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A man on a work project in West Africa asks me for 2000 - is this a scam?
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A man that I met on Facebook was called to do a job in West Africa. He got there and found out that there is a problem with his Swiss bank account. He needs 2000 to finish the job so he can come home. He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says that he has 40,000,000 ! I still don't feel comfortable with it. How would I know if he is scamming me?
banking scams
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
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up vote
22
down vote
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A man that I met on Facebook was called to do a job in West Africa. He got there and found out that there is a problem with his Swiss bank account. He needs 2000 to finish the job so he can come home. He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says that he has 40,000,000 ! I still don't feel comfortable with it. How would I know if he is scamming me?
banking scams
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
95
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
57
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
18
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
26
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
28
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago
 |Â
show 9 more comments
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
A man that I met on Facebook was called to do a job in West Africa. He got there and found out that there is a problem with his Swiss bank account. He needs 2000 to finish the job so he can come home. He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says that he has 40,000,000 ! I still don't feel comfortable with it. How would I know if he is scamming me?
banking scams
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
A man that I met on Facebook was called to do a job in West Africa. He got there and found out that there is a problem with his Swiss bank account. He needs 2000 to finish the job so he can come home. He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says that he has 40,000,000 ! I still don't feel comfortable with it. How would I know if he is scamming me?
banking scams
banking scams
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
edited 6 mins ago
smci
1647
1647
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
asked 12 hours ago
Poptart
12213
12213
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Poptart is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
95
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
57
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
18
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
26
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
28
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago
 |Â
show 9 more comments
95
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
57
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
18
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
26
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
28
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago
95
95
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
57
57
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
18
18
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
26
26
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
28
28
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago
 |Â
show 9 more comments
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
up vote
74
down vote
Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank will support him in this, because if he has 40 million sitting in a bank account, it means his invested capital is at least one order of magnitude larger.
So he is short something like 0.0005% of his net worth. His bank will be happy to send him that money, by personal courier if necessary, no matter what temporary account troubles there may be.
Not to mention that West Africa is not a remote jungle anymore. There are numerous payment services such as M-PESA in operation in Africa, and any millionaire going there for business would certainly have himself set up with an account for daily expenditures.
Which brings us to the "have himself set up" - people with this amount of cash don't work alone. They have secretaries, assistants, companies, financial advisors and many other people that would be far ahead on their list of "call in case of emergency" over some random guy on the Internet. Not to mention family.
Yes, this is a scam. It's hard to tell what kind of scam it is and whether you are intended to be a victim or an unknowning accomplice. But it has all the signs for a scam and none of the signs of being real.
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
56
down vote
We are of course unable to tell for sure, but this situation has all the hallmarks of a classic confidence trick.
- Meet random people on the Internet.
- Build a personal connection.
- Tell them you are in some pickle where you urgently need them to send you money. Promise them they get it back immediately.
- If they fall for it and actually do send money, ask for even more money.
- When they stop sending money, break contact.
This scam appears over and over again with all kinds of identities and stories.
In this case, it is really fishy that a businessman with over 40 million in their bank account would 1. use online banking with username and password to access that account and 2. give their password to someone they never met in person instead of an employee, trustworthy business partner or relative.
He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says he has 40000000 !
I assume what you mean with this is that he gave you online banking credentials, you logged into his account and found that amount of money. Possible explanations:
- The bank doesn't actually exist. It's just a fake website the scammers set up to fraud people like you. This should be easy to check by simply googling the name of the bank.
- It's a real account, but it's not his account. He bought the login credentials from a hacker.
- It actually is his real account. The money you see is all the money he obtained from other people like you using the same method.
...or does he expect you to not send your own money but actually send him money from that account?
Then he is likely asking you to commit online banking fraud on his behalf. The account password was stolen by a hacker. The hacker wants you to send the money to his real account. When the real account owner reports the fraudulent transfer, the bank will check the access logs and find your IP address. A while later the police will knock on your door and start questioning you about why you log into online banking accounts which don't belong to you and send money to West Africa. You better hope that the court believes your story, or you will go to jail on the hacker's behalf.
