Who in the heck still falls for these scams?

[rick-slo]

Below is an email I got today.

----------------------------------------------------------------

THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR,CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)GOV.GODWIN EMEFIELE
E-mail: [email protected]
OFFICE+234-8118345503

URGENT NOTICE,

Attention:

This is to inform you that your deliveryman has arrived with your cash trunk boxes value $19.7 million dollars in JFK International Airport, United States as their transit.



I want you to know that you have 24 hours to call him now with this line +1305-340-0201 or email: [email protected] , then ask to speak to the diplomatic deliveryman in person of Mr.Charles Morrls in the United States.Let us know if you are still interested to get your two trunk boxes delivered to you today? As he has been waiting to hear from you to enable him get to your home address without missing his way.



For your information, the deliveryman with your package is not aware of the content of the boxes for security purpose. Please do not tell him to avoid running away with your funds.On no account should you let him know about the content of the consignment to avoid evil intention.



Most importantly you are advised to send your full data to him,which include your Full Name,Current Residential Address, Direct Cell Number,and A copy of any identity card to verify that you are the right receiver to avoid mistakes.



Note that you must call me as soon as you receive this email for more discussion, my direct line is +234-8105372609 Also reconfirm your full current address and valid phone number to the Delivery officer via his above email address once you receive this email to enable him deliver your cash consignment boxes to your house without any further delay or mistake.



You are advised not to waste his time at the airport,so that he would not be stranded in any way because he will return if he finds out that you are not doing anything to get him over to your house.



CONGRATULATIONS.



GODWIN EMEFIELE
EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR,
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA E-mail: [email protected]

[Neil K Walk]

Elderly widows come to mind. I have told my mother many times “if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not.” Several years ago she told me she won a cruise. It took a lot to convince her that it was just a high pressure sale ploy.

[Brucebubs]

Yeah ... you open your 'cash trunks' and find there's really only $15.5 million.

[Ozzy the dog]

I opened my cash trunks......



....and got arrested.

[Parlorman]

The annual per capita income in Nigeria is a little over $6,000 and unemployment iso er 25%. The scammers don’t have to con very many people to make a decent living

[Mr. Jelly]

I don't know if you have noticed but there are allot of stupid people. I'm just saying ……..

[jpd]

There isn't that much cash in Nigeria.....

[thomasinaz]

The other day my wife's phone was barraged with calls, from different 800 numbers, with the same recorded message about her social security number being suspended. They said to press 1 to speak to a government agent to get this resolved. I usually just ignore these calls or block the number, but this one kept coming every 10 minutes, with a different number, for most of the morning. I pressed 1 and after a little profanity enriched (on both sides) conversation the calls stopped. Most of these calls come from other countries and there isn't much that can be done to prosecute the scammers, unfortunately.

[Denny B]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I don't know if you have noticed but there are allot of stupid people. I'm just saying ……..

I'm reminded of something George Carlin said once...

The gist of it was:

Consider how stupid the average person is. Now realize that half of the people are more stupid than that...

[C-ville Brent]

I got the call on my social security number being suspended a day or so ago. I always screen calls but the recording was left on my answering machine. I decided to let it ride.

It amazes me that phone and internet scammers don't seem to be pursued by law enforcement, local, state, or federal with the vigor needed. Preying on older and desperate people is despicable. Investigate, arrest, and the guilty serve time in maximum security prisons - make sure they tell their friends.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by C-ville Brent

I got the call on my social security number being suspended a day or so ago. I always screen calls but the recording was left on my answering machine. I decided to let it ride.

It amazes me that phone and internet scammers don't seem to be pursued by law enforcement, local, state, or federal with the vigor needed. Preying on older and desperate people is despicable. Investigate, arrest, and the guilty serve time in maximum security prisons - make sure they tell their friends.

While I agree with you in principle, it would seem to me that going after these folks on the internet can be a very difficult and time consuming thing, that law enforcement may not be staffed for.

