........And the Beat Goes On! (updated)

I rather think that Glory has grown weary of the game. It's been a while now. So, I tauntingly texted her yesterday and asked how she and her mum were doing. She's doing well, mum is still suffering in West Africa. Just a simple civil reply....no mention of the pending nuptials, the barrister, the $9.7 million, etc! Oh, well, the good thing I could have done!!

After telling her multiple times, during the four months that I've been playing her, that I know her game, "she" still keeps trying! This game evolves regularly. Initially, it was "marry me and help me inherit $9.7 million" (estimated price tag around $10,000 from earlier post).  Then, her mom needed medical support in West Africa...her attorney sent me a $3,890 check to cover money I was to wire my "future mother-in-law". 

Now, mom is still dying in Benin. She needs me to wire her $920 immediately, which was processed into my PayPal account. I called PayPal and had an interesting conversation about it. Yes, there was a payment being processed into my account, which could be halted or reversed anytime over the next two weeks. The PayPal agent and I had a good laugh over this, as he had never encountered this new twist. The account from which the payment was made is located in China.

So, another location added. Brief review...She is living in Alaska (born in Ohio); her attorney is in Ohio but writes with a clearly non-English manner; the family treasure is in Lagos, Nigeria plus she will inherit three houses in Florida; her mother is in Benin (next to Nigeria). And now China!  One could really get dizzy following this stuff. Payment has been requested via Western Union, MoneyGram, iTunes Card, and fraudulent payments received via "cashier's check" and now PayPal! 

(By the way, no money has been paid to the "lady"!)

Latest update.....I did receive notification from PayPal that the sender was rescinding the transaction. What a shock! And, of course, I notified my would-be-wife of this latest action. She assured that she would fix it so I could send her mom's money off!

A Pause to Review

I am pleased to note that folks from a dozen diverse nations have read my comments. It is my hope that my experiences and those of you willing to share yours will save many the expense, grief, and heartache brought on because of people stealing their  assets, often at the point of a flower!

Over the course of the last two weeks we have discussed but a few forms of the many scams being perpetrated on unsuspecting victims. Now, we'll take a while to discuss some of them in greater detail.  Please know that you are welcome to contact me with your experiences. My email  address is skyline.assets@gmail.com.

The advancement of Internet technology has, as one author has declared," made the world flat"! If you haven't read it, you may find his book enjoyable.  The book is pretty thick, but discusses  "Globalization" in a way that makes sense well beyond just politics and markets of computers and retail merchandise.  Thomas L. Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times and author of the 2005 book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century  You really have no way of knowing  with whom you are dealing, or where in this "Flat World" they are - Bangalore, India, Baldwin Park, California, Lagos, Nigeria, or Accra, Ghana!

We also must understand that not all fraud happens on the Internet. The concepts of practicing DUE DILIGENCE and using COMMON SENSE need to come to play even in "face-to-face" dealings. This does not mean we must distrust everyone. President Ronald Reagan made famous a Russian proverb, which translate as "Trust but verify".

I mentioned previously that I had actually worked for a couple of scam operation. In both instances, I was unaware at the time of employment the dishonesty involved. One was well before the Internet (1977)...it was a licensed real estate and investment brokerage, and I did his property management. As I became aware of his lack of integrity, I quit his company before he bankrupted it, absconding with several million dollars in investor funds. Then I became aware that he had moved to another state and was establishing his next gig. I happened to know someone in that state's Attorney General's office.  It's nice when you can actually see that you can make a difference!  I doubt he even had a clue who "ratted him out"!  This is often called Affinity Fraud. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines affinity fraud as follows:

Affinity fraud refers to investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are — or pretend to be — members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile. Many times, those leaders become unwitting victims of the fraudster's ruse.

These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue their legal remedies, and instead try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment.

The other was a web based customer support call center where 99% of our callers were just discovering recurring charges to their credit cards (sometime two or three years worth), which they knew nothing about. The federal government eventually charged the owner with over $280 million in fraudulent transaction. My comment the day we were all laid off was "Thank you". I could feel the scam, in spite of the assurance of our leadership.

Sadly, in both of these instances, the head honcho focused his recruiting of staff from a strongly respected religious community of believers. It builds their credibility. In the real estate office all his key players were strong devout members of the same faith, usually different congregations. Most of his clientele shared the same commonality, as well.