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
21
down vote
There are absolutely no scenarios under which someone who has internet access sufficient to contact you cannot get his own money out of his own internet banking service.
That's your first Red Flag
The second is that he contacted you, a relative stranger, to handle his money.
Don't be taken in by having contacted initially via facebook. Facebook accounts are trivially easy to make up and because they're not email, they get less scrutiny than they should.
Rule of thumb: do not accept facebook requests unless you personally know the name, and even then, verify they are actually that person.
Spoofing a real person's facebook account by copying images and info from their public account is only fractionally less trivial than making one from scratch.
Thirdly, Swiss banking is way less common than you'd expect, cold-war-themed fiction has given us the idea that swiss banks are where Loads of Money gets put as a tax-haven. This is..less than realistic. If someone is talking about their Swiss Bank Account, it's probably to make it sound more important. That's a major red flag.
This is a ridiculously unlikely scenario, there's no doubt in my mind that it's a scam and that you should block them on facebook and forget the whole thing.
Don't even consider it, unless you knew somehow that it was 100% legit. You will undoubtedly get scammed out of at least thousands of dollars and likely go to jail in the worst case if you pursue this.
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Check this out, it's called Nigerian Scam:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
The scammer will tell you an elaborate story about large amounts of
their money trapped in banks during events such as civil wars or
coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you
about a large inheritance that is 'difficult to access' because of
government restrictions or taxes in their country. The scammer will
then offer you a large sum of money to help them transfer their
personal fortune out of the country.
These scams are often known as 'Nigerian 419' scams because the first
wave of them came from Nigeria. The '419' part of the name comes from
the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams now come from anywhere in the world.
Scammers may ask for your bank account details to 'help them transfer
the money' and use this information to later steal your funds.
Or they may ask you to pay fees, charges or taxes to 'help release or
transfer the money out of the country' through your bank. These fees
may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer may
make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your
reward. They will keep asking for more money as long as you are
willing to part with it.
I get at least one os such emails every week and I was always wondering if somebody takes this for real. There is one golden rule in life if it is too good to be true it's not true. Or in other words, if it smells like a trap it's a trap.
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
add a comment |Â
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
74
down vote
Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank will support him in this, because if he has 40 million sitting in a bank account, it means his invested capital is at least one order of magnitude larger.
So he is short something like 0.0005% of his net worth. His bank will be happy to send him that money, by personal courier if necessary, no matter what temporary account troubles there may be.
Not to mention that West Africa is not a remote jungle anymore. There are numerous payment services such as M-PESA in operation in Africa, and any millionaire going there for business would certainly have himself set up with an account for daily expenditures.
Which brings us to the "have himself set up" - people with this amount of cash don't work alone. They have secretaries, assistants, companies, financial advisors and many other people that would be far ahead on their list of "call in case of emergency" over some random guy on the Internet. Not to mention family.
Yes, this is a scam. It's hard to tell what kind of scam it is and whether you are intended to be a victim or an unknowning accomplice. But it has all the signs for a scam and none of the signs of being real.
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
74
down vote
Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank will support him in this, because if he has 40 million sitting in a bank account, it means his invested capital is at least one order of magnitude larger.
So he is short something like 0.0005% of his net worth. His bank will be happy to send him that money, by personal courier if necessary, no matter what temporary account troubles there may be.
Not to mention that West Africa is not a remote jungle anymore. There are numerous payment services such as M-PESA in operation in Africa, and any millionaire going there for business would certainly have himself set up with an account for daily expenditures.
Which brings us to the "have himself set up" - people with this amount of cash don't work alone. They have secretaries, assistants, companies, financial advisors and many other people that would be far ahead on their list of "call in case of emergency" over some random guy on the Internet. Not to mention family.
Yes, this is a scam. It's hard to tell what kind of scam it is and whether you are intended to be a victim or an unknowning accomplice. But it has all the signs for a scam and none of the signs of being real.
