Daughter Caught onto a Scammer

So how does the scam work? I have two guesses...
1. They send you a check in excess of the amount and ask for some money back? Months later, the bank dings you for the deposited cashier's check after some bank in Lagos rejects it. Seems unlikely anyone would fall for that today.

2. They ask a bunch of questions with each email and slowly build up a complete picture of your identity and use it to empty your bank account? With all that info, they simply have the bank issue new ATM cards to a different address with new passwords/access codes that they select? Or simply request a check book from the bank and cash out the balance.

Or is it some other scam?

 

Any email with "kindly" is a scam.

 

The language is suspect, for sure, but kindly is used appropriately in that email. Why would you think that indicates a scam? It's a commonly used word, and in this email, it's even used correctly.

There are plenty of other mistakes, though.

 

A cashier's check to hold a room for rent? HOLY HUGE RED FLAGS, BATMAN!

Run, and don't respond any further. If you do dupe them you will get tons of spam email as retaliation from them, and their associates. I went through the same thing a bout 6 months ago.


BT

 

Other mistakes?
Like the "mum" Does anyone born in the US say mum?
grammar was horrible too.

The thing that always amazes me, is that so many overseas scams use someone that speaks English, yet they don't seem to understand that prim and proper UK kings English is not the same as I-was-born-in-Virginia-and-am-college-educated English.
Words are wrong, and grammar doesn't pass for any real level of education.

 

Yeah, that's what I was referring to...the grammar stew and the hodgepodge cultural references, such as postal code instead of zip code. Nigerian scammers are not well-educated, well-rounded, or well-traveled, thankfully. Those that are usually get away with much bigger scams, high-tech capers, and Ponzi schemes.

Mum is not prim and proper king's English though (did you mean queen's, perchance, good sir?), it's the common way to refer to your mom everywhere in the English-speaking world outside the US and, perhaps, Canada.

 

Well yes, I did in fact mean that.

I was also talking about scammers in a more general sense too.

At this kind of level they are not typically too hard to spot, but I agree, the more sophisticated the scam the better the delivery.

 

Um, yeah. That and the thing about not having a mobile phone due to moving from Guam.

 

Yeah, no phone, but wants your number so they can send you a text. What are they going to send a text with?? Oh I know Daddy's phone. Well then there is a phone, isn't there.