Has someone offered you a huge sum of money or a valuable consignment? It's a 419 or advance fee fraud - find out how they work, and what to do to be safe.
#11645 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:36 am
I've posted this on two other 'scambaiting' message boards in hopes of resolving this. A poster at another baiting site.net got me suspicious on the possibility that it is far more convoluted than I thought it would be. As the scam involves my relative and her relationship with the person is of a romantic nature, I wouldn't be able to provide the email correspondences between the two of them unless I have a very good reason for doing so. I will be able to provide email headers from the 'secondary scammer' once I gain access to her computer either tomorrow or Friday.

However, she holds a company email address so I don't know how to obtain headers I haven't actually seen the way the email service is formatted though so I might be able to come up with something once I get hold of the computer.

On to the information. I was hesitant earlier to give the full details to either message boards but I'm assuming this site would be alright, I'll just provide as much as I can without divulging names since I don't have the numbers at hand anyway:

Relative, let's call her H from now on is a divorcee and frequently talks to people she meets on Skype. She's quite savvy in that she isn't normally smitten by any random dude who talks to her as I've frequently warned her of the dangers of online relationships. Just recently, she met a guy from the UK claiming to be a businessman of sorts with huge inheritance who is about her age, a widower with no children and like her sick of being single. They strike up a friendship and exchanged pictures (I've seen them showing the person at home on the sofa, posing by his car, and a close-up of his face) unfortunately she has also included pictures of her closest relatives namely myself and another guy including some random information about us of which I'm not too sure about. They've gotten closer and are talking about marriage and moving to another country.

The country in question is Latin American and I've warned her of the dangers of said country as it as very high homicide rate per capita. She expressed said concern and the guy in question (let's call him B) says he will move to our country instead and set up business here. During this period in time, B sent a parcel of goods to my relative containing books,chocolates etc. He didn't tell her that he placed a substantial amount of petty cash and she got to know of this when the parcel was confiscated at the Malaysian Customs. We do not reside in Malaysia. According to the customs officer who called her, it is illegal to send petty cash of huge amounts via mail and to avoid getting incarcerated, she has to send him a bribe in the thousands of Malaysian currency.

She didn't want to be jailed so she sent the money assuming it's okay since for her it is a small amount. Then the courier company calls and claims that they cannot send in the money unless tax has been paid and the tax jumped considerably once knowledge of the petty cash got out. H refused to pay and the parcel was confiscated and sent back to the sender. No news on if the parcel was reclaimed by B. My relative went to the local police and filed a complain. Unfortunately, since Malaysia is a corrupted country to begin with, nothing much could be done. It's possible that she has also paid another tax but I'm not too sure about it.

To cover the losses and as a sign of his apology, B tells her that he'll send a huge amount of money by depositing them into a bank account of hers. I told her to use Western Union but he didn't want to since the money is of a very huge amount. H opens a new account on the advice of her bank and supplied the information to her beau. I'm not sure why this fuck-up happened but she sent in the wrong account number, missing one number and told B to rectify the matter.

Yesterday, she received an email from a 'Dr Jacob Che' stating that the money is floating and directionless. She has to supply an implausible document or pay money amounting to 1% of the total money being sent to recover the funds. This is where I immediately stepped in and told her not to reply to 'Dr Jacob Che' and to forward any future correspondences to me. She has replied to the guy though saying that her bank thought otherwise and she would not pay anything to him and he has replied saying he will contact the fund originator. B has stated that he does not know who the man is.

---

Said relative has serious plans about her relationship with B and on the one hand I'd like to hope that it is the real deal but on the other, I don't trust this guy. She has talked to him multiple times over the phone but never via webcam. He has requested it but she declined because at that time her webcam wasn't working. For a businessman who has amassed a considerable fortune, he seems to me to be quite unsavvy about his money. I'm hoping that this 'Dr Jacob Che' has simply gotten information about the transaction and hopes to gain money out of it but I really don't know what the reality is. 'Dr Jacob Che' even knows that wrong information has been supplied and efforts were made to rectify it. There's a common theme between the two money-involved incidents too and that is Malaysia. According to 'Dr Jacob Che', it is the government of Malaysia that has confiscated the money.