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
74
down vote
up vote
74
down vote
Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank will support him in this, because if he has 40 million sitting in a bank account, it means his invested capital is at least one order of magnitude larger.
So he is short something like 0.0005% of his net worth. His bank will be happy to send him that money, by personal courier if necessary, no matter what temporary account troubles there may be.
Not to mention that West Africa is not a remote jungle anymore. There are numerous payment services such as M-PESA in operation in Africa, and any millionaire going there for business would certainly have himself set up with an account for daily expenditures.
Which brings us to the "have himself set up" - people with this amount of cash don't work alone. They have secretaries, assistants, companies, financial advisors and many other people that would be far ahead on their list of "call in case of emergency" over some random guy on the Internet. Not to mention family.
Yes, this is a scam. It's hard to tell what kind of scam it is and whether you are intended to be a victim or an unknowning accomplice. But it has all the signs for a scam and none of the signs of being real.
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank will support him in this, because if he has 40 million sitting in a bank account, it means his invested capital is at least one order of magnitude larger.
So he is short something like 0.0005% of his net worth. His bank will be happy to send him that money, by personal courier if necessary, no matter what temporary account troubles there may be.
Not to mention that West Africa is not a remote jungle anymore. There are numerous payment services such as M-PESA in operation in Africa, and any millionaire going there for business would certainly have himself set up with an account for daily expenditures.
Which brings us to the "have himself set up" - people with this amount of cash don't work alone. They have secretaries, assistants, companies, financial advisors and many other people that would be far ahead on their list of "call in case of emergency" over some random guy on the Internet. Not to mention family.
Yes, this is a scam. It's hard to tell what kind of scam it is and whether you are intended to be a victim or an unknowning accomplice. But it has all the signs for a scam and none of the signs of being real.
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
answered 9 hours ago
Tom
37924
37924
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
add a comment |Â
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
5
5
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
+1 for this. It is inconceivable that anyone with even just 40mil in net worth (let alone sitting in a normal bank account) would have no better way than a random stranger to get 2k anywhere in the world where he can access a phone/computer. I mean if you manage to get yourself lost in a remote village in the Andes with no outside access maybe. But if he can call the bank he can get the money. Especially for Swiss banks. I've had dealings with them and they are very accommodating even if you have a balance a magnitude smaller.
– DRF
9 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
56
down vote
We are of course unable to tell for sure, but this situation has all the hallmarks of a classic confidence trick.
- Meet random people on the Internet.
- Build a personal connection.
- Tell them you are in some pickle where you urgently need them to send you money. Promise them they get it back immediately.
- If they fall for it and actually do send money, ask for even more money.
- When they stop sending money, break contact.
This scam appears over and over again with all kinds of identities and stories.
In this case, it is really fishy that a businessman with over 40 million in their bank account would 1. use online banking with username and password to access that account and 2. give their password to someone they never met in person instead of an employee, trustworthy business partner or relative.
He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says he has 40000000 !
I assume what you mean with this is that he gave you online banking credentials, you logged into his account and found that amount of money. Possible explanations:
- The bank doesn't actually exist. It's just a fake website the scammers set up to fraud people like you. This should be easy to check by simply googling the name of the bank.
- It's a real account, but it's not his account. He bought the login credentials from a hacker.
- It actually is his real account. The money you see is all the money he obtained from other people like you using the same method.
...or does he expect you to not send your own money but actually send him money from that account?
Then he is likely asking you to commit online banking fraud on his behalf. The account password was stolen by a hacker. The hacker wants you to send the money to his real account. When the real account owner reports the fraudulent transfer, the bank will check the access logs and find your IP address. A while later the police will knock on your door and start questioning you about why you log into online banking accounts which don't belong to you and send money to West Africa. You better hope that the court believes your story, or you will go to jail on the hacker's behalf.
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
56
down vote
We are of course unable to tell for sure, but this situation has all the hallmarks of a classic confidence trick.
- Meet random people on the Internet.
- Build a personal connection.