The call center owner was a major employer in a rural town, employing 200 customer service agents. He owned a helicopter and often used it to support Sherriff search and rescue missions, even flying supplies and staff to Haiti once to aid in their rescue after a hurricane.

 So, in almost all cases - "Trust but verify".

Is She a Dreamboat or a Shipwreck?

Catfishing

*(The phenomenon of Internet scammers who fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people into romantic or other relationships typically for financial gain)*

Have you ever noticed that, while your Facebook history may go back several years, your wanna be sweetie just opened his/her page?

This applies to men and women, alike! As an example, let me pick on Mr. Adams, a news reporter at a network TV station....but wait a moment...an image search shows him as Mack Henry (mackhenry500@yahoo.com). 

Now, I happen to know who he really is...the news reporter! Since you are online, you don't really know who you are chatting with. I had no idea the depth of this until 18 months ago, when I began dating again after a divorce.   Reality check...she (or he) is not likely to be the person in the photos. The name, location, and everything else...perhaps not even the gender is likelyfake

As with each of the scams previously discussed, this one has unlimited variations on a basic theme. A contact comes from "out of the blue", via text, social media, perhaps even a phone call. Many of mine have come from  Facebook Messenger. For a time, I participated in some of the online "dating" sites. I must admit, I have made a couple of true friends whom I will claim forevermore!

The "less honorable" ones with whom I have interacted each seemed anxious to visit away from the social media site where she made the connection (because her profile will likely be shut down soon). She will desire to move to texting or "Hangouts" to carry on conversations. Typically she claimed to be young (26 -34), never married, wants older man...."after all age is just a number!" Most claim to have no kids...but will want some!

Often, she claims to be American by birth, living abroad to care for needy relative. She desires to come back and marry me. If only I would wire her the airfare! The person with whom I most recently "burned" was due to inherit $9.7 million US and three houses in Florida from her late father. His will stipulated that she must marry prior to receiving her inheritance. She claimed to be Ohio born, living in Anchorage, AK. Her mother had fled to Benin (West Africa) when Dad tried to kill them to preserve the estate to himself. Each of the dozen photos she sent scanned on Google Images as those of a Russian-born fashion model, with a complete resume of professional photos one her Instagram site. Just in her texts, and communications with her "lawyer", her name changed many times. For a native-born lady, her use of English was very non-English, as was her attorney (as in the court document shown previously!)  Mom needed help with medical bills over in Africa, my would-be-bride needed food and airfare to come marry her man.

The attorney needed $3,000 to cover the fees for legitimizing of shipping the family treasure ($9.7 million in cash) from Lagos Nigeria in two steel trunks  plus the cost of shipping.......

     *I actually did receive a check from her "attorney" for $3,890 to wire Mom in Benin for her medical treatments! (shocker....the issuing bank declared it to be counterfeit.) We previously discussed the challenge with this variation! 

DUE DILIGENCE...check it out and report it!  

In this case, it was sent USPS Priority Mail, using a private permit and meter. The Inspector General of the Postal Service would also appreciate a bite of this one!

Need a good professional lawyer?  Try Barrister Brad Paisley. He can be reached at bradp5545@gmail.com or perhaps  Barrister Tony at barristertony451@gmail.com ...here are examples of the quality of their professional work:

****************

Barrister Tony <barristertony451@gmail.com>	Mar 13

Good day

Mr. Rick , I'm very happy for the support you render for Lori , i

want you to take good care of her and protect her as soon as the Asset

get into your care, i want you to invest the money for her.

  I want you to understand that you shouldn't indicate what is inside

the Asset to Trinity Security Firm. The money was concealed in a two

metallic trunk boxes. Late Mr Thomas kept this deposit under a secret

arrangement as a family treasure and for future safe keeping with

Trinity Security Firm. Its only Thomas family, and I the lawyer knows

what is inside the boxes. In case they as you, tell them it's family

treasure.

You might not understand what the Trinity Security Firm were asking,

we are going to arrange some document to back up the document with

Thomas family to claim the Asset from Trinity Security Firm. This are

the documents we are going to prepare to back up the Asset

Power Of Attorney -- $1,100

Proof of relationship/ later from church -- $650

And i will include all the necessary document that related to this Assets.

