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Con Men in Your Church, Gym or Grocery Store
Trouble in River City.
God, Trust and Money
Did a stranger approach you on the street, needing to find "two
honest Americans, to fulfill the conditions of a will", so he could inherit a
huge sum of money? Not all scams and scammers appear in email, a letter or a phone
call. Some approach you where and when you least expect them: in church,
at school, in a grocery store or gym.
Below is a report from a victim of just such a scam.
Here's how it works:
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The scammer uses a confederate (another scammer who works
with him, but appears to be a stranger to you and the scammer) and a fake
roll of money to gain your trust.
-
Once he has your trust (confidence) he gets you top provide
something valuable to him.
-
As soon as he has possession of your items of value, he's
gone.
This type of scam has been around for generations. Rent "The
Music Man" with Robert Preston for a classic Hollywood movie version of how a
con scam works.
What can you do to defend yourself from scams, frauds and
identity theft? Whether you think you have been the victim of a fraud or scam or
want to be proactive in protecting yourself, here is a list.
Report of a con: God and Money
The author's English was very poor - we've cleaned it up to make it readable.
My name is Dom. I was approached by man, he was on
his cell phone and asked for direction since he didn't know where he was. He
said his name is James, he was from Sera Leon in Africa and he has only been
in the U.S. for 2 days.
He asked if I would talk to his lawyer to describe
to him where he's at. He said a taxi dropped him after driving around
looking for a church where he intended to make a large donation. He said he
said he gave the taxi driver S400.00 but still did not find a church.
He claimed his uncle died and he inherited a great
sum of money. He showed me a letter from his uncle's attorney saying he is
worth $9,7000,000.00. Since he cannot bring this to his country, he has to
donate to the American Red Cross $7,000,000.00, which he did already. The
remaining $2,000.000.00 he will receive, on condition that he finds 2
Americans that he can trust.
He claims he has $140,000.00 in cash. He showed me 2
bundles rolled with a rubber in a small bag. What he wants to do with this
money is give it to charity, church, schools or to whom I think will need
it.
He said he has only up to 6:00 o' clock to do this
and do not have time to do it by himself. According to the letter he can
find 2 Americans he can trust to help him. Since I was kind enough attend to
him and everybody else he met think he was a bum, he think I am trust
worthy. Now we have to find another person and I was trusting enough to
drive around with him. He saw a black guy, got to find out he's half black
half asian a self employed building contractor. He showed him the letter and
tell him his problem. (We'll call him "Man B")
To prove to James that he is trustworthy, Man B will
take his money out of his bank. He left and came back with the money. Now
James told this guy to get out of the car, leave the money with us, to prove
to us that Man B can trust us with his money. So we drive around and come
back to him.
So this guy Man B, now identified as "Makimbe" gave
James one roll of money and with own money went back to the bank to deposit
it. I cannot see the bank from where we are. Now it is my turn. I cash
advance $5000.00 from my credit card. Now, to prove to them that we trust
each other, I give Makimbe my $5000.00 and drive around. When I return, they
are gone.
I am a Catholic, always ready to help. When this
person told me I'll be able to donate to any church, to help persons in
need, I was hooked. When he told this agreement is between me and James and
god, I stop to think.
He also said that he will leave the $2,000,000.00
with me, since he cannot bring it to his country. He would leave it to us as
a business venture since he trusted us.
All this happened in a 3 hour period. James telling
me how he was trying all time to give his life in Sera Leon, how bad his
country is. These con men are very convincing. I was talking to his "lawyer"
in the cell phone and all the time he was concerned with James because he's
carrying around so much cash.
So when people are talking about god, better ask
"who is your God?". It may be money.
Lessons learned:
Swiss cheese has fewer holes than this story.
-
Any time a stranger talks about both god and money,
and the conversation eventually involves YOUR money - it will ALWAYS be a
scam.
-
There is no prohibition about bring money into the
U.S.; quite the opposite; in order to get visas, one must prove that they do
in fact HAVE money.
-
"The remaining $2,000.000.00 he will receive, on
condition that he finds 2 Americans that he can trust." That is obvious
nonsense. While someone could put that in a will, why would anyone?
That's a very obvious device of the con.
-
"He claims he has $140,000.00 in cash. He showed me
2 bundles rolled with a rubber in a small bag. " This trick has been used as
long as paper money has been in existence. Simply cut newspaper into
the size and shape of the paper bills, and place a few $100 bills around the
outside. Roll it up and put a rubber band around it. You have an
instant wad that appears to be worth millions.
-
"What he wants to do with this money is give it to
charity, church, schools or to whom I think will need it." You're
kidding, right? Folks, anyone who would believe a statement like this,
from a complete stranger; should never, EVER go outside without an
intelligent escort.
-
"He said he has only up to 6:00 o' clock to do
this". Umm. Can we ask a question?... Why? Why only until 6:00
pm? Does he turn into a pumpkin. More stuff of fairy tales.
-
"Now we have to find another person and I was
trusting enough to drive around with him. He saw a black guy, got to find
out he's half black half asian a self employed building contractor."
This guy is what is called a "confederate" or a "shill". He's no
stranger, he's part of the scam.
-
"I cash advance $5000.00 from my credit card. Now,
to prove to them that we trust each other, I give Makimbe my $5000.00 and
drive around. When I return, they are gone." The logical conclusion.
The obvious moral is: Keep your money in the bank. Don't
give it to strangers to hold.
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