- Tell them you are in some pickle where you urgently need them to send you money. Promise them they get it back immediately.
- If they fall for it and actually do send money, ask for even more money.
- When they stop sending money, break contact.
This scam appears over and over again with all kinds of identities and stories.
In this case, it is really fishy that a businessman with over 40 million in their bank account would 1. use online banking with username and password to access that account and 2. give their password to someone they never met in person instead of an employee, trustworthy business partner or relative.
He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says he has 40000000 !
I assume what you mean with this is that he gave you online banking credentials, you logged into his account and found that amount of money. Possible explanations:
- The bank doesn't actually exist. It's just a fake website the scammers set up to fraud people like you. This should be easy to check by simply googling the name of the bank.
- It's a real account, but it's not his account. He bought the login credentials from a hacker.
- It actually is his real account. The money you see is all the money he obtained from other people like you using the same method.
...or does he expect you to not send your own money but actually send him money from that account?
Then he is likely asking you to commit online banking fraud on his behalf. The account password was stolen by a hacker. The hacker wants you to send the money to his real account. When the real account owner reports the fraudulent transfer, the bank will check the access logs and find your IP address. A while later the police will knock on your door and start questioning you about why you log into online banking accounts which don't belong to you and send money to West Africa. You better hope that the court believes your story, or you will go to jail on the hacker's behalf.
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
56
down vote
up vote
56
down vote
We are of course unable to tell for sure, but this situation has all the hallmarks of a classic confidence trick.
- Meet random people on the Internet.
- Build a personal connection.
- Tell them you are in some pickle where you urgently need them to send you money. Promise them they get it back immediately.
- If they fall for it and actually do send money, ask for even more money.
- When they stop sending money, break contact.
This scam appears over and over again with all kinds of identities and stories.
In this case, it is really fishy that a businessman with over 40 million in their bank account would 1. use online banking with username and password to access that account and 2. give their password to someone they never met in person instead of an employee, trustworthy business partner or relative.
He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says he has 40000000 !
I assume what you mean with this is that he gave you online banking credentials, you logged into his account and found that amount of money. Possible explanations:
- The bank doesn't actually exist. It's just a fake website the scammers set up to fraud people like you. This should be easy to check by simply googling the name of the bank.
- It's a real account, but it's not his account. He bought the login credentials from a hacker.
- It actually is his real account. The money you see is all the money he obtained from other people like you using the same method.
...or does he expect you to not send your own money but actually send him money from that account?
Then he is likely asking you to commit online banking fraud on his behalf. The account password was stolen by a hacker. The hacker wants you to send the money to his real account. When the real account owner reports the fraudulent transfer, the bank will check the access logs and find your IP address. A while later the police will knock on your door and start questioning you about why you log into online banking accounts which don't belong to you and send money to West Africa. You better hope that the court believes your story, or you will go to jail on the hacker's behalf.
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
We are of course unable to tell for sure, but this situation has all the hallmarks of a classic confidence trick.
- Meet random people on the Internet.
- Build a personal connection.
- Tell them you are in some pickle where you urgently need them to send you money. Promise them they get it back immediately.
- If they fall for it and actually do send money, ask for even more money.
- When they stop sending money, break contact.
This scam appears over and over again with all kinds of identities and stories.
In this case, it is really fishy that a businessman with over 40 million in their bank account would 1. use online banking with username and password to access that account and 2. give their password to someone they never met in person instead of an employee, trustworthy business partner or relative.
He gave me the account numbers so I could check and the account says he has 40000000 !
I assume what you mean with this is that he gave you online banking credentials, you logged into his account and found that amount of money. Possible explanations:
- The bank doesn't actually exist. It's just a fake website the scammers set up to fraud people like you. This should be easy to check by simply googling the name of the bank.
- It's a real account, but it's not his account. He bought the login credentials from a hacker.
- It actually is his real account. The money you see is all the money he obtained from other people like you using the same method.
...or does he expect you to not send your own money but actually send him money from that account?
