How many get sucked into this type of scam?

1. 70

   Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

   This is an example of someone who clearly needs help with his writing skills, yet appears to have an extraordinary belief that the world is full of fools (which perhaps it is?).
   
   How many do you believe get sucked into these emailed schemes?
   
   
   Mr Mohammed Hassan.
        
   Dear Friend
                                                                                              
                                                                                                   Confidential.
   It is my sincere pleasure  at this moment to exhibit my total trust bestowed on you in accordance to my Proposed partnership relationship with you  of which I am fully convinced that you will really welcome my partnership with you in this transaction  Being very sceptical about dealing with Africans in such transaction, Ranging from the height of fraudulent activities encompassing the African communities. Now it is my Godly nursed intention to prove myself to you that I am very much different from others which you must have come across.
    
   I hereby attested my accepted conclusion to take upon my gentle self and to join hands together to cover any unforeseen expenses that may be involved here till the Final Transfer of the Funds to our Correspondent Bank before its Final remittance into your Nominated Bank Account.
    
   This is to convince you of my spirited acceptance to have you as a confidant in a business of this magnitude knowing that you will not turn me down come-what-may, regarding this Claim/Transfer to boost my planned establishment of a funding Company out of Africa.In other Words, I went into a more concrete arrangement in couriering to your doorstep, a total of US$10.5Million Dollars through INTER-BANK TRANSFER. This amount of Money belongs to our Deceased Customer as there were no claims over this Dormant Balance Account for a period of many Years.
   
   Therefore, I am in need of a Reliable Partner that would come forward to put claims over the Funds for its Transfer into his/her Foreign Bank Account. This is because I am the Director of Foreign Remittance Department of my Bank (BOA) for secures Transfer of these Funds without any Hindrances.
   
   All I am expecting from you, as a matter of greatest urgency and importance is your sincerity and Honesty as I have some of the Needed Legal Documents to prove that this Business is Lawful for its onward Remittance.  I urgently want you to send all the demanded Personal Information’s below to me as soon as you receive this PROPOSAL in order to show your readiness and Willingness in this Proposed Business. 
                      
                         BELOW ARE THE NEEDED PERSONAL INFORMATIONS
   1) Your Full Name.......................... ...
   2) Your Age........................... ............
   3) Your Mobile and Home Phone Number…………..
   4) Your Fax Number……………….....
   5) Your Country of Nationality………………............. .
   6) Your Occupation.................... ........
   7) Sex........................... .....................
   8) ALTERNATIVE E-MAIL ADDRESS /
   
   Finally, you have to keep this Proposal confidential and secret from your Relations, Partners and Colleagues for our success in this Transaction as the basis of this Business is Secrecy.
   
   I promise you that I would protect your Personal Interest as this Business is 100% risk-free.Therefore, I want you to express your interest to engage in this Business with me because your share is 40% of the Funds in Question so that I can send to you the TEXT OF APPLICATION which you have to Fill and send to the E-mail Address of the Bank.
   
   I look forward for your immediate Positive response. 
    
   My regards to you and the family,
   Mohammed Hassan.

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   1. 67

      Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      As soon as I see something along those lines:
      
      
      I delete it without bothering to read further

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      1. 70

         Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         So do I Misha.... But I was wondering how many and how often others don't?

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         1. 67

            Daniel Carterposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I must get about 8 of these a day. I never get past the subject line and never open them. The best ones start out "Beloved in Christ..." LOL
            However, for anyone who is feeling rather desperate, it seems to be a lure. And there are desperate people out there.
            
            For scammers to persist in such high volume must be an indication that they are getting some results somewhere, or it would just die away.
            
            I think that's sad news.

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      2. 81

         blaise25posted 15 years agoin reply to this

         yeah, the word "Dear" sounds like danger to me...it's no way to trust lol

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         1. 70

            Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Really?  I found his Name to be the bell ringer!

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   2. 61

      dutchman1951posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I hope no one is really falling for this kind of thing.
      I just dump it immediately, or put it in spam out on my web providers email server. It blocks it out there from then on, and it does not come all the way into my system that way.
      
      Jon

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   3. 59

      O B Oneposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Its a Scam .... Most of us know it but yes there are people who do get caught in the scam.They want to believe that the person is true and he/she shall make some fast buck.
      
      Well as soon as someone is offering free money delete/ignore it immediately because its a scam.
      
      NO PAIN NO GAIN

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2. 60

   Kane Tanposted 15 years ago

   I'm impressed with his use of English! They are just getting better at it

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      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      That's interesting.... Perhaps this is the sort of answer you need with your ecomony Mr Obama.

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         Kane Tanposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Now it is my Godly nursed intention to prove myself to you that I am very much different from other Presidents which you must have come across.

