My gut says there are some people in New York sitting around laughing their asses off about your friend.
Maybe she’s from Nigeria. They’re very giving with their money over there.
Excellent set-up for a sting going on here. She’s in “big time” law enforcement (read as: don’t bother going to any authorities, I will probably out rank them anyway.)
Look at all these wonderful gifts I have given you (actually, a lot of hot air).
Oh, by the way, we will need $5000, of YOUR money to get this GREAT deal done, when it’s over you will get AT LEAST $500,000 back, probably more like $1,000,000. What? You aren’t going to put up the money after ALL I have done for you? How can you pass up such a great deal? I thought you were smart.
Uh huh.
[QUOTE=ccwaterback]
Excellent set-up for a sting going on here. She’s in “big time” law enforcement (read as: don’t bother going to any authorities, I will probably out rank them anyway.)
Or … you can trust my judgement, I’m on the RIGHT side of the law.
excellent search-fu, even sven! the situation sounded familiar to me, too, but I had no idea what to search on.
Someone’s lying… either the girl or your friend.
I remember that thread! :eek:
If this isn’t a scam, I’ll eat my umbrella. It HAS to be a scam; people with lots of money do not give it away to random losers they meet in online games. It. Just. Doesn’t. Happen. Ever.
The trouble is that once a person gets hooked by such a scheme, they will be quite prone to denial about it all; the scammers will be quite obliging and creative in offering ready-made rationalisations for the poor mark, so that he can say “but… but… this isn’t like that, because she really loves me” or whatever the bait happens to be at the time.
I am an internet multimillionaire. I don’t want to reveal my identity, but you have probably all used the website i started. I am worth over $5 billion, and i’m currently contemplating buying houses for all my favourite Dopers.
See how easy that was?
Seriously, ParentalAdvisory, tell your friend that there is still swampland going cheap in Florida if he’s looking for a bargain.
Right here! 
I’ll ask my FBI agent day-trading business owning multimillionare friends if this is legit.
I don’t want a house, but I think it would be cool if you could get one of those Mr. Voice guys to do my voicemail message. Think you can handle that for me, mhendo?
“In a world…where the line between good and evil is blurred…[DeadlyAccurate] isn’t here right now. Leave a message…if. you. dare.”
On-topic: If it’s not a scam, this “girl” (is he positive she’s really female?), is a compulsive liar who may be trying to impress him with her power and wealth.
This is what sets off alarm bells for me. No way anyone in ‘upper-level law enforcement’ just 25 years old, especially if they’re running a side business, day trading and playing online games.
I say keep the social security number and bank book under lock and key.
Lie…Lie…LIE!
Simply put…SOMEONE in this mess is lying.
Listed in order of plausability…
-This “25-year old girl in upper law enforcement” is lying (Actually, any portion in the quotation marks is doubtable).
-Your aquaintance is lying.
-The OP is lying (although, for the life of me, I can’t think of any reason why!)
There’s simply not enough corks to plug the holes in the story.
I am a horrible person.
I’m fidgeting and pacing, my heart is racing. I can hardly work, and can’t concentrate, I’m so excited. I keep coming back to this thread and clicking refresh every five minutes.
I NEED to see the final post, where ParentalAdvisory reveals that it was all a lie and we find out that there was no money, no job in law enforcement, no day trading. When that happens, I will grin, I will sigh, I will lean back in my chair in exhultation. I will spin around, jump up and pump my fist in the air in triumph. I will need to take a walk around the block just to calm down.
I will feel vindicated, proud, superior, and that long German word that starts with Schadensomething. I will gloat to myself. I will treasure the knowledge that I knew All Along that it was a scam and I am So Smart and would never fall for something like that. I will hold this memory in a special part of my mind, and years from now, I will take it out and caress it like a treasured keepsake.
There is seriously something wrong with me. Is there somewhere I could go to get help for this?
See, this is why I could never be a scam artist. I’d underestimate the other person’s stupidity. I’d tone the story down to make it a little more plausible.
For example, I probably would have stopped at the townhouse and car. Even people with Rockefeller-sized fortunes don’t usually buy houses for “select few” family members of their spouses, much less for family members of people they haven’t met. “Come on”, I would say. “Nobody would believe that. It will give away the game.” But if he’s telling the truth, the OP’s friend believed it, and (unless this is a giant whoosh) even the OP is unsure.
Even upper-level law enforcement doesn’t pay that well. So if she’s that rich at 25, she would have to have inherited wealth–lots of it. Ergo she wouldn’t need to work a full-time job, own her own business, and day-trade (even assuming she had time for all of the above). In addition, it would probably be a conflict of interest for a person working in “upper-level law enforcement” for the FBI or CIA to do so.
Again, I probably would have stopped with the law-enforcement gig. And I probably would have made myself 30, not 25. That’s why my scams wouldn’t work.
It’s against FBI policy for agents to own their own businesses.
at best, it’s someone playing a cruel joke and nothing will come of it.
i’d bet on identity theft or similar scam though.
“hey, i’m flying out to meet you, and i lost my wallet and i’m at the airport waiting for a connecting flight. could you western union me some cash for a plane ticket?”, etc
that’s a fairly common russian mail order bride scam.
I guess I should have more qualified my response.
At BEST, it’s a lie (and a poorly crafted joke to pull on someone)
At WORST, it’s a scam.
Your a swell guy mhendo. If you need my SS# for any of the messy paperwork i’ll be happy to supply it.
Any if you need a certified check sent to you for a couple grand to cover closing costs i’ll mail that to you also. You are getting me a house after all.