Here's another Western Union scam, and it's funny, or at least I think so. You supposedly have a $1.2 million "inheritance" coming to you, without the scammers explaining why, through WU because the "President of Benin" doesn't want the money going to any "fraud stars" LOL. You're to pick up $5,000 each day until the "fund" is "finished." As I've already explained so many different times, none of the money ever exists, and as I explained recently, attempting to pick up wired money that's not in your name is a crime in the U.S., and probably in other countries as well.
Also notice that the scammers do not have the American name format right, as the "Western Union manager's" name is "Dr. Austin Joe." They're completely oblivious to the fact that "Joe" is usually a nickname, but don't help them. Let them figure it out on their own. There are people whose first name is Austin, of course, but it's glaringly obvious that they meant Joe Austin, and that's why you will see such names as William Thomas or Thomas Barry; the names are interchangeable. This entry will be linked here for awhile, in the upper right hand column, and a "top four" money scam video is located here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! I am sorry to say that even if you have been scammed in the past, there is no such thing as any "compensation" for it. I received this Western Union scam-mail last night, and it claims that as a "beneficiary," I am somehow "entitled" to $1.5 million as "compensation" for being a "scammed victim." Apparently, in an attempt to keep off of the U.S. IRS's radar, I was supposed to pick up $3,500 with each MTCN number, until I had been paid the full amount. Scammers today are well aware that financial institutions have to report any cash received by a U.S. customer, that's $10,000 or more, to the IRS, so they attempt to steer clear of their radar, and any other nation's taxing authorities as well. That's as if the money ever even existed, which it doesn't, the scammers just want to convince a mark that the money is real. Included with the scam-mail was an MTCN, a sender's name, a test question, a test answer, that $3,500 was available for pickup, and all I had to do was send the scammer $75 as an "activation fee." I went to Western Union's website, and indeed, this was a real MTCN which said the money was available. It isn't any longer.
What's new about this is that it got me to play devil's advocate. "Could I scam the scammers and get their money?" I had a nice little fifteen minute chat with John at Western Union's Consumer Fraud Division. He said that no, unless the order specifically indicated that I was the person to pick it up, then I could not receive it, regardless of whether I could quote the sender's name, MTCN, test question and answer, or not, unless I were willing to break some federal regulations in an attempt to obtain it anyway. He also told me that the spam only claimed that $3,500 was supposedly sent, but that it most likely wasn't true at all, and was probably much less, as little as a dollar. He also said it could very well be a stolen MTCN. The scammers, of course, do not know virtually any of the names attached to e-mail addresses they spam, so they do not include any names as to who is supposed to receive the "cash," if there's any at all. He simply took down my information, more about the scam-mail itself, and I said thanks for the help. You can also report these WU scam-mails, complete with full headers, to [email protected] So, if you guys get these Western Union scam-mails, do not ever send the scammers any money. You will always lose it, and you will never get anything in return. Attempting to receive unclaimed money in the U.S. that's not in your name is a federal crime. This entry is linked here, in the upper right hand corner for awhile, and there's a Top Four money scam YouTube video about it located here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! Sigh. I don't know why the scammers even try to attempt this one. They've got to be relying on 100 percent pure greed is my guess. It's either that, or they are simply using blind stupidity in a desperate effort to make a buck. If you see any e-mail at all with an offer for a large sum of free money right out of the blue, it is always a scam, and they are hoping you will jump on it right away, without thinking about what you are doing. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you can't think with your eyeballs, and this scam is much too quickly and easily picked apart. Please do not act rashly only to get ripped off. They want you to wire a small amount of money to them, usually around $100, or in this case, £98, in exchange for a larger amount. If you just take time out to check up on this, you can quickly find out at Western Union's website that this MTCN doesn't even exist, without even picking up the phone or leaving your chair. The fact that they want you to respond to a free e-mail address, as always, is just another enormous red flag that it is, in fact, a scam. Do not wire them any money, for you will never get anything back, ever. This entry is located here. You can watch the Top Four Money Scam videos, including Western Union, linked here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! Many persistent spammers and scammers are actually located right here in North America. Overseas, though, more experienced foreign scammers whose first language is not English seem to be better with it than their peers, or that's the way it looks to me, anyway, but that's only a personal observation that isn't necessarily true. At the same time, I don't believe that I'm competely full of BS, either LOL. It's just really tough attempting to generalize without purposely stereotyping individual people. These experienced foreign scammers, according to my theory anyway, still make mistakes with English, though, and please do not help them. Scams appear in every language known to man, but English is "the language" that business seems to accept worldwide. And yet it is only the ninth or tenth most commonly spoken. MSN had an article about that.