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            Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            WELL on the strength of that statement.... I s'poss I will fill in your questionaire and post my details back to you

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            1. 60

               Kane Tanposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               I look forward to it but can you send it to Michael Moore, please?

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               1. 70

                  Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  I am NOT responsible for YOUR Omissions Mr. P... Surely you are in constant contact with Mr Moore.  Are you saying he doesn't trust you with his email address?

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                  1. 60

                     Kane Tanposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                     We love each other

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3. 0

   wordscribe41posted 15 years ago

   Dammit, it's a scam???  Oh, crap.

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   1. 70

      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      No No.... Obama has taken credit for it... It's your constitutional obligation to fill it in and enrich his efforts

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      cosetteposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      haha!!

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4. 64

   Dale Mazurekposted 15 years ago

   We may all think we just delete them but I watched a documentary a couple weeks ago that last year alone Americans lost over 100 million and Canadians something like 30 million.  These scammers are getting rich at the hands of desperate and gullible people

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   1. 70

      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So What's the answer Dale?
      Are we able to get affiliate agencies or not?
      Another reason I posted this is becoz it may inspire some good hubs on the subject.

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      1. 64

         Dale Mazurekposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I really think all we can do is educate people.  hubs is a great way but dont just stop at these.  There are a ton of scams out there and a lot of people who make it very difficult for real honest people like us.
         
         I was telling my friend about Hubpages the other day and without looking they told me it was a scam.  In a way its good they have that attitude but it really does make things difficult for legit businesses.

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            Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Yep

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5. 0

   Crazdwriterposted 15 years ago

   LMAO I seen anything that looks like that, I check the box next to it and hit SPAM right away.

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      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So how does that help the hungry children in Africa?

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6. 0

   wordscribe41posted 15 years ago

   I just emailed you, PD. 

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   1. 70

      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Oh Thanks WS........ You know your cut is 40%

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7. 70

   Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

   I hope no one is really falling for this kind of thing.
   I just dump it immediately, or put it in spam out on my web providers email server. It blocks it out there from then on, and it does not come all the way into my system that way.
   
   Jon
   
   Clearly from what Dale has stated.... Many do.
   What can we do as writers to help reduce the incidents of this?

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   1. 61

      dutchman1951posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Educate folks would be most effective. Keep a data bank of the letters and names, and a site where folks can look to see if what they recieved is similar, or same. Might Help, not sure
      
      Demand a way to Filter email by Country. Say if you have no ties to Nigeria, then have your service provider do a wild card block of all email from there for your IP addr?
      
      maybe have an Embasy Site, US Embasy where you can send it to, so they can post a formal complaint to the Goverment of the Country?
      
      Just ideas...
      
      Jon

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8. 0

   girly_girl09posted 15 years ago

   I get about 20 of these a day, no joke. I hate them. WITH A PASSION. I get so much junk mail now, I am truly fed up with all the stuff I have to sift through. It used to be, "oh, trying to sell me Viagra, are you?" Delete.
   
   Now, they are starting to get 'clever' with subjects like:
   
   'Please look this over' or 'here's the memo'. They (lol I call them 'they') are also starting to use common American names for the senders' names. So.... now I have to stop and think "Do I know this person?" Smiths, Jones, Johns, Marys, etc...sometimes it freaks me out because the scammers' 'names' are almost identical to common American names in my address book.

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   1. 70

      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I'm sorry Girly Girl.... I Will tell my Secret Ary to only mail you once a week from now on.
      I get variations of this probably only twice a month.

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9. 0

   \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

   it's impossible to think people can be fooled, but sometimes if the balance of a person's mind is fragile it can happen, sad but true....

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   1. 70

      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So Brenda..... Do you get this sort of rubbish sent to you?

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10. 0

    \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

    oh yes very often, i can't believe it when i read it, it must be worth their while to keep  sending them out, some one must react in a positive way to them......

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       Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Well it appears to be highly profitable.. the play on greed.

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       1. 64

          Dale Mazurekposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          The recession of the last year have desperate people giving away thier last dollars in hopes of a windfall.  It really is sad and these people need to be prosecuted.
          
          The problem is their scams are usually based out of countries where it isnt illegal like Nigeria (thus Nigerian Scams)

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11. 0

    \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

    It must be..... greed is horrible in all it's forms, dont ya think?

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12. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    I think we will be exposed to this sort of rubbish for a long time; however I have noticed that there are a few who have been able to bust them back.

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    1. 68

       emievilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       PD how about this one?
       
       PETER CHIANG & ASSOCIATES
       SOLICITOR AND ADVOCATES
       PLOT 125 JALAN IKUT
       MALAYSIA .
       Email: peterchiang2@sify.com
       
       
       
       I am Peter Chiang, an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, that shares the same last name as yours died as the result of a heart-related condition on March 12th 2005.
       
