I am thinking about sending him an empty package that was obviously damaged in the mail. I’ll come up with some excuse why one of my associates in New York had to mail it to keep him guessing about the post mark. I am not really from New York but I know some people there. I surprised he hasn’t noticed the discrepancy in the area code for my phone number. It doesn’t match up with where I really live anyway. Not even close. I need some of those paper straps that bank tellers use to bundle banknotes. I have two or three laying around but only one for $10,000 in hundreds.
Is there any way that you could get your hands on a half-pound of dried seaweed?
Maybe you could grind it up and tell him, “Ooops! I sent you the wrong package…”
Well you certainly couldn’t mail it yourself, that’s a good way to lose your farm to RICO. Of course you are having someone out of state mail it, that’s only smart.
Most folks don’t change their phone numbers anymore. They just port them over when they move. Area codes really don’t mean much anymore, you kept your number when you moved to the farm to avoid the hassle of contacting all of your friends, family and business partners about the change.
Those numbers are much too low–because they are from self-reports to a government website most have not heard of.
As a comparison look at:
Global Financial Crime Report 2024: Insights at the Intersection of Financial Crime Data & Real Survivor Stories
So the FBI report says $264 million for check/credit card fraud while this report says $21 billion for check fraud and $13.6 billion for credit card fraud in the Americas [I expect the majority of this would be in the U.S.]
The other problem is that the categories in my chart tend to overlap. The relative values might be interesting, though frankly some scams probably have higher reporting rates than others. Social engineering scams, of which romance scams are a part, are probably reported less.
Ynnad:
If you get a US address, you can report the mules to law enforcement. If it’s a foreign address say you absolutely cannot send anything through the US postal service. Only DSL (COD of course). Say you will embed the cash in a sturdy box - then mail them a couple of bricks.
You can also have Martin Bormann contact Mr. Sloan to mock him for sending this vic his way.
The pros at 419eater will have better ideas. The absolute classic of this genre was a vendor of Anus Laptops (“Put your business in our Anus.”) The bait in all its glory is documented here: theScamBaiter.com - Anus Laptops: The Martins Cole Saga "09/2004 - 03/2005"
Yeah, your area code is where you were living when you got your first cell phone fifteen years ago. One nephew moved to DC and still has a 480- AC. The other moved to Taiwan so he probably lost his number.
Send some of that wacky nori-juana.
Three puffs and he’ll know why the business is cash-poor…
Mr. Sloane at Publishers Clearinghouse had me mail him $56,500 today. He had me take pictures of the cash and send it to him first. No problem, I did that. Then he had me pack it in a box with old clothes, shoes, and newspapers and send a picture of that. He wanted a picture of the cash in the box but I told him I put it inside the old clothes and and wrapped it with a lot of tape. He was OK with that. Then I had to send a picture of the sealed box. Then I had to send a picture of the sealed box with the address.
He told me to be sure and send it priority express overnight. He has reminded me to send it priority express overnight about a dozen times so far. I am sending it first class mail instead. I’m sure he is going to want the tracking number and there isn’t one. He has called me five (now seven) (eight) times since I started typing this post. I will try to ignore his calls for a few days. If he does get a hold of me, I’ll tell him the San Pendejo Post Office’s computer was down so I couldn’t send it priority express and standard mail would get there faster than if I waited until they get their computer fixed next week. He will be upset but do you think he will buy that?
All I am sending is a torn up version of the manila envelope taped to the top of the box that he saw in a couple of the pictures. Inside are a few of the paper wrappers bank tellers use to wrap bundles of currency.
Does anybody know someone in McDonugh, Georgia? From Google street view it looks like a very nice, costly new house. Should I call the McDonugh Police Department tomorrow? All of the detectives have gone home already today. I wonder if the money mule is even aware of what is going on.
“Publishers Clearinghouse” can’t even spell McDonough, Georgia. They spelled it McDonugh. Oh well, the zip code works out OK so it will get there.
Remember when Wells Fargo got into a bunch of trouble a while back for opening phony accounts? I got two letters a few weeks ago stating that I had had two accounts opened in my name without my permission, and I assumed it was a phishing expedition and discarded them.
This morning, my brother, who has been handling our mother’s finances since our father died last fall, found out about FOUR accounts opened in their names, and e-mailed my sister and me about this. He gave me the contact phone number (1-877-642-7826) so I called it, feeling that I had nothing to lose. All I had to give them was my full name and address, and I have about $170 coming to me in the next few weeks. It looks like it’s from some kind of class action lawsuit.
I see that the USPS will intercept and redirect a package if it has not been delivered. Maybe that 's why Mr. Sloan is so desperate for the tracking number. However, it looks really risky for a scammer. From the USPS website:
USPS Package Intercept
For a fee, USPS Package Intercept® lets the sender or recipient stop delivery or redirect a package, letter, or flat that is not out for delivery or already delivered. Most domestic mailings with a tracking or extra services barcode are eligible for Package Intercept. You can only request a Package Intercept online.
Commercial USPS Package Intercept is available through Business Customer Gateway.
(
How It Works
You can request that the destination Post Office hold the item for you or have it returned to sender.
- Verify that your shipment is eligible for Package Intercept.