The above requested documents will cost $1,750

The certificate of deposit will be given to you by Lori  and you should

able to get any of your identity, like copy of your driver's license.

I will get all the remaining document as soon as you send the money to

prepare the documents.

Get back to me as to know the necessary things to handle.

Have a nice day.

Barrister Tony 

(Legal Practitioners/Notary Public)

******************

.....and then there's Barrister Brad Paisley.....

Brad Paisley <bradp5545@gmail.com>	May 6

Good evening Mr Rick

How are you and your family ? My client's daughter told me a lot about you and she has seen the seriousness in you despite not seeing you face to face. i was her Dad lawyer for the pass 26yrs, i manage the properties and huge amount of money deposited for her and it must be realized when is gets married. to cut the story short, all you have to do is to show your honesty because she really loves you and ready to settle down with you. She told me you live in Utah, how is Utah today ? my wife and kids live in Hawaii but im presently in Kenturkey for something important. i would love to hear from you soon 

take care and have a wonderful night rest 

Barrister Brad BB

********************

When I told her that I believed that her attorney was a fake, based on his poor language skills and unprofessional letter-writing, she defended him as being foreign-born (Jamaica) and non-white (I never said anything about ethnicity)! I am still wondering where Kenturkey is located!

I just learned that another sweet lady of mine had a "family secret" disclosed to her (we've been "BFF" for a couple of months now). Her dear departed daddy left her $2.5 million and 25 kilos of gold! Mama was not supposed to tell her about it. But, since she has chosen me as her man, the secret was disclosed to the daughter! Again, she needs to get married to inherit! Her daddy's will disclosed an un-named foreign partner to whom the inheritance would go. She requested that I step up as that partner.

The director of her daddy's bank would need only account and routing information, along with username and password to transfer the funds to me! And then I tossed a wrench into the scheme, when one of her photos matched an actress and popular porn star, with a degree in acting from a college in California. It also matched another person, perhaps a coworker in Accra, Ghana. My honey had just sent me a sweet photo composite of her and her man (me). I cropped me out and ran the image in Google Image. The result showed an encrypted email address for the other match in Ghana. So, I emailed her asking if she knew Lesa. Then, I confronted Lesa. So, I burned my chance at about $4.5 million in cash and gold! But, now I have a new friend!

I must admit that it gets confusing when I try playing too many at once!  A couple of these relationship scams have carried on for months before I burned them.

One scammer I have been playing has invited me to help in her arts and antiquities business. Since she and I are so compatible, she is willing to trust me to handle money from her investors while she is on an overseas buying trip in Europe. Her investors will deposit $20,000 for me to pay her bills while she is away. All they need in my bank username and password, along with routing and account numbers. These people will beg and plead for those codes. Then they will pout and cry that you don't trust them! Let's do a guilt trip here!

 Another variation that may be applied once the star-crossed lover is hooked would be that the scammer would be "arrested" or "hurt in an accident", or "kidnapped and held for ransom".  Pay up and we can get your lover back! I've never carried it to that point! 

What a man won't do for his woman! (Take a cold shower and a Valium  and look at the realities before you send money!)  I was the customer service manager at a grocery store providing Western Union wire services. Almost daily, lonely old men were wiring money offshore for promises! 

They're Coming to Take Me Away, Hey, Hey!

I won't even dwell on the widely held belief that even the genuine Internal Revenue Service is a major scam and they don't appreciate any competition! 

The IRS is Coming to Arrest You

As I was riding a transit bus recently, I was engaged in a conversation with a recent immigrant from Poland. She related a scary tale about this very situation! Sadly, one need not look far for examples.

*This is straight from IRS.gov - Scams Targeting Taxpayers
IRS-Impersonation Telephone Scams
An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, using fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn't answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.

·         Please See: Consumer Alert: Scammers Change Tactics, Once Again

Some con artists have used video relay services (VRS) to try to scam deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Taxpayers are urged not trust calls just because they are made through VRS, as interpreters don’t screen calls for validity. For more details see the IRS YouTube video: Tax Scams via Video Relay Service .   

Note that the IRS will never:

·         Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes.

·         Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

·         Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

·         Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Remember: Scammers Change Tactics -- Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, but variations of the IRS impersonation scam continue year-round and they tend to peak when scammers find prime opportunities to strike.