Also, on the internet, it is quite easy to just come and go, change location, hide location, etc. When I purchase an online course, I always download it because even though the site may offer a "lifetime" access at an extra cost, I know that the business is nothing more than a bunch of files on a server that could disappear at any time. In short, the internet is, by its very nature, very fluid. The internet is a double-edged sword, as is much in life. We are able to take lessons from our favorite musicians any time we want, have access to all manner of convenient shopping, meet like-minded folks in forums such as this, often work from home, etc., but it is also a haven for scam artists and others who wish to take from those who work for what they have. These people have always existed, but now their access to us is much easier and wider than ever before. It is therefore even more important than ever that we "be wise" to these people.

Besides that, I am certain that the email from Nigeria I responded to last week will result in millions of dollars flooding my bank account to replace what I gave them, any day now...

Tony

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

While I agree with you in principle, it would seem to me that going after these folks on the internet can be a very difficult and time consuming thing, that law enforcement may not be staffed for.

Also, on the internet, it is quite easy to just come and go, change location, hide location, etc. When I purchase an online course, I always download it because even though the site may offer a "lifetime" access at an extra cost, I know that the business is nothing more than a bunch of files on a server that could disappear at any time. In short, the internet is, by its very nature, very fluid. The internet is a double-edged sword, as is much in life. We are able to take lessons from our favorite musicians any time we want, have access to all manner of convenient shopping, meet like-minded folks in forums such as this, often work from home, etc., but it is also a haven for scam artists and others who wish to take from those who work for what they have. These people have always existed, but now their access to us is much easier and wider than ever before. It is therefore even more important than ever that we "be wise" to these people.

Besides that, I am certain that the email from Nigeria I responded to last week will result in millions of dollars flooding my bank account to replace what I gave them, any day now...

Tony

Everything is archived and AI is employed to target marketing so it’s a letter of time before we are all tracked in real-time. Never assume that you are able to go completely off the grid. My mother refuses to even learn how to use a personal computer and even SHE is on the grid.

The only reason these scammers cannot be prosecuted is because they are not located within the US. They hack into the telephone system and engage in piracy. I’m not so much worried about the inconvenience, invasion of privacy or harassment so much as the potential for identity theft.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Everything is archived and AI is employed to target marketing so it’s a letter of time before we are all tracked in real-time. Never assume that you are able to go completely off the grid. My mother refuses to even learn how to use a personal computer and even SHE is on the grid.

The only reason these scammers cannot be prosecuted is because they are not located within the US. They hack into the telephone system and engage in piracy. I’m not so much worried about the inconvenience, invasion of privacy or harassment so much as the potential for identity theft.

I agree that everything is archived somewhere, but assets you have paid for may not necessarily be available to you once the site that offered them via their sales mechanism goes away.

There was a site, lickbyneck.com, that had lots of tunes arranged very nicely and provided both PDF TABs and a clever little software platform that animated the tune on the guitar neck so you loop and/or step through it. The site disappeared. Try to find their content. That site didn't charge, but the materials sure were professional quality. It is too bad they disappeared. This is but one example. Saying that, well, everything is archived can give a person a false sense of security.

Even in the US, the scammers can be difficult to find because they can hide and/or move from site to site. Things are not as black and white as they may seem when it comes to the internet. Phone scamming is another thing altogether, and I don't know enough about that technology to make any useful comments.

Ys, identity theft is a very real problem. I doubt that anybody can 100% prevent this from happening to them, but practicing various forms of "safe computing" can certainly help, and is certainly better than living in fear of what might happen.

Tony

[RP]

Originally Posted by C-ville Brent

I got the call on my social security number being suspended a day or so ago...

I got several of these last week....

[Neil K Walk]

Hehe - I turned 50 on Tuesday and I got a similar “birthday greeting” from “the IRS.” I’m disappointed: I was hoping it was AARP.