- If eligible, you can submit your request online after logging in with your USPS.com account.
- After submitting your request, you’ll be provided an estimated total (intercept fee plus estimated Priority Mail® postage, if applicable). We will then attempt to intercept and redirect the shipment.
- If the shipment is intercepted, your credit card will be charged the $17.50 Package Intercept fee plus any applicable postage. If the actual postage is greater than estimated, any additional postage will be charged accordingly.
- Your shipment will be redirected to the original sender or held at the local Post Office for pickup.
I found a detailed description of the pig butchering scam threat model.
Targets on dating apps and social media are patiently groomed over weeks to become interested in investing in cryptocurrency, forex, gold, etc. The scammers do not ask for money directly, but instead introduce victims to a sham investment website or app where victims feel safe depositing funds. Conspiring with “customer service”, the scammers cajole and bully victims into remitting increasingly large amounts of money using a series of psychological techniques and ruses on the website/app they control.
There are mainly 5 types of The Pig Butchering Scams.
- Fake Investment Websites and Apps
- Fake brokers on MetaTrader 4 and 5
- Fake liquidity mining pools (decentralized apps)
- Group Investment
- Gambling
Fake customer service teams guide the vic to giving the group access to their crypto wallet. Interestingly, they sometimes make use of smart contracts (self-enforcing code) that the perps lie about and the vic doesn’t understand. The scams use discretion: some vics have deposited and withdrawn up to $10,000 : the scammers aren’t afraid to play a long game, especially when they get access to your financial profile via fake know your customer questioning.
Cite, found via google search. Caveat Lector:
Mr. Sloane from Publishers Clearing has been calling constantly since I told him I was driving into town to go to the hardware store and post office. Presumably he wants the tracking number, He even left a rather rude voice mail early this morning. (That’s OK. C.J. is a farmer and still get up earlier than he does.) I sent an email denouncing his lack of professionalism and said I would only contact him by email from now on:
"Mr. Sloan:
I hit a cow on the way back from the post office yesterday. On top of dealing with the rancher, the state police, the spill cleanup, and towing my truck back to the farm, you called me about a gazillion times. I am fixing the truck at the farm and butchering the cow. It was some kind of show cow and I will have to pay the rancher about $8000 even though it was standing in the middle of the road. On top of all that you sent me a rather rude voice [mail this] morning.
Your lack of professionalism and rudeness does not make Publisher Clearinghouse look very good. From now on, I will only communicate with you by email and will not answer your phone calls.
Good day sir!
C. J. Boudreaux"
Of course he replied asking about the tracking number:
“ok sir i am sorry about that. Did they provide you with a tracking number?”
I replied:
“It might still be in the truck somewheres if it didn’t blow out. When I hit the cow it busted out most of the windows,”
@Ynnad, awesome story. It’s amazing what utter bullshit doesn’t deter a scammer that smells money.
Last summer I bought a new vehicle from a dealer. Before sealing the deal I was trying to decide whether to trade my old vehicle in (easier) or sell it myself (more money). I tried listing it on craigslist and in fairly short order got an inquiry. He made an appointment to see the vehicle that was a few days in the future…and in the meantime, he said he’d need a vehicle report. I told him I’d get back to him with a VIN, but he said I could get the report myself, and provided a link to what was ostensibly a vehicle report generating website - something like carfax, but it wasn’t carfax.
Before I could act on that, I got a couple more inquiries, saying pretty much the same thing. The giveaway was that all of them used the exact same language explaining why they couldn’t come to see the vehicle that weekend, something about working a late shift and not being free until such-and-such a date and time. I smelled a scam and started googling. What’s the scam? You go to the link they provide, pay for a vehicle report, and now they’ve got your credit card info that they can use to go shopping (you’ll never get a report, and you’ll never hear from the “interested” buyer again). Your credit card bank will of course make you whole again once you report the fraudulent charges, but the merchants who sell these people merchandise using your stolen credit card info end up eating the cost. In the end I didn’t fall for it, but I’m sure plenty of people do.
Fucking scammer motherfuckers.
My latest email to “Publishers Clearinghouse” just a few minutes ago:
“I had all sorts of receipts and stuff on the dashboard including the one from the post office when I hit the cow. The cow went almost all the way through the windshield. Maybe it’s on the side of the road somewhere. I am not going to go up and down 20 miles of highway looking for it. If you need it that bad you can come and look for it. I lost a bunch of other stuff too. The good news is if you come out here I’ve got all of the steak you can eat,”
I received an email this morning with a Google sheet attached. The Google sheet tells me my account balance has increased by $51.996.00 USD this year. Just click the below link and put in my personal account and confirm my identity to withdraw my funds!
I just got the most blatant of scam emails today:
“USPS Online shop” - 29.99/100pcs USPS Stamps only for you! Today!
I mean, they have a website and everything. Talk about ballsy.
I’m still occasionally a catfishing target on Facebook. Normally, I just respond with “no fishing allowed” and the results of a reverse image search.* The latest one, however, was so low effort that I did something different: “if you’re going to catfish, at least lift an image from somewhere other than Facebook!”
Yeah, “her” profile image was from someone else’s profile.
*Curiously, the vast majority of them seem to be of porn stars.