  

Your Grandson is in Jail in a Foreign Nation

In a typical Grandparent Scam, a con artist calls or emails the victim posing as a relative in distress or someone claiming to represent the relative (such as a lawyer or law enforcement agent). The "relative" of the grandparent explains she is in trouble and needs their grandparent to wire them funds that will be used for bail money, lawyer’s fees, hospital bills, or another fictitious expense. The victim is urged not to tell anyone, such as the parent of the “grandchild” because they do not want them to find out about the trouble they've gotten themselves into. The grandparent never hears from their fake grandchild again and is tricked out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

To detect and avoid the Grandparent Scam, authorities recommend the following tips:

• Beware of any urgent solicitation of funds, especially if it is needed to pay for unexpected bills, such as bail money, lawyer’s fees, or doctor bills

• Before sending funds, independently contact the relative (or parent of the relative) the scam artist is claiming to be (or represent) at a known phone number to verify the details of the story.

• Scam artist’s payment method of choice is the wire transfer. Any urgent request to wire money should be treated suspiciously.

• Be aware that fraudsters attempting the Grandparent Scam may call late at night to confuse potential victims.
• Another variation of this one was just attempted in the town where I reside. The victim was at work when a call came in advising him that his daughter had been kidnapped. As far as he knew, she was in school. But, in spite of the initial panic, they were able to dispel the horrible threat before any money was paid....again...DUE DILIGENCE! The daughter was ultimately contacted safely at school.

• Consumers who have been victims of this scam (or any of the numerous variations) should immediately report it to local law enforcement, their state attorney general, or www.ic3.gov for FBI Internet Crime Report.

What's with iTunes connection to scammers?

It seems innocent enough, my wanna-be "woman" who claims to be in Alaska, asking, almost pleading with me to buy her an iTunes card. After all, my beautiful baby deserves to listen to great music!
Let's be fair to Apple on this...they are not involved. They are selling a legitimate product in support of a great service. And it does involve other reloadable gift cards, as well!
This payment method is used for many advance payment scams including, but certainly not limited to romance scams, tax fraud (not the actual government sponsored type!), etc.****hint...law enforcement and government agencies do not ask for or accept payments in this form****

Gift cards are not tracked either to the buyer or end users. So, The victim goes to the local store and buys the card, loading money to the card, then providing the code from the back of the card to the scammer. I had one scammer I was "playing" who wanted to accompany me to the convenience store on the corner while I loaded money for her!  Apple Support warns us "Please do not ever provide the numbers on the back of the card to someone you do not know. Once those numbers are provided to the scammers, the funds on the card will likely be spent before you are able to contact Apple or law enforcement. "


Attached are links to a few consumer watch groups from whom you may learn more about this ever-evolving game.....

https://support.apple.com/itunes-gift-card-scams

https://www.irs.gov/uac/irs-warns-taxpayers-of-summer-surge-in-automated-phone-scam-calls-and-requests-for-fake-tax-payments-using-itunes-gift-cards

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/scammers-push-people-pay-itunes-gift-cards

http://blog.aarp.org/2016/07/22/itunes-gift-cards-the-latest-go-to-tool-in-many-gotchas/

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/apple/fraud-alert-scammers-get-victims-pay-itunes-gift-cards-n581591

Please Adopt My Beautiful Pet!

Plucking at Your Heartstrings (Fake Charities and Pet Adoption)

As people of high moral values, most of us believe in the Eternal rewards inherent with helping those less fortunate than ourselves. We generally trust that other people are kindhearted as well. Sadly, that is why scammers thrive!

Enter the scoundrels with Fake Charities! The relationship between donors and charities is based on trust. Donors trust the organizations they support to fulfill their stated mission and to use their gifts appropriately. They expect the charity to follow both IRS regulations and the law. The vast majority of charities in the United States do follow these rules. However, a very small number of fraudulent entities and scams undercut the trust given to the social sector by donors. They prey upon the emotions and positive intentions of the public by posing as real charities. They are not registered with the IRS, and many are under investigation for fraud. Because of this, donations to these entities are NOT tax deductible.