       His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the 26th December 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia. And in the record there is no known successor to this deposit of the deceased who died without a will.
       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_India … arthquake.
       
       I can be reached on (peterchiang2@sify.com) for more information.
       My late Client has deposit of Eighteen Million  Dollars ( US$18 Million Dollars) left behind.
       
       
       Peter Chiang
       Attorney at Law
       
       
       It's fortunately in my SPAM folder so no need for me to kick it there. We also have a local version sent through text messages.

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    2. 60

       SunShineSnowposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Is a very good question to ask. So many people are desperate out there they tend to overlook the obvious. A few years ago I worked for a company sending out Western Union. I was trained to look for suspicious activity. I did refuse a few because they appeared to be suspicious. One in particular I remember the customer brought in the email for reference, I explained to her after she showed me the email that we should contact Western Union's fraud division before proceeding. Long story short it was a scam they did put a tracer on it and I was actually rewarded by Western Union. I know every one sending Western Union, and any similar form of wire transfer must be trained and tested yearly. One of the most important things they miss in the training however is just because the amount is below the dollar amount to trigger more paperwork and Id's and such they can still refuse to send it. Those doing the scams know what the amounts are and hope no alarms are sounded in the trained professional. It still happens. People should be aware when something sounds to good or looks to good ask questions research or like most of the people just delete them.

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13. 60

    karmen88posted 15 years ago

    What scam? I just sent my 300 bucks to Nigeria now I'm waiting on my 19.5 Million from my deceased unknown uncle.

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    1. 70

       Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Lucky you joined HP then.... If you write another 300 hubs; you might get your money back.

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14. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    Wow Em.... Did his address: PLOT 125 
    hold a clue to his Advocacy abilities?
    
    They use texts as well?
    That's interesting... as they are easily trackable.

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    1. 68

       emievilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       hehehe, actually don't know, I just ignored it.
       
       on the text, actually they can't be tracked if they're using what we call pre-paid phones (you buy a "load" to be able to text and call) as these are not registered with the phone company. I already reported the number to the phone company. They just recorded it but they basically told me the same thing . Next time I receive one, I'll post it .

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15. 0

    Ghost32posted 15 years ago

    Neither Pam nor I would fall for anything like this, but after her Mom passed, her greedy stepdad most certainly did.  It was one of those where they send you a check for, say, $4900, you deposit that, and then you send them back your own check for $4,000.  We repeatedly tried to warn him off, but what do stupid wicked stepchildren know?  He took the scammer's check to his bank, his bankers agreed that it looked fine to them (shows you how dumb bankers are, too, I guess), and he went for it hook, line, and sinker.
    
    Naturally the bank didn't eat the loss just because they'd given him bad advice to counter his wicked stepchild's good advice.  They stuck it to 'im.  Of course.
    
    In the meantime, he was bragging mightily to us about how his share would be somewhere between $2 and $3 million.  Shortly after that, he went on a trip for a couple of weeks.  When he got back, we called and asked him "innocently" if his expected windfall had come through.  As expected, he said that it had...but it didn't take him long to get off the phone, and at this point we haven't heard from the blackhearted idiot in years.
    
    How blackhearted?  Well, just as an example, when we were staying in his home the week after Pam's Mom died, Pam was understandably stressed to the max.  Both Pam and her Mom had been on Valium.  The guy flushed his wife's few remaining meds down the toilet so Pam couldn't have 'em.  Good ol' scam couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

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16. 58

    worldgrandeurposted 15 years ago

    I never fall for such a thing...

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17. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    Wow Thank you SunShineSnow.. Will you do a hub along the lines of this? It is an eduation thing clearly; but I take your point
    that many are blind to the obvious scam. Appreciate your input here.

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       SunShineSnowposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Will begin more research to try to get a hub up. This is a topic that puts a fire under me. I research every little thing because of the training. So many scams one could never list them all. Another example for your readers here. A few weeks ago I got an email from my business bank. At first it didn't even register the email was in my personal email account not the business. The email said my account had been suspended until I updated my information and they provided a link. Never click links in emails from a bank!!! No bank will ever send you a link, they always tell you that you have a message in your account to sign in to view message. Always log into your bank from the bank website not an email.
       I printed the email and took it to the bank one letter was missing from the email address. I then forwarded the email to the banks fraud division. Yes it was fraud and people will click on the link. If more people send the email to their banks fraud it can be traced back. And hopefully save the next guy from losing thousands.

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18. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    Nice One Ghost Don't you just love the confidence of idiots?
    
    Em, yes sorri, quite right - prepaids are used for many crimes.
    
    worldgrandeur; hope that continues or you.  If think alot feel the same way... Ghost has given an example of this too.

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19. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    Excellent SunShineSnow; I look forward to your Hub or indeed Hubs; as I'm sure your research will give you a solid platform for more than just one.   Good Luck.