Then he is likely asking you to commit online banking fraud on his behalf. The account password was stolen by a hacker. The hacker wants you to send the money to his real account. When the real account owner reports the fraudulent transfer, the bank will check the access logs and find your IP address. A while later the police will knock on your door and start questioning you about why you log into online banking accounts which don't belong to you and send money to West Africa. You better hope that the court believes your story, or you will go to jail on the hacker's behalf.
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
edited 12 hours ago
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
answered 12 hours ago
Philipp
4,76711319
4,76711319
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
 |Â
show 4 more comments
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
59
59
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
I really don't like the first sentence of this - we know for sure it is a scam. That type of waivering is crucial to convincing someone on the fence that they should go along with what the scammer says. Being hardline here is more important, in my opinion, than allowing for lightning striking aliens-type chance.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
11 hours ago
5
5
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
@Grade'Eh'Bacon From an emotional stand point, I completely agree with you since we care about OP not getting scammed. From an objective stand point, despite the risk it entails I actually prefer the wording Philipp chose here since we only have evidence, not proof.
– cgage1
8 hours ago
18
18
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
@Anton This isn't about 'scientific process'. This is about saving some poor soul from losing thousands of dollars to a 100% clear and verified scanner. It is a fact that ZERO people in the entire history of planet earth have given a stranger login details to their 'swiss bank account' with $40M inside, and needed a separate transfer of $2k in order to access it in West Africa. ZERO.
– Grade 'Eh' Bacon
7 hours ago
5
5
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
As a compromise (if you don't want to remove the statement of uncertainty), I'd suggest starting the answer with "This situation has all the hallmarks..." and moving the first part of the first sentence to the end and making it something like: "We are of course unable to say this without a shadow of a doubt, but, given the above, this is almost certainly a scam". You really don't want to start (or end) with the implication that we're not really sure (nor do you want it in the middle, but at least there it has some padding).
– NotThatGuy
7 hours ago
5
5
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
I agree with @Grade'Eh'Bacon that "we are unable to tell for sure" is a red herring and casts more doubt than it should. The answer should begin with "We are able to tell it's a scam far beyond a reasonable doubt", which is all anyone needs to know when deciding to send the money or not.
– Nuclear Wang
7 hours ago
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
21
down vote
There are absolutely no scenarios under which someone who has internet access sufficient to contact you cannot get his own money out of his own internet banking service.
That's your first Red Flag
The second is that he contacted you, a relative stranger, to handle his money.
Don't be taken in by having contacted initially via facebook. Facebook accounts are trivially easy to make up and because they're not email, they get less scrutiny than they should.
Rule of thumb: do not accept facebook requests unless you personally know the name, and even then, verify they are actually that person.
Spoofing a real person's facebook account by copying images and info from their public account is only fractionally less trivial than making one from scratch.
Thirdly, Swiss banking is way less common than you'd expect, cold-war-themed fiction has given us the idea that swiss banks are where Loads of Money gets put as a tax-haven. This is..less than realistic. If someone is talking about their Swiss Bank Account, it's probably to make it sound more important. That's a major red flag.
This is a ridiculously unlikely scenario, there's no doubt in my mind that it's a scam and that you should block them on facebook and forget the whole thing.
Don't even consider it, unless you knew somehow that it was 100% legit. You will undoubtedly get scammed out of at least thousands of dollars and likely go to jail in the worst case if you pursue this.
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
21
down vote
There are absolutely no scenarios under which someone who has internet access sufficient to contact you cannot get his own money out of his own internet banking service.
That's your first Red Flag
The second is that he contacted you, a relative stranger, to handle his money.
Don't be taken in by having contacted initially via facebook. Facebook accounts are trivially easy to make up and because they're not email, they get less scrutiny than they should.
Rule of thumb: do not accept facebook requests unless you personally know the name, and even then, verify they are actually that person.
Spoofing a real person's facebook account by copying images and info from their public account is only fractionally less trivial than making one from scratch.