I'd like to reiterate that H seems to be quite involved with B though I don't know the true extent of her relationship. I wouldn't be able to provide their email exchanges unless there's a water-tight argument I can provide and also because most of their conversations took place on skype or over the phone. I can provide the email from 'Dr Jacob Che'. It troubles me that he knows the exact amount of the transaction and its details. Do you know what's going on here?

Thank you, if you've reached this point!
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#11646 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:55 am
I've been browsing the forum to learn more about scammers and baiting etc and this bit caused me to wonder about what's really going on

Western Union and MoneyGram were designed to send money to friends and family, not to send money to strangers. NEVER WIRE MONEY TO A STRANGER or SOMEONE YOU HAVE ONLY MET ON THE INTERNET!

I asked this question on another message board also but is it possible that B thinks my relative is a scammer? She has never requested money or anything though. I asked her to get him to send money through Western Union because I didn't think that a bank transfer would be safe thinking that they'd take her account number and run away with it or something. At least in this regard, she is also skeptical.
#11647 by Peta Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:06 am
Hi lily, Welcome to scamwarners. Thank you for the detailed description of the circumstances surrounding H's relationship with B. I'm afraid it sounds very much like a scam. Similar to a love scam progressing into a fairly standard advanced fee fraud. But without the email addresses and header details of the other people involved it makes it somewhat difficult to provide proof positive to H.

The inheritance. The ridiculous Malaysian customs scenario and the preposterous explanation by "Dr Jacob Che'" regarding the fee payable to recover the funds all point to this being a scam. The constant demands for fees to be paid (usually by Western Union) are all features of a 419 type scam.

If you can possibly obtain the Skype, email and header information without putting yourself at risk, and keeping your friends' identity anonymous this would help us to get proof for you to show to H.
#11648 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:12 am
Thank you for your reply Peta. Actually, I was the one who suggested Western Union since I assumed it would be safe. The previous times she wired money were through bank transfers.

I will attempt to get hold of further information from her computer either tomorrow or Friday. I have B's email address however I'm hesitant about displaying the information here in the very slim chance that he is legit. Could you find out information just from the email address? I've googled his name and the email address but yielded nothing.
#11649 by Peta Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:20 am
lily,

If you want to keep the email addresses confidential thats perfectly understandable. Please feel free to PM the details to me or to any of the moderators/administrators on this site. We can do some research behind the scenes first if you would be more confortable with that.

Scammer's can provide bank accounts for victims to transfer fees. They don't do it often though. If you can pass on the details of those bank account(s) along with the other information, that would be very helpful.
#11650 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:49 am
Thank you, I am in the process of getting hold of B's telephone number and the bank account (s) of the person (s) my relative has sent money to. I will PM you once I get hold of them.

Also, do you think it's a good idea to bait 'Dr John Che' at least to get hold of the I.P address in case I can't get to her computer? I can pretend to be representing my relative or something.
#11651 by Peta Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:55 am
I would recommend that you do not bait any of the characters in this probable scam. At the moment it is unlikely to help your friend.
#11653 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:40 am
I've gained access into her email account but as I'm looking at it from home, access is limited and I'm unable to obtain any email headers. I've looked through the messages from B's camp and found an email from the following regarding the fund transaction:

From: "INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT,GOLDCREDIT FINANCE & SECURITIES UNITED KINGDOM,TELE/FAX+447005947018,+447092849082" <[email protected]>

Message: Dear Ms.[name deleted], this is to inform you that your
transfer has been concluded through our corresponding bank in Asia , and
we have directed Mr [B] account officer, to forward your
transfer slip to you.
You are thus, directed to print the slip, and take it to your bank to
confirm the transfer to avoid any mistake.
Yours sincerely,
Fabian Dyke

---

I've also found a really sappy email from B, full of spelling and grammatical mistakes. They communicate mainly over the phone and via Skype so I didn't find any other emails from him. It's getting really difficult for me to belive that a 51 year old English businessman would make such mistakes. A case of stubby fingers on a too small keyboard? At this point I just want to find out the truth. And at the very least spare my relative from a possible heartbreak.
#11654 by Peta Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:16 am
Our website killers may be interested in this new information. I have taken a quick look at gocfinance.com and found that it appears to be almost identical to gcfsgroup.com and crfinancesecurities.com Each of these websites have been registered for only one year each begining in April 2009. It would be most unusual for a genuine finance/banking firm to register their domain name for one year only.
#11655 by Arnold Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:30 am
lilysantoni wrote:
From: "INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT,GOLDCREDIT FINANCE & SECURITIES UNITED KINGDOM,TELE/FAX+447005947018,+447092849082" <[email protected]>

Those are UK redirect numbers, which means that whoever answers could be anywhere in the world. http://www.gcfsgroup.com looks genuine at first glance, but it was only set up on 8th April for the minimum 12 months. The "contact us" page has no phone numbers or address, just a form for emailing them. The language is also poor
It also tends d sto affect the price of financial assets, such as bonds anhares, and


Fabian Dyke

An odd name. Not impossible, just unconvincing. I have to go out for an hour, and I'll take a closer look at the website later.

