Nigerian Scam Artist

I used to really wonder if anyone ever fell for any of the Nigerian email scams. On more than one occasion I have had moments of fun by playing with them. Long time readers may recall reading about some of them. Perhaps when the Shmata Queen returns from her vacation I’ll ask her to share her favorite one.

In the interim if you haven’t gotten a chance to review any of my antics here are a few links to review:

I am Rich Again- How Much Luck Do I Deserve
More About My Good Fortune
Give Me Time and I will Be Rich, Rich, Rich

That leads into a story I just read about a boy who was taken in by these scammers. Let’s look at two excerpts:

“A Leamington man has fallen prey to international scam artists who strung him along for more than a year with the promise of millions in cash, but ultimately bilked him and his family of $150,000.

John Rempel said he quit his truck driving job, lost friends, borrowed money and rossed the globe in pursuit of a non-existent inheritance, after he was contacted by e-mail in what is known as a Nigerian 419 scam.

Rempel said he borrowed $55,000 from an uncle in Mexico and his parents gave him $60,000 on credit to cover fees for transferring $12.8 million into his name.”

and

“The man then told him he had to pay $2,500 to transfer the money into his name. Then there were several more documents. Some cost $5,000.

He was told to open an account at a bank in London. That required a $5,000 minimum deposit. The crooks later sent him an e-mail with a link to what he was told were details of his new account. Some money had been transferred there for “safe
keeping.”

“Everything was good,” said Rempel.

Then he got an e-mail from a government department — he’s not sure which country — saying he owed $250,000 on tax on his inheritance. Rempel spoke to his contact, who told him they negotiated the fee down to $25,000.

Rempel went to Mexico where his uncle owns a farm. His uncle gave him $10,000 cash and money for a plane ticket. He was going to London to make sure it was legitimate.

“I had $10,000 in cash in my pocket and my uncle sent another $25,000 when I was over there.”

In London, Rempel met some people and handed over the $10,000.

They met Rempel the next day with a suitcase. They said it had $10.6 million in shrink-wrapped U.S. bills. Rempel wanted more proof. His new friends pulled out one bill and “cleansed” it with a liquid “formula,” which washed off some kind of stamp.
Rempel was told that process made the money “legal tender.”

I sort of feel bad for the guy, but I have to wonder about the rest of the family as well. Sounds like an entire family fell hook, line and sinker for this. Sometimes you have to use common sense.