Thirdly, Swiss banking is way less common than you'd expect, cold-war-themed fiction has given us the idea that swiss banks are where Loads of Money gets put as a tax-haven. This is..less than realistic. If someone is talking about their Swiss Bank Account, it's probably to make it sound more important. That's a major red flag.
This is a ridiculously unlikely scenario, there's no doubt in my mind that it's a scam and that you should block them on facebook and forget the whole thing.
Don't even consider it, unless you knew somehow that it was 100% legit. You will undoubtedly get scammed out of at least thousands of dollars and likely go to jail in the worst case if you pursue this.
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
21
down vote
up vote
21
down vote
There are absolutely no scenarios under which someone who has internet access sufficient to contact you cannot get his own money out of his own internet banking service.
That's your first Red Flag
The second is that he contacted you, a relative stranger, to handle his money.
Don't be taken in by having contacted initially via facebook. Facebook accounts are trivially easy to make up and because they're not email, they get less scrutiny than they should.
Rule of thumb: do not accept facebook requests unless you personally know the name, and even then, verify they are actually that person.
Spoofing a real person's facebook account by copying images and info from their public account is only fractionally less trivial than making one from scratch.
Thirdly, Swiss banking is way less common than you'd expect, cold-war-themed fiction has given us the idea that swiss banks are where Loads of Money gets put as a tax-haven. This is..less than realistic. If someone is talking about their Swiss Bank Account, it's probably to make it sound more important. That's a major red flag.
This is a ridiculously unlikely scenario, there's no doubt in my mind that it's a scam and that you should block them on facebook and forget the whole thing.
Don't even consider it, unless you knew somehow that it was 100% legit. You will undoubtedly get scammed out of at least thousands of dollars and likely go to jail in the worst case if you pursue this.
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
There are absolutely no scenarios under which someone who has internet access sufficient to contact you cannot get his own money out of his own internet banking service.
That's your first Red Flag
The second is that he contacted you, a relative stranger, to handle his money.
Don't be taken in by having contacted initially via facebook. Facebook accounts are trivially easy to make up and because they're not email, they get less scrutiny than they should.
Rule of thumb: do not accept facebook requests unless you personally know the name, and even then, verify they are actually that person.
Spoofing a real person's facebook account by copying images and info from their public account is only fractionally less trivial than making one from scratch.
Thirdly, Swiss banking is way less common than you'd expect, cold-war-themed fiction has given us the idea that swiss banks are where Loads of Money gets put as a tax-haven. This is..less than realistic. If someone is talking about their Swiss Bank Account, it's probably to make it sound more important. That's a major red flag.
This is a ridiculously unlikely scenario, there's no doubt in my mind that it's a scam and that you should block them on facebook and forget the whole thing.
Don't even consider it, unless you knew somehow that it was 100% legit. You will undoubtedly get scammed out of at least thousands of dollars and likely go to jail in the worst case if you pursue this.
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
answered 9 hours ago
Ruadhan2300
3614
3614
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
Instead of blocking the Facebook account, OP could play along and feign obstacles that are keeping them from sending the funds, or keep providing "it's in the mail" responses. ;) Why let the scammer off easy and cut their losses? Keep them tied up and confused; you will be entertained, and they will be scamming fewer other people in the meantime.
– Aaron
5 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
While "Swiss bank account" does have enough of a cachet about to be a red flag, it's not entirely unrealistic. They could be from Switzerland, if it weren't for the fact that so many other things point to it being a scam.
– Acccumulation
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Check this out, it's called Nigerian Scam:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
The scammer will tell you an elaborate story about large amounts of
their money trapped in banks during events such as civil wars or
coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you
about a large inheritance that is 'difficult to access' because of
government restrictions or taxes in their country. The scammer will
then offer you a large sum of money to help them transfer their
personal fortune out of the country.
These scams are often known as 'Nigerian 419' scams because the first
wave of them came from Nigeria. The '419' part of the name comes from
the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams now come from anywhere in the world.
Scammers may ask for your bank account details to 'help them transfer
the money' and use this information to later steal your funds.
