# Explain this scam to me **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382 "2014-03-10T21:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/21 "2014-03-12T08:10:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Several years ago I got a letter from someone saying he had the same first and last name as me, and was contacting other people with our names around the country for reasons I don’t recall exactly, but which had something to do with alleged common interests and government conspiracies of some sort. I had something like this purportedly from someone trying to trace his family tree. I have no idea whether it was the lead-in for a scam or just someone who didn’t know that this isn’t how you trace your family tree. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/22 "2014-03-12T08:39:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > At this point, it may perhaps be of some interest to link to [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498879) from several years ago, in which **choie** watches, and blogs, as her gullible neighbor keeps paying and keeps paying and keeps paying until, apparently, he has lost everything. Wow - not sure I ever saw the update on that one, but it’s a very clear example of how the scammers will keep on pumping the victim to throw good money after bad. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/23 "2014-03-12T12:24:34Z")
As stated its really just variations on the same con. My sergeant was trying to sell an item on Craig’s List. He got an offer that rang his internal alarm but decided to play along. He received a check and instructions to cash it then send on a portion to a factor who will arrange transportation. He called the bank that the check was supposedly from and of course found that the check was fake. He is now getting emails accusing him of stealing this guy’s money. Its basically impossible to track the guy down to charge him but we are going to use the check and correspondence for the fraud presentations we do for the public. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/24 "2014-03-12T12:26:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If you like The Straight Dope, you’ll just love the Red-Headed League. They were all about fighting ignorance, you know, by hand-copying encyclopedias. You’ll learn so much! At least, everything starting with “A”. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/25 "2014-03-12T13:01:25Z")
A different twist - a couple of years ago, I got several emails from a marketing firm in Ohio saying that I’d won $500 and they wanted my street address so they could send me a pre-paid Visa card. I ignored and deleted several of these messages, assuming it was a scam. But he was persistent, so I googled the number and it was a legit marketing company. So I contacted the individual by phone (he included a phone number in the email) and apparently I’d filled out a brief online survey and had, really, won $500. All he needed was an address to mail it to. Like most people here I keep my BS detector set to _stun_, but I’m glad I followed up! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/26 "2014-03-12T13:20:00Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > As stated its really just variations on the same con. > > My sergeant was trying to sell an item on Craig’s List. He got an offer that rang his internal alarm but decided to play along. He received a check and instructions to cash it then send on a portion to a factor who will arrange transportation. He called the bank that the check was supposedly from and of course found that the check was fake. He is now getting emails accusing him of stealing this guy’s money. Its basically impossible to track the guy down to charge him but we are going to use the check and correspondence for the fraud presentations we do for the public. Overpayment scams are a different animal from 419 scams - though there are many variations on both (and it wouldn’t surprise me to see both used in concert). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/27 "2014-03-12T13:56:48Z")
No such thread is complete without a link to the immortal _[Fun and Games with Mr Austin Wemba](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=242804&highlight=Wemba)_ which **Mangetout** is too modest to mention. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/28 "2014-03-12T14:08:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Overpayment scams are a different animal from 419 scams - though there are many variations on both (and it wouldn’t surprise me to see both used in concert). Same church different pew. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/29 "2014-03-12T14:16:47Z")
This one actually almost got me (didn’t click on anything, although I did google the link). It was from a “funeral home” saying that someone I knew had died. The scam pulls on your heartstrings. Now it seems pretty blatant, but a couple weeks ago? I had never run into this before. It’s a pretty fucking shitty thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/30 "2014-03-12T16:48:48Z")