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20. 60

    SunShineSnowposted 15 years ago

    Indeed...off to bed for now. 3 am here in Texas

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21. 62

    EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 15 years ago

    

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22. 70

    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    WELL SAID

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23. 84

    viryaboposted 15 years ago

    If you get mail such as those, with someone giving you promises of reaping where you did not sow, and you as much as consider it OR fall for it, you are gullible or greedy or both. Period.

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       Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Ummmmmmmmmmmmm.... I wonder?

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       emievilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Or just plain desperate

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24. 35

    jacobkuttytaposted 15 years ago

    I am also getting this types of mails
    
    Just ignore it

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25. 0

    SalesScoopposted 15 years ago

    I replied to this email just to mess with them. I said I would be glad to help, and they sent me their Western Union information. I waited until the next day and sent them an email stating that I sent it. They emailed back and said they went to there Western Union store and it wasn't there. I wrote back and said there was a mix up and I got taking care of so they should be all set. This went on for a week. Finally the guy starts cussing me out in an email saying it's a 4 hour ride by bus to go to the nearest Western Union store and he's gone 6 times and haven't received any money yet.
    
    I laughed so hard I couldn't stand it.
    
    The icing on the cake was emailing him back with a fake transaction number I found on the net. He made one more trip before giving up!!!!
    
    Ha HA HA

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       JSwansonposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Oh my god, you have just become my hero.  I cant stop laughing at what you did.  The idiots certainly deserve it.

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          Daniel Carterposted 15 years agoin reply to this

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       Louidam1posted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Now this is way too funny.  I need to try this sometime!!

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       viryaboposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       This is so funny, and i love it. . I am definitely going to try this out anytime another comes my way!
       You are so hilarious, im joining your fan club!

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26. 60

    Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

    I've been lucky & have never received this type of email.  If I got one, it would be checked as a phishing scam & its gone!

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27. 80

    loveofnightposted 15 years ago

    these emails get less than 20 seconds of attention from me.they tend to come off as if they know you,as if someone would be stupid enough to submit the info that they request.the stupid  thing about it is that they ask for your name on a business matter but they should know it.

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28. 0

    Louidam1posted 15 years ago

    I get these every week.  If someone actually falls for this crap deserves to be scammed!!!

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       Dale Mazurekposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I have to disagree.  No one deserves to get scammed.  The recession has been hard on people and people will try anything.  I think we really need to band together to help educate people.
       
       Falling for these scams cost Americans over 100 million dollars last year.
       
       These people make these scams sound so good to people who just want a break in their life.  The people getting scammed in most cases are good people just like you and I

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          Louidam1posted 15 years agoin reply to this

          You have a great point.  I take back what I said.  I have also seen on tv people who have fell victim to these scams.  It is very sad this happens to innocent people.

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          Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          I sort of thought the same Dale, and felt for such people quite a bit. Then I embarked on water4gas scam debunking campaign here on HP, and after a few months I gave up. I am really not interested anymore to be called all kinds of names by the very same people you are trying to help. They deserve what they get, it is called a life lesson.

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    sunforgedposted 15 years ago

    I love reading these emails and responding to them, after finding this site last year I have been happily taking afew minutes evryday to string these bastards along
    
    Some of the funniest counter scams on teh internet
    
    http://419eater.com/
    
    Sometimes, i also feel that maybe just maybe theirs a little social darwinism at play here too.
    
    The emails are almost always very poorly wriiten and quite obviously BS, a fool and his money are soon parted and all.
    
    But i realize desperation can cloud the judgement, so I try not to be to critical of those who fall for this kind of crap
    
    I have seen much, much better examples o fthis scam, complete with websites that showed their fake businesses

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    Pearldiverposted 15 years ago

    Did you get my email Josh?

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       sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       No, I dont think so, but any mail through HUBs is filtered to a folder in my account,so ill be right back.
       
       *edit* Yes, I have, I am in, Ill respond via email this evening

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          Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          Good stuff you will like the format.

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    habeeposted 15 years ago

    I didn't read all the posts, so if someone already mentioned this, forgive me.
    
    If you want some chucks, go to www.ebolamonkeyman.com. These guys are hilarious! You won't believe all the stuff they put the scammers through. Make sure you read the one about Father William U. Touchme.

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    cashmereposted 15 years ago

    if i had a cent for every such letter i have deleted it would make me more money than my adsense account!

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    ledefensetechposted 15 years ago

    Caveat Emptor and "If it sounds too good to be true, it is" was pounded into my head as a kid.  I mean, come on, who sends stuff like this through email for God's sake.  I feel for someone who gets taken in once by these sorts of things, but if they fall for it more than once, I have no sympathy at all.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
    
    Besides most people who answer these things have to believe you really can get something for nothing and you really can't.  Chalk it up as a life experience and be smarter next time.

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