These scams are in no way representative of the social sector as a whole, but their actions are damaging to donor trust for all charities. We strongly urge donors to research the legitimacy of organizations they wish to give to. Requesting a charity’s Employee Identification Number (EIN) is a great way to establish that the organization is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, although you are always encouraged to do your Due Diligence to learn more about the organization before deciding it is worthy of your support.  For a time, I was employed as a telephone customer service agent for a major national charity. I was proud to share the integrity of the organization. The transparency of their finances was awesome. They made certain that the latest audited disclosures, the programs and people served, etc. were easily found on their website. 

(Do you think I might be able to find a new home for my dear pet, Morty Mouskowitz?  He doesn't eat very much, and he's very friendly with kids!)

*A growing scam to watch out for is the Pet Adoption Scam mentioned previously. First, a consumer searching for a pet sees a desirable animal listed for sale online, often on a classifieds website like Craigslist.org or Oodle.com. Next, the consumer reaches out to the prospective seller and expresses interest in acquiring the animal. After a consumer sends money to the alleged owner to pay for the pet, she is told that additional funds are needed to cover the cost of things like “a ventilated shipping crate,” “insurance,” or other reasons. Regardless of how much money is sent, the alleged seller will find new reasons to ask for additional payment. This continues until the victim, now often out hundreds or thousands of dollars catches on and stops sending money.

In reality, the entire act is a farce. The cute pet pictures that prompted the initial outreach by the consumer are usually simply pulled off the Internet and used to create attractive (but fake) listings. The alleged sellers don’t own any actual pets and are just out to milk victims of all the cash they can. Here's an example from Fraud.com

A Massachusetts woman we’ll call “Sue” (not her real name) recently sent us a complaint that is typical of this scam. Sue writes:

“I was looking to purchase a Yorkshire terrier puppy for my 2 little kids. I found one that I was really interested in. It was a 9-week-old female Yorkie. I emailed ‘the owner’ … The puppy was $500 and he told me that was already included with shipping and everything. He told me to put the $500 on a Reloadit card, which I did, and I gave him that. He sent me an email of a flight ticket, which I now know that it was not real because I called American Airlines and the flight ticket was a fake.

An agency started emailing me stating that I had to send them $970.00 for a ‘crate’ for the puppy to arrive to me safe while on flight due to the weather. I was told it was refundable when my puppy would arrive. I was told to send it by Western Union, which I did. Once that happened … I was asked to send $1,500 now for the pets insurance to get sent to me, which was also supposed to be refunded to me. I sent that money through MoneyGram. I was supposed to receive my puppy on March 7, 2015 in the morning and I never received the puppy.

Then I received another email stating I had to send ANOTHER payment of $760.00 to update her shots before she takes off. It was already sounding a little bit too good to be true to me but that’s when I finally realized that this was a scam.”

It’s easy to get emotionally attached to the idea of acquiring an adorable new pet. Consumers in the market for a new furry friend, can protect themselves by following these safe pet-buying tips: 

• Never send money for a pet purchase unless you have seen the animal in person (as opposed to simply online).
  
  
• Beware of any seller who says she’s located out-of-town (or worse, overseas). Dealing with local sellers is usually the smart move.
  
  
• Requests for payment via wire transfer (Western Union or MoneyGram) or prepaid debit card (Green Dot MoneyPak, Reloadit, or similar cards) are often a red flag for potential fraud. Payment sent via these methods is practically the same as sending cash.
  
  
• Consider adopting from a local shelter instead of a private seller. There’s likely to be a lower cost to obtain the pet, and you’ll be dealing with a reputable non-profit organization.
  
  
• Again, do your DUE DILIGENCE on the seller and the pet BEFORE sending money. Ask for detailed information on the seller, including full name, phone number and mailing address. Search online for information on the seller. If no information comes up in the search, or you see negative reviews, it could be a scammer instead of a legitimate seller.
  
  
• Watch out for offers of “free” pets. While it may seem like a good deal, scammers have been known to use these to lure unwary consumers in to paying for “shipping” and other costs for nonexistent pets.

If you’ve been a victim of one of these scams or been approached by someone you suspect of being a scammer, file a complaint at Fraud.org so that we can share your information with our network of law enforcement and consumer protection agencies. All jokes aside, pet adoption scams are sadly growing at a very pace!

Consumers can see additional examples of these scams at the ASPCA’s Pet-Related Scams website