# Scam **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566 "2014-07-07T19:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/1 "2014-07-07T19:33:55Z")
There is a scam going on around here. Person on the phone,calls you by name, says you’ve won a huge amount of money,all you hafta do is send them a check for $500.00 by messenger… Btw,said messenger is gonna be on your porch in 5 minutes… I’m sure no one here would fall for this,but we all have moms&dads&aunts&neighbors… Plz spread the word that this is bogus. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/2 "2014-07-07T19:53:32Z")
So the messenger _isn’t_ there in five minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/3 "2014-07-07T19:55:30Z")
Thankfully, I don’t have a porch. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/4 "2014-07-07T19:55:59Z")
I’d get on another phone and call 911 ASAP. The cops could hassle the messenger. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/5 "2014-07-07T19:56:09Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > So the messenger _isn’t_ there in five minutes? If that’s the case, no tip for him. Damn shoddy service. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/6 "2014-07-07T20:02:08Z")
“Around here” being the general internet neighborhood? I’m pretty sure my relatives and neighbors are bright enough to avoid this clever scam without getting an alert from me. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/7 "2014-07-07T20:11:13Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > Plz spread the word that this is bogus. No thank you. My friends don’t like being hassled by breathless forewarding of every dumbass Internet scare story. They’re funny that way. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/8 "2014-07-07T20:15:00Z")
That would be a remarkably stupid and inefficient way to attempt to scam someone. You can call scammers a lot of things, but “hardworking” isn’t really one of them. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/9 "2014-07-07T20:26:36Z")
I have to think anyone dumb enough to hand over 500 bucks on nothing more than the say-so of a voice on the phone deserves what they get. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mask\_behind\_the\_Mask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@The\_Mask\_behind\_the\_Mask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mask_behind_the_Mask)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/10 "2014-07-07T20:33:30Z")
This is a weak, childlike scam. If someone is likely to fall for this, I’d say they’re not (or no longer) responsible enough to handle money. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/11 "2014-07-07T20:36:18Z")
The OP may not be aware that what she is describing is one version of the advance fee/Spanish Prisoner/Nigerian prince scam and has been going around, in one form or another, for over a hundred years. See [this Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/419_scams) for more details. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/12 "2014-07-07T21:14:48Z")
Except for the part where the scammer shows up, in person, at your door. That’s the part I’m having trouble believing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/13 "2014-07-07T21:25:11Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > That would be a remarkably stupid and inefficient way to attempt to scam someone. You can call scammers a lot of things, but “hardworking” isn’t really one of them. > [@Smeghead](#): > > Except for the part where the scammer shows up, in person, at your door. That’s the part I’m having trouble believing. Exactly. A scammer would have you mail a check to a post box. They’re not going to show up at your door in person after giving you a five minute advance notice to call the police. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/14 "2014-07-07T21:33:27Z")
Oh my god it would be worth $500 for one of those bastards to show up at my door. I’d then use the (hopefully not too blood stained) money I took back from them to pay bail. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/15 "2014-07-07T21:41:49Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > says you’ve won a huge amount of money This is where you hang up unless you have a penchant for playing with these schmoes. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/16 "2014-07-07T22:19:20Z")
Sorry - I live in a very small town with a population of uneducated old people… the info came from the Police. We try to look out for the gullable,but they want to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/17 "2014-07-07T22:26:50Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Oh my god it would be worth $500 for one of those bastards to show up at my door. This. That’s be SWEET! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/18 "2014-07-07T22:49:47Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I have to think anyone dumb enough to hand over 500 bucks on nothing more than the say-so of a voice on the phone deserves what they get. Most people have older relatives who eventually will suffer from dementia. People with even a tiny bit of dementia do not deserve to get cheated. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/19 "2014-07-07T22:50:47Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Oh my god it would be worth $500 for one of those bastards to show up at my door. I’d then use the (hopefully not too blood stained) money I took back from them to pay bail. Wouldn’t it be better just to call 911 and have the police waiting for them? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566/20 "2014-07-07T23:01:55Z")
I had people from Jamaica calling me for MONTHS with this scam. I kept telling them I knew they were scammers, I kept telling them to quit calling me, and they would not give up. They called at all hours of the day and night, they became more and more incensed, as if _I_ was inconveniencing _them_ by not responding to their solicitations. They swore at me, they swore at my 85-year-old mother. I contacted the FCC, I contacted the local police, but nobody would do anything about it. Finally, thankfully, they gave up, but it must have been about 18 months of horror. And I always knew it was them because they always asked for “Mister ReeSHARD”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam/692566.md?page=2)