# This has to be a scam, yeah?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 2, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471 "2021-07-02T02:52:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/1 "2021-07-02T02:52:59Z")
99% of me thinks it is. But I can’t figure out the angle, unless the link is dirty.
Anyway, I got this text today…
> [@](#):
>
> Hello I’m Mr. Manuel Franco, the winner of $768 Million in Powerball Millions Jackpot, here is my winnings interview [moderator note - link removed] I’m donating to 200 random individuals. if you get this message note that your number was select after a spin ball. I have spread most of my wealth over a number of charities and organisations I have voluntarily decided to donate the sum of $100,000 USD to you as one of the random selected 200 peoples , all you need to do now is contact agent [name deleted] in charge of your winnings to verify. Here is the number of the agent … [number deleted] text him now for the delivery of your winnings money .
I haven’t clicked on the link yet. But I did text the phone number. And it turns out that it’s a landline that can’t receive texts. I also texted back the the number that sent this (asking what the catch is) but no response.
What’s likely to happen if I actually call or click that link? Obviously, if I have to pay them money to get “my” money, then it’s a no brainer scam. (Did I just answer my own question) But my identity is garbage, nobody would want to steal it. I have nothing to steal.
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### Author:  [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/2 "2021-07-02T03:03:31Z")
Apparently there’s some means for spoofing the Youtube link that lets them automatically re-direct you to another website. I don’t understand the details, but you can read about it here:
> **[New Phishing Email Alert: Watch for YouTube Link in the Attachments | Cyware...](https://cyware.com/news/new-phishing-email-alert-watch-for-youtube-link-in-the-attachments-f7dc57a5)**
>
> Some cybercriminals have been spotted using YouTube redirect links to evade phishing email detection. The malicious redirects send victims to a phishing page that is hosted on a Google platform to make it appear legitimate. Click to know more!
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/3 "2021-07-02T03:07:12Z")
There are landlines that are enabled to send texts but not to receive them? Seems kind of pointless.
I think your 99% sureness of a scam can be upgraded to 100%. If there are 200,000 people who got the text, it’s not unlikely that a hundred or so will send the guy money to “guarantee” their winnings.
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### Author:  [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/4 "2021-07-02T03:09:13Z")
Well, damn. I only got offered $20,000 as one of 300 people. (Seriously.) and they claimed winnings of over a billion.
How do you rate five times that much?
Mine also used the term “spin ball.”
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/5 "2021-07-02T03:12:36Z")
Just another variation of the Nigerian Prince, Dying/Dead Millionaire, Foreign Sweepstakes scams.
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### Author:  [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/6 "2021-07-02T03:14:23Z")
Was your agent’s initials LH? With a 304 area code? And a directive that you should contact him “on” that number?
Inquiring minds want to know!
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/7 "2021-07-02T03:17:07Z")
Initials are DS. Area code 507.
Thanks everyone!
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/8 "2021-07-02T11:37:03Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> There are landlines that are enabled to send texts but not to receive them? Seems kind of pointless.
You can (could) send a text message from a computer, IIRC.
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### Author:  [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/9 "2021-07-02T11:42:06Z")
If you read the OP carefully, the landline was a number included in the original text, not the sender of the original text.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/10 "2021-07-02T12:34:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Just another variation of the Nigerian Prince, Dying/Dead Millionaire, Foreign Sweepstakes scams.
Yep. If you had tried to pursue getting your $100,000 USD, you would have eventually been asked, after a bit of back-and-forth to ramp up your expectations, to wire a small processing fee of perhaps $1,000 or so to facilitate the transfer of the monies.
Incidentally, I’ve seen those ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam letters from back when they used to be faxed to a company I worked at, on through email and now text, and I used to wonder at the transparently phony, badly-worded nature of the messages. Who would ever fall for this shit, I wondered?
Then a few years ago I read an article that said they are so ridiculously bad and phony for a very good reason-- it’s a form of self-filter so that only the dumbest or most gullible people will bite. If the messages were more convincing from the start, they’d get more replies from people who would buy it at first but eventually realize the scam, wasting the scammer time and effort.
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/11 "2021-07-02T12:42:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Just another variation of the Nigerian Prince, Dying/Dead Millionaire, Foreign Sweepstakes scams.
