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Just curious,
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 190647" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I was very curious about these the first time I saw them. Of course no way was I taken in (now would I have responded) but I was very curious as to how they got on to ME.</p><p></p><p>So I did some digging and found some fascinating stuff.</p><p></p><p>First, if you check the amounts of money, often the amount they say is stashed somewhere in a Swiss bank account (or buried somewhere) is greater than the entire Gross Domestic Product of that country. Hmmm... unlikely.</p><p></p><p>Second, the scams aren't old emails recirculating - new scams are being written the whole time. Often it's the same people repeating a scam that reaped a few shekels for them before. But there are always new people wanting to make a fast illegal buck who are quite capable of copying someone else's successful scam.</p><p></p><p>Third, they get very large mailing lists and broadcast the email. I don't know how many they send out, hopefully most people have got the message by now that these are scams and hoaxes. But there are always a few people who either haven't got the message, who think they can have a go at scamming a scammer, or who just want to take a chance in case THIS time, it's for real. As if!</p><p></p><p>Because anyone who responds to this would HAVE to know that doing this sort of thing would be immoral, if not illegal, then anyone getting ripped off is unlikely to report their loss, at least not at first and if it's only a small amount. But the psychology of this is good - depending on the skill of the scammer, they can play a vulnerable sucker like a fish.</p><p></p><p>Because these are generally broadcast, the scammers often use a bot to handle at least the earlier responses. Once things get interesting you often get a person stepping in and replying.</p><p></p><p>I found once priceless link - a bloke who deliberately pretended to be a sucker on the end of the line. He did his best to protect his identity (there are many ways you can get burned with these guys - identity fraud, bank accounts emptied, meeting in person and getting kidnapped or worse) and clearly knew enough to stay safe. He published all the messages to and fro on his website.</p><p>What the guy did - he acted like it really WAS his long-lost family who had been killed in this tiny little country and did things like requesting flowers and a wreath be left at the roadside location of their accident. He wanted photos of the wreath and a small memorial to be emailed to him. He kept up this sort of thing and got more outrageous all the time.</p><p></p><p>I did some digging again - I found the link. It's long, but a very enjoyable read. Also informative. I think it should be required reading for anyone who has ever received too many of these things or ever been tempted, even for a second.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.jirdc.org/Files/Donald.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.jirdc.org/Files/Donald.pdf</a></p><p></p><p>Enjoy.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 190647, member: 1991"] I was very curious about these the first time I saw them. Of course no way was I taken in (now would I have responded) but I was very curious as to how they got on to ME. So I did some digging and found some fascinating stuff. First, if you check the amounts of money, often the amount they say is stashed somewhere in a Swiss bank account (or buried somewhere) is greater than the entire Gross Domestic Product of that country. Hmmm... unlikely. Second, the scams aren't old emails recirculating - new scams are being written the whole time. Often it's the same people repeating a scam that reaped a few shekels for them before. But there are always new people wanting to make a fast illegal buck who are quite capable of copying someone else's successful scam. Third, they get very large mailing lists and broadcast the email. I don't know how many they send out, hopefully most people have got the message by now that these are scams and hoaxes. But there are always a few people who either haven't got the message, who think they can have a go at scamming a scammer, or who just want to take a chance in case THIS time, it's for real. As if! Because anyone who responds to this would HAVE to know that doing this sort of thing would be immoral, if not illegal, then anyone getting ripped off is unlikely to report their loss, at least not at first and if it's only a small amount. But the psychology of this is good - depending on the skill of the scammer, they can play a vulnerable sucker like a fish. Because these are generally broadcast, the scammers often use a bot to handle at least the earlier responses. Once things get interesting you often get a person stepping in and replying. I found once priceless link - a bloke who deliberately pretended to be a sucker on the end of the line. He did his best to protect his identity (there are many ways you can get burned with these guys - identity fraud, bank accounts emptied, meeting in person and getting kidnapped or worse) and clearly knew enough to stay safe. He published all the messages to and fro on his website. What the guy did - he acted like it really WAS his long-lost family who had been killed in this tiny little country and did things like requesting flowers and a wreath be left at the roadside location of their accident. He wanted photos of the wreath and a small memorial to be emailed to him. He kept up this sort of thing and got more outrageous all the time. I did some digging again - I found the link. It's long, but a very enjoyable read. Also informative. I think it should be required reading for anyone who has ever received too many of these things or ever been tempted, even for a second. [url]http://www.jirdc.org/Files/Donald.pdf[/url] Enjoy. Marg [/QUOTE]
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