Scammers are busy. Probably like you, I get scam emails every day. They’re getting more sophisticated.
I get the usual - someone I’ve never heard of has died and left me $11.2m blah, blah. This is the typical Nigerian scam that they call a ‘419’. It refers to the article of the Nigerian criminal code which deals with fraud. They’re easy to spot and I’m amazed anyone falls for them.
The new ones run out of places in Asia - Cambodia, etc. Usually run by violent gangs that literally have imprisoned slaves doing the work for them. The most common is called the Pig Butchering Romance Scam. It’s brutal and truly evil. They con mostly women out of everything they’ve got by acting as a romantic interest. Watch this video if you can bare it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4wYV0V-5s
So why am I talking about this? Because I need to inform you that if you write to me and something is suspicious - you can’t spell, the information is vague, you use WhatsApp with seductive profile photos with boobs and warm smiles, or that engender sympathy or warmth along with these other things I’ll probably block you.
You can’t con an honest man, and sadly, greed is often at the root, even for the one being scammed. I’m honest and not greedy. It just wastes my time. If I read you wrong I’m truly sorry but I’m not taking chances.
My advice when writing to anyone is to make sure your story adds up and it doesn’t read just the way a scammer would write.
Last week my Facebook pages (personal and business) were hacked and I’m still trying to resolve that. Once I do (what a waste of time!) I’ll delete the pages as they have little value anyway. We’ve reviewed all our online security - passwords, etc - and have simplified to avoid these kinds of things.