I've noticed that today, these scammers also seem to be recognizing that using free "ordinary" western e-mail addresses largely does not work anymore, as I have been seeing a lot of strange looking free e-mail addresses these days. The free western addresses are those that the English speaking world is used to seeing everyday, although they do exist in Spanish, French, and Portuguese. I believe those are the "Big Three" languages in the Americas spoken other than English. These free e-mail services include ones offered by Microsoft Live, Google, and Yahoo in Qatar, India, China, Japan, or Mongolia, and a few others, so they use more esoteric (to Westerners, anyway) free e-mail address services based in the East, such as in Poland and others, where the websites do not appear in English. It's a good thing for us that Google came out with its free translator :o) Anyway, nevermind me, I'm just rambling LOL. I'm just saying that the scammers are always improving themselves, trying to fool you, but I for one will not be fooled. You have to wake up pretty dang early in the morning to scam me. You can see more of these scam samples, linked here (see "Attention Beneficiary," top left), and some Western Union scam videos from YouTube located here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! This is always a scam. Don't Get Burned! Here's another MoneyGram scam. MG has no such "award." Despite the faltering economy in the U.S., these scammers still want your money. They realize that people aren't doing so well anymore but they don't care. They'll bleed the rest of the world dry if they can, and not lose a wink of sleep over it. There are still new people coming onto the internet everyday, who are not familiar with these ubiquitous scams, and they will jump on most anything these days that promises them quick and easy cash, particularly if they are in debt. I'm sorry to say that there is no such thing as "easy money," except if you can manage to hit your local lottery jackpot. Claims of overseas lottery "winnings" are also scams. None of these scams are ever real, and there are no exceptions whatsoever. This entry is posted here, and a top four money scam YouTube video is linked here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! "William" doesn't have much imagination, and calls his "business" the "Uk Art Store." It appears that he's not even located in the UK, which would not surprise me. This is similar to the mystery shopping scam, and works much the same way. "William" says you would get ten percent of every transaction, if you would be his "representative" in the U.S. or Canada. You would get a single cashiers check, or maybe a series of checks, to deposit into your bank account, and then you'd send him ninety percent of the sum back, keeping ten percent as your "paycheck." The checks would fool you and your bank because they are real checks, with "Original Document" on the back and everything else, and your bank might even cash them for the full amount. This is what "William" is counting on. He would of course want you to send him the cash by Western Union, and once it is picked up by him, it is too late. Western Union would warn you about this scam, but they cannot refuse to send money if you really want them to, because it's assumed that you know what you're doing. I have asked them about that personally. Your bank would shortly find that the checks were fraudulent, because they were not linked to any bank account, and neither your bank nor Western Union will accept responsibility. You would be on the hook for the money you sent, while "William" gets away scot free with your money in another country. This entry is linked here, and there are videos about these types of scams located here. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You!
This guy wants you to believe you have some sort of "payment" in Western Union's "custody" that you never picked up. His little scam-mail went out to a lot of people, so he never says how much it supposedly is, which is really nothing. It doesn't exist. All you need is $100, but now there is a "special bonus." You can now get ripped off for only $50 instead of $100 LOL. To see more of these samples, click here, and this particular posting will be in the upper left hand corner for awhile. From there, in the top middle of the page, you can go to an ABC video that lists the Top 4 Money Scams, including Western Union. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You! Yippee! "They" have "decided" to "pay you" your money! What "money," you ask. That's a good question. It doesn't exist. "They" do not say who "they" are, only that "they" have "decided" to "pay you" your nonexistent money through Western Union, and all because you were "unable" to "receive it" through MoneyGram due to "management." What's going to happen is that "they" are going to want you to send them a fee first, so "they" can "release" your nonexistent funds to you. You would never see this fee ever again, of course, and you would get nothing. I believe this is why their "Question" is "FROM YOU" and their "Answer" is "TO ME," instead of the other way around. It's only a bit of truth telling. There's lots more of these Western Union scams on this page. Please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. Thank You.
I swear, the lengths these scammers will go to. Check this out. This guy says you have a Western Union payment coming to you, totaling $700,000, and you can get it at a rate of $3,500 per day, but you only have 48 hours to "activate" it. Time is of the essence, of course. He doesn't want you to think too long or too hard that this might be a scam, which it is. The "fee" is $299, but you can pay any part of that to get your first $3,500. Once you get your first payment, which you won't, then you would have to pay the balance on the $299. If you don't, the "reference number" will be "deactivated," and all you would theoretically get is $3,500 instead of the $700K. "Give 'em an offer they can't refuse." LOL
These guys are getting craftier by the second. They know their credibility is running out in America. He sent the e-mail from a pop.com.br e-mail address, which offers free dial-up internet as well as 1GB of free e-mail service. He wants you to respond to a o2.pl e-mail address, which is free Polish e-mail that offers 10GB of space. None of it has a thing to do with Western Union, of course. To see more of these scam samples, Click Here, and please follow me on Twitter @inscamerated. "Mr. Phoenix Mcferrin" claims to be with "Western Union," he's sent you $100,000, and says you can get $5,000 per day for 20 days. It's supposed to be your "lottery winnings" from "Blackberry," and it will only cost you $85.00 to "unlock" the MTCN LOL. The $100,000 does not exist and never did, of course. For more samples of these silly scams, Click Here. You can also see a Western Union scam video on YouTube, Click Here.
|
Scams
All
AuthorMy name is Gary, and I live in the Midwestern United States. This site is intended to expose the frauds and scams that are so pervasive on the internet, especially today. One hundred per- cent of the e-mails you get that promise you millions are never, ever real. They'll tell you they're "dying," trying to gain your sympathy. They're not dying, they're lying. Click Here for the "Dying" scams. Don't fall for it, and never send them any money, no matter what they tell you. Oh, and good luck hacking this website. It's got a nice strong password on it. Archive
July 2012
|