Warning: Do NOT put this person in charge of your finances
November 18, 2008 by Charlie WalkerPosted in: In this week's e-Newsletter, Latest News & Views, Procurement fraud
An Oregon resident has shelled out $400,000 falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book (or at least on the Internet).
That’s right. The Nigerian e-mail scam.
Can you imagine what she could’ve done if she had access to your cash box?
This woman said an e-mail offering $20.5 million caught her eye, because it asked her to find a long-lost relative with the same last name.
OK, so that made it a bit more tempting. So she sent $100.
We’re not dealing with a mental midget here. This woman is a nursing administrator and CPR teacher.
But she still:
- mortgaged her house
- took a lien on the family car, and
- cleaned out her husband’s retirement account.
You know what makes it even more painful?
Her family and her bank pleaded with her to stop. She didn’t heed their warnings.
The first $100 was sent through an untraceable wire service.
Then, a flood of phony documents followed. “Guaranteed” documents from the Bank of Nigeria and the United Nations asked for her help.
Ever wondered why scammers keep sending out “Nigerian” scheme e-mails — when everyone has seen them?
Because it taps into a human weakness — greed for easy money — and it still works.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I don’t feel sorry for people when I hear stories like this. If their own greed led them to believe something so stupid then they got what they deserved. I do feel sorry for her husband who is now penniless because of her stupidity. Maybe she was one of the thousands of people who never heard of the Nigerian scam, but I’m sure she’s heard the saying “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”
November 19th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Yes, my neighbor’s 50 year old son got sucked into a gold-and-diamond mine scam in Ghana.
Several amusing twists that I have seen lately”
1. “The government of Mali feels bad about all the people that have been scammed and have set
aside money for reimbursement. Please contact . . . ”
A perfect way to target people that you already know are pigeons!
2. I am a hit man hired to murder you. If you pay me $XXX I will not murder you.
I can’t even think of anything to add to that!
wiz
November 19th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
You can put a restraining order on your wife!