Yeah, lately I’ve been getting emails from a funeral home about the loss of a loved one. Curious thing, they seem to forget to mention the NAME of the corpse. But there’s a link they want me to click on. Not a chance. Oh, and lots of the spam wants personal information. Besides your name, address, and phone number, they want your banking information and sometimes a photo copy of your passport. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/31 "2014-03-12T18:47:42Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > A different twist - a couple of years ago, I got several emails from a marketing firm in Ohio saying that I’d won $500 and they wanted my street address so they could send me a pre-paid Visa card. > > I ignored and deleted several of these messages, assuming it was a scam. But he was persistent, so I googled the number and it was a legit marketing company. So I contacted the individual by phone (he included a phone number in the email) and apparently I’d filled out a brief online survey and had, really, won $500. All he needed was an address to mail it to. > > Like most people here I keep my BS detector set to _stun_, but I’m glad I followed up! This reminds me of a contest that Chase Bank had several years ago. Basically, they had a flaw in the way the contest was set up that gave anyone who used the no-purchase-necessary alternative means of entry a 76% chance of winning $500 if they made the maximum number of allowed entries. This was revealed on several deal discussion boards. So people entered the contest. A few months after the contest was over, the independent judging company started sending out mail to the winners asking them to sign a form attesting they were over 18 and complied with the rules in order to claim their prizes. The boards were then filled with posts from the same people who had just spend two months entering this contest proclaiming “CHASE BANK SCAM ALERT!!!” Some of the people just assumed the letters must be a scam. Others took a copy of the letter down to their local Chase Bank branch where the lobby banker told them something like “I’ve never heard of ABC Judging Company. This must be some sort of scam.” I just scrawled something that looked like my name at the bottom of the form and sent it back. They already had my address, what were they going to do to me? A few months later I got a check for $500, cashed it, and all was well. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/32 "2014-03-12T19:38:13Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You’re still thinking in terms of recent digitally-assisted scams. Whatever exact details might apply, I’d bet good money that the scam would be recognizable to any con man of the last two hundred years. They will set you up to believe you have some sort of incredible windfall and find a way to get you to pay “advance expenses” or “provincial legal fees” or some damned thing. See the movie “Paper Moon” - your recently deceased husband ordered this gold-embossed Bible, and told me he’d pay for it when it was delivered. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/33 "2014-03-12T19:55:24Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > This reminds me of a contest that Chase Bank had several years ago. Basically, they had a flaw in the way the contest was set up that gave anyone who used the no-purchase-necessary alternative means of entry a 76% chance of winning $500 if they made the maximum number of allowed entries. > > This was revealed on several deal discussion boards. So people entered the contest. A few months after the contest was over, the independent judging company started sending out mail to the winners asking them to sign a form attesting they were over 18 and complied with the rules in order to claim their prizes. The boards were then filled with posts from the same people who had just spend two months entering this contest proclaiming “CHASE BANK SCAM ALERT!!!” > > Some of the people just assumed the letters must be a scam. Others took a copy of the letter down to their local Chase Bank branch where the lobby banker told them something like “I’ve never heard of ABC Judging Company. This must be some sort of scam.” > > I just scrawled something that looked like my name at the bottom of the form and sent it back. They already had my address, what were they going to do to me? A few months later I got a check for $500, cashed it, and all was well. HA! Good on you! Funnily enough the survey I filled out (I don’t usually do surveys) was embedded in a local news story about banking, when First Merit bank was taking over a local bank - Citizens. I had opinions since Citizens was my bank for years and I wasn’t happy about the merger, so I filled out the survey. Oddly enough, I now bank with Chase. But they have yet to give me $500. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/34 "2014-03-12T21:01:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > At this point, it may perhaps be of some interest to link to [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498879) from several years ago, in which **choie** watches, and blogs, as her gullible neighbor keeps paying and keeps paying and keeps paying until, apparently, he has lost everything. Man, that sucker reads like the plot of a John D. MacDonald novel. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/35 "2014-03-13T05:53:12Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Yeah, lately I’ve been getting emails from a funeral home about the loss of a loved one. Curious thing, they seem to forget to mention the NAME of the corpse. But there’s a link they want me to click on. Not a chance. Hey! I got that one too a few days ago! From a funeral home somewhere in Florida (where I don’t have any kinfolk that I know of). ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/36 "2014-03-13T08:12:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Hey! I got that one too a few days ago! From a funeral home somewhere in Florida (where I don’t have any kinfolk that I know of). of course you don’t have any kinfolk there. They just died!!! And if you click the link, you’ll get all the money in their will. Go ahead, do it! What could go wrong.? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/37 "2014-03-13T08:25:53Z")
