Ottakee Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 At least that is what the email I just got claimed. I just need to give this "helpful" African banker 50% of the money and he will help me get the other 50%. How do people come up with this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschooltoone Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 :lol: I wonde about that too. You'll be surprised how many fell for that con. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Once you send him the 50%, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 There's a sucker born every minute...w.c. fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Once you send him the 50%, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. I've got a better deal--ocean-front property in Illinois for sale here! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Ha. The money's mine. I'm the rightful heir! I already sent the money, so there. I'll be rich soon. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I get about 3 of those a week. All sorts of countries I had either forgotten about or never heard of, are all claiming to have millions of dollars in trust or inheritance for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 There was a story on the news last week about a local 83 year old who tried to buy 3 computers. She mentioned to the clerk that she was sending them to Jamaica and he called the police. The scammers told her they needed the computers to process her 10 million dollar lottery winnings. I get so sad thinking about how disappointed she must have been when the cops told her it was a scam. I'm floored that someone could fall for this but it happens ALL THE TIME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I get about 3 of those a week. All sorts of countries I had either forgotten about or never heard of, Hey I feel a geography unit coming soon! Scamming countries of the world!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I may be able to help you with the 50% as soon as my banking deal with a business man in China comes through. Please keep this quiet though, as it is a special deal to people with my very high credit rating and I'd hate to mess it up. At least that is what the email I just got claimed. I just need to give this "helpful" African banker 50% of the money and he will help me get the other 50%. How do people come up with this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Wait, that email wasn't for real? :lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 There's some research out there that suggests that as we age, our "B.S. bit" (forget the technical term) gets turned off. So literally, we are unable to tell if someone is scamming us. Supposedly, it is more frequent in men than women. I watched it happen firsthand to my Father, who had been a savvy accountant. He didn't have dementia and didn't have alzheimers. What he did have was the absence of the B.S. bit, which means he blew through the majority of my parents' savings chasing these things. Ironically, my Mother, the one with dementia, still had her B.S. bit, and he ignored her protestations because of her budding dementia. These people are quite the charmers. My sister and I would intercept their phone calls at my parents' home. When we spoke to the solicitors plainly, telling him/her we knew it was a scam, they would unleash the most foul, abusive language ever heard. It would make a sailor blush. (And I'm practically a sailor). :001_huh: On the upside, there are some folks who attempt to keep them busy with fake marks: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/technology/01iht-scam.1.6428742.html?_r=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 This American Life did an amazing show on people who bait these scammers. I think it was episode 363, but their server is down right now. I laughed so hard I cried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 and there were some journalists who attempted (well they did succeed!) to scam the scammers. I just don't remember any details, but it was a pretty good job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 This American Life did an amazing show on people who bait these scammers. I think it was episode 363, but their server is down right now. I laughed so hard I cried. I loved that one... http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1260 http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=133890 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I was surprised to discover when I opened my Inbox that I won the Irish Lottery! I didn't even know I had entered. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 This has nothing to do with scams but other things that some elderly people get into trouble. Yesterday I was at the commissary. It has very wide lanes in between the parking slots, plenty for two large cars plus a shopper or two walking. Anyway, I was parked in the non handicapped parking slot next to the farthest handicapped spot. My bagger had two cars and was putting the groceries in my midsize Hyundai Sonata (not some huge thing). The elderly lady got into her car and tried to pull out. There were no cars coming and plenty of room. She had problems. My bagger pulled the car to a slightly different location since she was having problems where no one else would but to help her. She finally made it out. The one side of her car that I saw had scrapes, black marks, and cracks in her rear bumper with a lot more damage there. Obviously this woman keeps hitting things and by the looks of the car, she hits and keeps going hence the long scrapes. She either has vision problems or she has some type of dementia, mental limitations, or some other problem with her neurological system or maybe her medications are making her an unsafe driver. I don't know but I do know she shouldn't be driving. Other people shouldn't be having control of their own finances. It is very sad. I have already prepared myself but am having a hard time convincing my husband. I think it is easier for me since I am so happy that I am still so mobile after 15 years of inflammatory arthritis. I already know that if I live long enough I will have to live in at least a retirement community if not an actual assisted living facility. It is best to get used to this idea when you are younger so you can move there when you need to and look forward to it. I have already seen some great facilities that had things that I would enjoy so I know that what I need is simply to keep having money to move there. I really feel badly for those whose parents and other relatives are getting scammed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom3tn Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have had my bank account suspended several times for failure to log in and confirm my information (through a link in an email of course).... at a bank where I didn't even know I had an account. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I heard about a scam where old people are called in the middle of the night by someone identifying themselves as the "favorite grandchild," saying there'd been a car crash, and asking to have money sent immediately via Western Union. I found it amazing that anyone would fall for that. Do that many elderly people have grandchildren with so much NERVE as to refer to themselves as "your favorite grandchild," or where the person forgets their own grandchild's name?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Hey, me too!!!! And here I thought I was 100% Irish!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I heard about a scam where old people are called in the middle of the night by someone identifying themselves as the "favorite grandchild," saying there'd been a car crash, and asking to have money sent immediately via Western Union. I found it amazing that anyone would fall for that. Do that many elderly people have grandchildren with so much NERVE as to refer to themselves as "your favorite grandchild," or where the person forgets their own grandchild's name?! There was one on the news lately where this happened. Grandma was savvy enough to recognize that the person spoke with a Canadian accent on certain words and that she did not have a Canadian grandson. She was smart and reported it to the authorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Too sad. I guess that the scam works on getting the sleepy grandparent to fill in the blanks, and then some story about why someone else's name was supposed to be on the Western Union form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I always wondered who on earth would buy these emails, but then dh had an employee tell him that she had a new job. She found out about it through email. She was going to help out people in African countries where they don't have banks... and you know the rest... :001_huh: BTW, I asked our African university student at T-giving (I forget who asked on the other post) about the money, and he said, "Good luck with that." :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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