One Day These Might Be Eagerly Pawed Over....

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hugh on October 8, 2016 at 13:48

Starter for 10:

Dear beloved One,

I am Mrs.Mariam Nasser Musa Habib, Wife of Nasser Habib, from Angola who WAS until his death an exporter of Gold and oil Explorer in Kuwait and Angola for twelve years before he died. I am Sending you this email in regards to my last wish. I have been diagnosed with cancer for a very long period. I have been touched to Will the sum of $ 3.2million US dollars [three million two hundred thousand United State dollars] from what I have inherited from my late husband to you to assist me to distribute my funds to charity work through your assistance , If you are willing to assist me bring my heart desire to manifestation for the glory of God Allah, kindly reply me to enable me give you every legal information that will enable you to claim the Fund for as my next of Kin and help me conclude this humanitarian Project as I can not handle this Project from my sick bed will be waiting for your response Thanks and God Allah blessed you.

Mrs.Mariam Nasser Musa

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on October 9, 2016 at 17:50

She got me at "Dear beloved One". I've sent her my bank details.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JoeW on October 9, 2016 at 17:32

I think it might not be the social historians who study these, but rather a branch of biologists specialising in the evolution of early cyber-lifeforms.

One theory is that the really obvious ones - Nigerian uncle wants to transfer $1m into your account - are actually successful - the lifeform survives! - precisely because they will only attract the most gullible. The perpetrators are not interested in targeting more astute victims since they would be less likely to follow the process through.

Here's another scam which came into my inbox today (in response to an item I just posted on Gumtree):

"Ok! The price is a good buy for me... please remove the advert and consider it sold as i am paying your full asking price of £195 because i need to buy it for my cousin, i have done thorough check on the advert and i'm fine with it, sadly i would not be able to come personally to view or collect it due to house bound went through throat cancer surgery and couldn't talk more but will be ok soon  but i have an agent that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money and i'll pay you via PayPal today and pick up will start after you have cashed your money today...if that is ok with you.

Where is the pick up location so that i can inform the agent about it now and send me your registered paypal email, so i can make arrangement for payment. Thanks"

I'm curious as to how the scam will actually unfold - maybe they will actually transfer the money, then deny receiving the item, and claim the money back from Paypal, so I'd lose my item and the money. Maybe they'd arrange to meet and the "agent" would mug me. Maybe strange "problems" would emerge and they try to phish for further personal details allowing login to my Paypal account.

But, I'm not curious enough to actually reply :)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JoeW on October 9, 2016 at 17:53

I just googled this scam and apparently what happens next is, the scammer says they want to transfer an additional amount to your paypal, on the understanding that you will transfer some of the money via Western Union to their "agent". Once you give them your paypal email, you get an email purporting to be from paypal saying "the money has now been transferred and will be released to your account once the money is received via Western Union."

So they sent you some fake money and you send them some real money.

• ▶ Reply