How NOT To Be Scammed

How NOT To  Be Scammed

It seems like these things are really becoming a regular in my Spam folder lately. You know what I mean. These letters from Nigerian, or other south African countries. Some guy who says he is a lawyer sends you an email. He says he works for a legitimate banking company, and that he has had a client who has passed away. Fortunately for you, he hasn't been able to locate any living relatives for this poor client. But he has found you! And, lucky you, because you share the same last name he is going to set you up to inherit the millions of dollars left behind by this poor man. He's only asking for a small sum for helping you to get this money.

Now, he wants to assure you that everything is legitimate! And there will be no problems with you laying claim as this man's only living relative!

Okay, so some things are better off shown than said. Here's the lates I letter I received, just today:

Hello,

Please I want you to read this letter very carefully and I must apologize for barging this message into your mail box without any formal introduction due to the urgency the deal demands. I know this letter will come to you as a huge surprise, but please this is not a joke and I will not like you to joke with it as well.

I am William C Bryan working with Financial Bank an account manager to late Abba a native of your country who pass away on gold mining collapsed.

I'm here to inform you that after several attempts to locate any of my client relatives, family members since 2012 practically proved abortive, I am delighted to locate you. I found you bearing the same family name with my client. I will like us to talk about my client finances amounted to US$5,500,000.00 with us and his 40 KG gold deposit with Gold Planet Negoce. I am seeking your consent to stand you as the next of kin to my client so that his money/gold will be transferred to you. You will get 60% for your participation while 40% will be for me.

Sincerely this is not fallacy, and it requires a perfect arrangement, I need your full information if you will indicate your humble interest.

I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.

Therefore forward to me the bellow information for proceedings:

1. Your Name:_________________
2. Address:__________________
3. Country:___________________
4. City:__________________
5. Age :______________________
6. Tel:____________________
7. Occupation ____________________
8. Attach copy of your ID/Passport:

Regards,William C Bryan

(Incidentally, William C. Bryan  (1852-1933) was a United States Army officer that received the Medal of Honor. His award came for gallantry during the American Indian Wars.. (You can read about him on Wikipedia. Probably not the brightest move of a scammer is to use an American hero's name with someone who has been a history buff all their life!)

Now, before you begin to think this is all made up, let me introduce you to 419.bittenus.com 

As you can see, the letter I received is identical to the one this woman received, except that the return email address was different. My letter was received from William Bryan <williambryon@web.com.zw>  (please notice I did not make this an active email link, so as to protect you).

You will note that the letter is signed William C. BryAn, while the email address is williambryOn. Yeah, not even the same spelling.

If you will go back to the the copy of the letter received on 419, and then click on their home link, they will explain to you fully that someone who does this will promise you a fortune in money. The cam comes in by that individual then telling you that there is a "fee required" for this, and a "fee" required for that, until they have literally drained you dry! All the while, you are thinking, "well, it's simply an investment, because I'm going to get millions in return!"

Don't fall prey to these scammers!

The U.S. Dept. of State has this to say "... advance fee fraud is a lucrative financial crime that generates hundreds of millions of illicit dollars annually for criminals. 
... the main goal of 419 fraud is to deceive victims into payment of an advance fee by persuading them that they will receive a very large benefit in return. These “get rich quick” schemes have ended for some victims in monetary losses, kidnapping, or murder. Through the Internet, businesses and individuals around the world have been and continue to be targeted by perpetrators of 419 scams. ..".

You know were talking some serious stuff here when the Department of State has become involved!

Be an informed consumer, and be aware of scammers!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So don't even fall for it. While the lady who wrote in the 419 website that she liked to have fun stringing these scammers along, I don't recommend that. Remember that some illegal scams are run by people who have far reaching activities. I would not want anyone to be hurt by this.

I highly recommend that when you receive an email, that is obviously a scam, you simply delete it and forget it. That's right. Just delete it and forget it.

If you have found yourself to be the victim of a scam, don't waste your time reporting it to your local authorities. Go ahead and call the FBI. They have the resources available to get involved. I can, however, tell you that statistically any money you have spent on a scam is simply gone, and you will never see it again. So, be informed, and don't fall for it.

Don't click on any links promising you money. And don't give them any personal information.

Just as I would tell you to be safe out there, if we were parting on the street corner, let me tell you now, to be safe out there on the world wide web. It's a dangerous, ruthless world we live in, friends.

God bless!