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FOLLOW THE BAIT
Just about every day I get a Nigerian Bank scam email. Somehow I got on the list of African scam marks and I am positively flooded with the things. Perhaps you are familiar with the gig. If you are not, here's the gist:
Someone emails you pretending to be a barrister (lawyer, for my fellow Yanks) in Nigeria, or some other African nation. They claim that a family with your last name - in my case 'Tharp' - has died in a plane or car crash. They go on to say that they are executors of the deceased's estate, usually valued between around 10 million USD. They further the scam by saying that they have been unsuccesful in reaching any next of kin, and that they want you to pose as a relative in order to recover the money.
If you take the bait, at some point they will require a deposit of several thousand dollars to retrieve the millions, and this is where they bilk you. It's a famous scam at this point. I get about ten a week. Usually I delete them. This latest fisherman is different however. I've decided to bait him and put it all on the blog.
What does this mean?
I answered the initial email, pretending to be interested. I'm pretending to be a Boeing worker on disability with a cancer-sticken child. This means that I have recently received a decent settlement but have such massive bills that I need much more money. So I am posing as a desperate person with some cash on hand, exactly who they want to bilk.
Wish me luck.
Someone emails you pretending to be a barrister (lawyer, for my fellow Yanks) in Nigeria, or some other African nation. They claim that a family with your last name - in my case 'Tharp' - has died in a plane or car crash. They go on to say that they are executors of the deceased's estate, usually valued between around 10 million USD. They further the scam by saying that they have been unsuccesful in reaching any next of kin, and that they want you to pose as a relative in order to recover the money.
If you take the bait, at some point they will require a deposit of several thousand dollars to retrieve the millions, and this is where they bilk you. It's a famous scam at this point. I get about ten a week. Usually I delete them. This latest fisherman is different however. I've decided to bait him and put it all on the blog.
What does this mean?
I answered the initial email, pretending to be interested. I'm pretending to be a Boeing worker on disability with a cancer-sticken child. This means that I have recently received a decent settlement but have such massive bills that I need much more money. So I am posing as a desperate person with some cash on hand, exactly who they want to bilk.
Wish me luck.