Or they may ask you to pay fees, charges or taxes to 'help release or
transfer the money out of the country' through your bank. These fees
may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer may
make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your
reward. They will keep asking for more money as long as you are
willing to part with it.
I get at least one os such emails every week and I was always wondering if somebody takes this for real. There is one golden rule in life if it is too good to be true it's not true. Or in other words, if it smells like a trap it's a trap.
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Check this out, it's called Nigerian Scam:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
The scammer will tell you an elaborate story about large amounts of
their money trapped in banks during events such as civil wars or
coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you
about a large inheritance that is 'difficult to access' because of
government restrictions or taxes in their country. The scammer will
then offer you a large sum of money to help them transfer their
personal fortune out of the country.
These scams are often known as 'Nigerian 419' scams because the first
wave of them came from Nigeria. The '419' part of the name comes from
the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams now come from anywhere in the world.
Scammers may ask for your bank account details to 'help them transfer
the money' and use this information to later steal your funds.
Or they may ask you to pay fees, charges or taxes to 'help release or
transfer the money out of the country' through your bank. These fees
may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer may
make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your
reward. They will keep asking for more money as long as you are
willing to part with it.
I get at least one os such emails every week and I was always wondering if somebody takes this for real. There is one golden rule in life if it is too good to be true it's not true. Or in other words, if it smells like a trap it's a trap.
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Check this out, it's called Nigerian Scam:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
The scammer will tell you an elaborate story about large amounts of
their money trapped in banks during events such as civil wars or
coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you
about a large inheritance that is 'difficult to access' because of
government restrictions or taxes in their country. The scammer will
then offer you a large sum of money to help them transfer their
personal fortune out of the country.
These scams are often known as 'Nigerian 419' scams because the first
wave of them came from Nigeria. The '419' part of the name comes from
the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams now come from anywhere in the world.
Scammers may ask for your bank account details to 'help them transfer
the money' and use this information to later steal your funds.
Or they may ask you to pay fees, charges or taxes to 'help release or
transfer the money out of the country' through your bank. These fees
may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer may
make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your
reward. They will keep asking for more money as long as you are
willing to part with it.
I get at least one os such emails every week and I was always wondering if somebody takes this for real. There is one golden rule in life if it is too good to be true it's not true. Or in other words, if it smells like a trap it's a trap.
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
Check this out, it's called Nigerian Scam:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
The scammer will tell you an elaborate story about large amounts of
their money trapped in banks during events such as civil wars or
coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you
about a large inheritance that is 'difficult to access' because of
government restrictions or taxes in their country. The scammer will
then offer you a large sum of money to help them transfer their
personal fortune out of the country.
These scams are often known as 'Nigerian 419' scams because the first
wave of them came from Nigeria. The '419' part of the name comes from
the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams now come from anywhere in the world.
Scammers may ask for your bank account details to 'help them transfer
the money' and use this information to later steal your funds.
Or they may ask you to pay fees, charges or taxes to 'help release or
transfer the money out of the country' through your bank. These fees
may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer may
make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your
reward. They will keep asking for more money as long as you are
willing to part with it.
I get at least one os such emails every week and I was always wondering if somebody takes this for real. There is one golden rule in life if it is too good to be true it's not true. Or in other words, if it smells like a trap it's a trap.
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
answered 2 hours ago
Andi Giga
1214
1214
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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95
What else should it be but a scam?
– glglgl
12 hours ago
57
Anyone with 40 millions in their account can make a call to their bank and they'll arrange for some money to be send to wherever. And if there's a problem with that bank account, they can call another bank, credit card company, ...
– DonQuiKong
10 hours ago
18
@DonQuiKong And if those options don't work, there's something seriously wrong and you do not want to get involved.
– David Starkey
10 hours ago
26
How did you verify the funds in his account? Did you navigate to a website or phone system that the man told you to visit?
– Freiheit
10 hours ago
28
@DonQuiKong Anyone with 40 millions in their account could probably get someone from the bank to fly out with the money in person!
– TripeHound
9 hours ago