#11664 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:55 am
Information from you guys so far doesn't bode well. I've just told her the possibility of the scam and am expecting the worst. I wish there's a way to round up all these scammers and set them on fire for what they've done.
#11668 by Steven Milner Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:52 pm
Hi lily

In my experience, the site http://www.gcfsgroup.com is certainly fake.

Just to make sure, I have brought the website to the attention of a group of volunteers who specialise in the identification and removal of fake websites. It will be closely scrutinised for inaccuracies and tell-tale signs of fake activity.

The senior members of this organisation are extremely technical and have access to resources which will prove beyond question that the site is fake. I have referred the site to them for urgent attention.

I will post back when I know more.
Last edited by Steven Milner on Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
#11678 by Steven Milner Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:30 pm
Further to my last post, the website has been checked, researched thoroughly, and entered onto an official 'blacklist' of fake websites on the database held at aa419.org (Artists Against 419)

This organisation deals only with fake websites, of which I am a member.

To reassure you, an entry is not taken lightly, and is thoroughly checked and re-checked by moderators to evaluate its legitimacy. There is not a single site of the 38,000+ in the database that is legitimate.

This database entry is a guarantee of its illegal nature.

You can view the entry here : http://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=38081

Expect the website to be gone soon, as one the aa419 'site killers' will ensure it will be taken offline before too long. Use this as proof that the bank does not exist, as the sites of real banks do not just vanish into thin air, although expect the scammer to come back at the victim with a load of 'technical issues' rubbish.
#11683 by lilysantoni Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:44 pm
Thank you very much Steven Miller. My relative sent me another email today stating her suspicions about the courier company. I checked out the website and Firefox didn't let me through because of the low WOT rating and when I checked the comments I discovered that it too has been checked out by Artists Against 419.

I've got further information also but since they're bogus I don't know if they're help. Maybe if someone else is being scammed and sees the following names and addresses they'll know not to trust them. I've also decided not to hide 'B's identity anymore. His name is 'Mark Vin Brown'. Quite possible still trolling Skype.

Mark Vin Brown
[email protected]
1North Parade Paronage Gardens
Manchester m2 3nh England
Contacts: 07031746156, 07506542909

Those are the numbers written on the courier company's invoice letter. He has different sets of numbers to call my relative.

This is the bogus courier company, extracted money from my relative:
Multi Link Courier Group PLC (UK)
Suite 7011, Menie Park Lodge, Menie Estate
Balmedie, Aberdeen, AB24 8YE
Phone:(+44) 0703-182-254
Fax: (+44) 0150-669-1422
Email:[email protected]
Website:www.mcglobalplc.com

They have a person in Malaysia possibly using a bogus name also:
Haliza Zukifli
[email protected]
+60176954298

Malaysian scammers and their bank acc numbers:
Valeria Lau Kim Chai
A/c no: 111011245136
Maybank

Banda Richard
A/c no: 15751005476
Hong Leong Bank

They operate out of Kuala Lumpur, the country's capital. I'm convinced that this is a Malaysian scam.

I also have the I/C number and bank account number of the customs official, I'm sending his information to the Malaysian Police.

Lastly, the two persons 'Frank Morris' and 'Dr Jacob Che' are definitely the same asshole because 'Frank Morris' forgot to replace the signature 'Dr Jacob Che' at the bottom of his email. Copy and pasted I suppose. Nonetheless, their email addresses:

[email protected]
[email protected]
#11690 by Arnold Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:00 am
I see AA419 had www.mcglobalplc.com shut down last month.
Can you quote the full emails that refer to the two bank accounts please? We have a contact who can have them investigated.
Thank you for reporting this one. It's more elaborate than most with fake websites and bank accounts. So there's more scope for disrupting the scam.
i think you may be right about Malaysia.

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