETING FRAUD IN US.
THIS COULD BE EASILY PROVED TO PEOPLE BY SHOWCASING YOUR SIGNED COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS AS A RELATIVE. OR DIDN'T YOU?
YOU ARE TOILING WITH FIRE AND YOUR IMAGE AND YOU WILL BE MADE A SCAPE GOAT.
IN ESSENCE, YOU MUST CONCLUDE THIS TRANSATION OR FIND ALL THESE DONE, AND IF DONE, IT MUST AFFECT YOU NEGATIVELY IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
WE WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU BEFORE THE 48 HRS DEADLINE OR YOU WILL ALSO HEAR THE ANONYMOUS NEWS ON CNN AND OTHER NATIONAL NETWORKS WITH YOUR IDENTITY TO START WITH BEFORE OTHER FOLLOW UPS.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MANAGEMENT,
UBA.
I wrote back:
You are already on the Fraud sites and have a tarnished history. Threatening and painting me with the same brush won't work.
I am not paying a fee to receive funds that are "rightfully" mine. I am abandoning the process, because every instance I've had dealing with banks in Africa have turned out to be dead-ends. This one is too, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm cutting my losses of time and effort before I send any money your direction. Case closed.
Go after those who worked with you to perpetrate this fraud and leave me out of it.
I've been in contact with the local authorities and the FBI on this side of the world already. My name is also on the Identity Fraud lists.
I'm sorry I have wasted your time with this nonsense."
The Bottom Line!
The bottom line is that if you are approached by anyone, for any reason, as online panhandlers, be aware that there is a big iceberg of corruption hiding below those initially innocent requests. When they start asking for money, be sure your bogus-meter is turned on and running and report the incidents to the proper authorities, so they can respond appropriately to the situation.
Anybody can be duped, but you've been warned. I make mistakes, so you don't have to. ;^)