Standard term that covers all of these is “advance-fee scam.”
> **[Advance-fee scam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam)**
>
> An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim to pay or simply disappears.
> The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that "An advance fee schem...
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### Author:  [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/12 "2021-07-02T12:48:47Z")
> [@solost](#):
>
> Then a few years ago I read an article that said they are so ridiculously bad and phony for a very good reason-- it’s a form of self-filter so that only the dumbest or most gullible people will bite. If the messages were more convincing from the start, they’d get more replies from people who would buy it at first but eventually realize the scam, wasting the scammer time and effort.
I’ve read this as well, and it may have that effect, but I’ve never seen that anybody has confirmed it is intentional. Most of these scams are run overseas by people who speak English as a second language. It shouldn’t be surprising that their writing is stilted.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/13 "2021-07-02T12:54:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> Standard term that covers all of these is “advance-fee scam.”
Thanks. I knew there was a blanket term but my organic hard drive crashed.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/14 "2021-07-02T12:56:23Z")
> [@tofor](#):
>
> Most of these scams are run overseas by people who speak English as a second language. It shouldn’t be surprising that their writing is stilted.
Yeah, but it’s more than just the stilted language. There’s a whole formula to it-- the fantastic story, the misspellings, the stilted language and quirkily worded phrases. The scam has been going on so long that clearly it’s working, and if the formula could be improved upon, the generations of scammers involved have had plenty of time to do so.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/15 "2021-07-02T13:03:17Z")
> [@solost](#):
>
> > [@tofor](#):
> >
> > Most of these scams are run overseas by people who speak English as a second language. It shouldn’t be surprising that their writing is stilted.
>
> Yeah, but it’s more than just the stilted language. There’s a whole formula to it-- the fantastic story, the misspellings, the stilted language and quirkily worded phrases. The scam has been going on so long that clearly it’s working, and if the formula could be improved upon, the generations of scammers involved have had plenty of time to do so. -
I wonder how much was deliberate or just going with what accidentally worked.
From watching/listening to scambaiting videos, scammers tend to stick with the same script for _years_. It’s only been very recently the SSA script has changed from the south border of Texas to the south border of New Jersey/Maryland/Georgia. The rest of the script is unchanged.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/16 "2021-07-02T13:03:45Z")
> [@solost](#):
>
> it’s a form of self-filter so that only the dumbest or most gullible people will bite.
An explanation I read was that the reverse is true. It’s a form of self-filter that makes educated people feel superior and think that the scammer is stupid enough to be real.
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### Author:  [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/17 "2021-07-02T13:12:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> I wonder how much was deliberate or just going with what accidentally worked.
I’ve read before that it is a sort of evolution in action. Scammers use the ones that work best, share with other scammers, occasionally combine or rewrite. Great command of the language not required.
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### Author:  [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/18 "2021-07-02T13:16:17Z")
Yes, there are sites that allow sending and receiving text messages using numbers set up for that purpose. I forget exactly why or what site I wanted to join, but I had to use a Chinese number to send and receive a text message and this type of site was the solution.
The site I used was free. But some sites charge for the service.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/19 "2021-07-02T13:20:11Z")
> [@Folly](#):
>
> > [@running\_coach](#):
> >
> > I wonder how much was deliberate or just going with what accidentally worked.
>
> I’ve read before that it is a sort of evolution in action. Scammers use the ones that work best, share with other scammers, occasionally combine or rewrite. Great command of the language not required.
@Mangetout discusses this in a recent video.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/mvzOtESRWYg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLk5KvJPikK02cQeWELmS-zh0MtNfwuh_e&start=679
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-has-to-be-a-scam-yeah/945471/20 "2021-07-02T13:26:43Z")
To answer the OP
[Yes,](https://www.cbs58.com/news/imposters-are-posing-as-powerball-winner-manuel-franco)
[it is](https://www.fox6now.com/news/weve-seen-this-before-scammers-using-west-allis-powerball-winners-name-image-to-try-to-bait-victims)
[a scam.](https://www.cbs58.com/news/scammers-create-fake-instagram-accounts-posing-as-west-allis-powerball-winner)
Also, the area code of your text is from Southern Minnesota while Manual Franco lives in Wisconsin.
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