I still get a half dozen scam emails in my hotmail account every day; every now and again, I still toy with them. At the moment, I just reply : > [@](#): > > I know this is a scam. Whoever gave you the mailing list with my contact details on it must have also given it to hundreds of other scammers (because I get dozens of scam emails like yours every day), If you paid money for the mailing list, you were scammed yourself. In most cases, that’s the end of the conversation, but once in a while, the scammer will try to protest his innocence - yesterday, the response I got from one was: > [@](#): > > Thanks for your response,but it is quite unfortunate that you have made a mistake by calling this scam. I am giving you hundred assurances that you will never encounter any kind of problem in this transaction. Knowing too well that I can not deceive you or mislead you in any way. > > This fund is compensation from the Government to every of our fail victims client. And your name is on the list of them that has been duping by fraudsters through internet. That is why we have to contact you for your immediate responses to our request to enable us take a quick action over this transfer. Don’t be afraid of anything you are on the right channel all I need from you is your understanding and your full co-operation. > > Yes , your experience is very touching but without you having trust on me, their is no you can ever get your claim. I am a blessed man and nothing will ever make me tell you lies.sincerely i am not surprised if you say so.This has been on for some time now, this is the reason why before any international transfers can be done, an investigator must be assigned to such transaction for absolute clarity.And i have all the legal documentation that will back you up as the rightful beneficiary.So don’t be afraid of anything concerning this transfer of your. From your speech i discover that you have not authorized any Mr. > H. Gleen Logsdon an American with address No. 265 Hillside Ave Nutley NJ 07111,USA to claim your fund on your behalf. Please without wasting our own time to remit US$3.8 Million into your account. You have to Reconfirmed to us the information below:… (I just replied asking if his mother knows he’s a criminal, and that was the end of it). Previously to this scheme, I played a different game, comprising: [ul] [li]Reply to the initial email, sounding interested and stupid (this gets you past the first line of bulk spammers and there will usually be a secondary contact email)[/li][li]Add the primary and secondary addresses to a list (kept locally in a text doc)[/li][li]Reply to the email, copying all of the scammers on the list, saying “Fucking idiot scammer”[/li][/ul] Because the reply-all list snowballs into something quite big, you quickly get scammers doing a reply-all, protesting their innocence; this email goes to all the other scammers on the list. The effect - I think - is that the scammers abandon these email addresses. They probably set up another one straight away, but maybe in the process, this disrupts the chain of contact with an innocent victim or two. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/38 "2014-03-13T22:47:41Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I know this is a scam. Whoever gave you the mailing list with my contact details on it must have also given it to hundreds of other scammers (because I get dozens of scam emails like yours every day), If you paid money for the mailing list, you were scammed yourself. That is outfuckingstanding, Mangetout. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/39 "2014-03-14T05:31:36Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Hey! I got that one too a few days ago! From a funeral home somewhere in Florida (where I don’t have any kinfolk that I know of). Hey, maybe we’re mispocha? They seem to be dropping like flies down there. Seems to happen every 3 weeks. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382/40 "2014-03-14T05:54:33Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > So while I’m on the SD, I get an SMS: > > “I am contacting you regarding a deceased clients (sic) of ours that bears the same surname as yours. Contact me via email for more info: [mrtimriggs@aol.com](mailto:mrtimriggs@aol.com)” My mother asked me about that … “Mrs Jones, we have a deceased estate in the name of Jones” Obviously leading toward a “fee upfront” aka “Nigerian” scam. It is silly for them to try this line… The thief may as well just create his own false identities and steal the lot for himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-scam-to-me/683382.md?page=3)