South African-linked stories

[slothgirl]

I'm a South African journalist (carefully vetted by the site administrators who are happy with my credentials and intentions) and I'm writing a story for a major women's glossy on scams to serve as a warning to others.

To bring the story home, I'm looking to include a few strong personal stories from people who have fallen victim to these evil con-artists, to show that it's easier than you think, that it can, indeed, happen to you.

Ideally I'm looking for women who are willing to talk about their personal experiences, but men are okay too.

The one absolute non-negotiable is that there has to be a South African slant. Either you're a South African yourself, or the scammer was based in South Africa or you flew out to South Africa to meet with the scammers.

I'm open to personal stories about all kinds of scams: 419 / lottery / anti-scam scam / rent scams / charity scams / mystery shopper scams and especially romance scams.

If you're willing to talk about what happened to you, please private message me.

All communications will be handled with absolute respect, sympathy and confidentiality (we can anonymise some of the details if need be).

By sharing your story, you'll be helping others avoid the same trap and hopefully we'll expose some of these bastards' modus operandis.

Please get in touch.

Best,

Slothgirl aka Lauren

[ChrisSmith]

Hi Slothgirl.

Maybe this will be of interest to you?

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... ?f=1&t=914

If so, you're welcome to PM me.

[mvtskumar]

MR. ALFRED TRAVELS
FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER,AllStates Buildiing,
234, Woodmead Street,
9Th Floor Unit 999
Johannesburg
South

Hello!
I got msg as I'm a lucky lottery winner of email from abovesaid concern. And I've been directed to contact above said address person for further proceedings. I want to clarify is it real or fake? please help me inthis regard.

Thank you.
Sanjeevkumar

[Ralph]

Hi and welcome to Scamwarners.

You haven't given us a great deal to go on but I would say that it would be a scam based on this search result Click Here

If you could please provide us with an email address and or some of the early emails it will certainly help to know for sure as well as provide details that others can search on

It is also worth noting that my search on this line "FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER,AllStates Buildiing" also found this Scamwarners post http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... =12&t=1414

Of course the other concern is that you will not win a lottery that you didn't enter and you will never have to pay fees of any kind in order to receive your winnings

Just a guess but I dont suppose your winning ticket number is this number "B9665 75604546 199"

[lost in scams]

i recived a request :to recive a trunk.a diplomatic agent from johannesburg,africa.is bringing it to me,and to get through customs they need me to send him money by western union,when he arrives in the u.s. and needs to get through customs,is there like a $3,000.00 fee to get through the procedure to clear it
(him and the trunk)through custom?
ANY ADVICE PLEASE ASAP

[The Enchantress]

Lostinscams

Definately another scam.

General information from the Scamwarners guide.

How can I recognise a scam?

This is not an exhaustive list, but it includes some of the warning signs to look for.
It all sounds too good to be true. There's the potential for a large gain with very little investment of time or money.
The approach has come out of the blue and the scammer probably does not address you by name.
There is an insistence on urgency and on confidentiality.
People are introduced to you by the scammer, such as bank officials, security companies, diplomats or lawyers. These additional characters will be played by the scammer or an accomplice of his.
You're supplied with a great number of official-looking documents (they are forged).
There's an early request for personal and detailed information from the victim, such as address, date of birth, bank account details, or identification such as a passport.
There are legitimate-sounding government agencies or financial organisations involved but the email address does not relate to the organisation (e.g. a scammer pretending to be a bank but using a free email account such as Yahoo).
The scammer uses mobile phone numbers rather than official company landlines.
Each fee is said to be the last and the scammer may even have claimed to pay some of the fee to build confidence and trust.

Please feel free to post any details or questions and concerns, an adviser will give a prompt answer.

[GomerPyle]

Apologies for the intrusion of the forum spammer slothgirl

Forum spamming a site dedicated to revealing internet scammers is pretty stupid

Most scammers are pretty dumb, but having said that, they are very smart at what they do and know precisely how to get what they want - money. If you spoke to one scammer in the street you may think he hasn't the ability to write an e-mail, but they use scripts provided by smart scammers and use friends who have the right accent to make calls. Their intelligence is the intelligence of the hyena who knows how to prey on the weak and innocent.

I tracked down one Lad who was manager at a South African internet cafe. I believe he has gone back home to Nigeria now to set up his parents in some kerosene oil business, so this is very lucrative for those who have got it all worked out.

It's quite amazing the sort of people who fall for these scams, but to many people the internet is new, or they are just too trusting, and a scammer can live well for months on one successful scam, and once hooked, they never let go of a paying victim.