How Not to Become a Scam Addict - Part 3 from Confessions of a Scam Addict

James, our hero, now sees dollars in his eyes and a dreamy future. How is this all going to evolve? Before continuing, we will begin again with the Top Ten Warning signs to heed.

Top Ten Warning Signs

1.You never get anything for nothing (beware of any proposal coming from a non-specific server, e.g. yahoo.com or gmail.com).

2.Never let your business partner choose the bank where you will do business.

3.Never believe that a reputable bank is a reputable bank.

4.Never pay any money up front.

5.Never send money via MoneyGram or any other electronic money transfer system to pay for the millions you expect to receive.

6.Never believe that your business partner has put up any money to secure this deal before getting you involved.

7.Never accept any document as being "an official document".

8.Never agree to pay any legal fees to a lawyer, no matter for what.

9.Never believe that the person on the other end of the phone is who he claims to be.

10.Never forward any personal information to anyone.

WARNING #6: NEVER BELIEVE THAT YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER HAS PUT UP ANY MONEY TO SECURE THIS DEAL BEFORE GETTING YOU INVOLVED.

This warning did not apply to the PW situation because there was never any need for him to be involved with such trivialities. He certainly didn't appear to need the money.

However, in subsequent incidents James was really sucked in with the most heart-rending sob stories of house re-mortgaging or borrowing heavily from friends in order for him, the 'business partner' to pay all the costs to date. Naturally, such a financial activity added another element that served the scammers well, that of pressure. They used this to let the scammee know that if he doesn't settle the transaction within a certain period of time, he, or she, the 'business partner' (alias the scammer), is going to lose a lot of money. In retrospect, I wonder if any one of the scammers had a house to mortgage in the first place. I think not.

WARNING #7: NEVER ACCEPT ANY DOCUMENT AS BEING AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT. The documents involved with PW looked so official and realistic with the appropriate headings, logos and certification stamps and so it followed with every attempted scam. Somehow, it escaped our minds that the documents sent by e-mail were manufactured to order by the computer. They even had the logos of established banks to make you think you are dealing with the genuine thing.

Never believe any official documents sent by e-mail because they are fake, fake, fake. This is why banks will not use e-mail addresses.

Returning to Clydesdale Bank; a few days after our initial deposit had been posted, the bank notified us that another deposit had been made to our account of $123,750,000.00 and that we were now free to transfer the money to our own bank. Of course, we had to make sure that PW's share of the money remained in the bank. I just couldn't believe it - finally, we could do what we wanted to do in our lives. We were walking on air.

The following day, when the excitement had subsided and we could actually process our thoughts again, I went into the account to make a transfer of some of the money to our North American account. I was given explicit instructions how to do this and followed them to the letter.

I watched the computer apparently processing my request, and it came back to tell me I didn't have an access code, needed before the transaction could be processed. The Bank provided me with instructions for getting an access code. Following everything to the letter again, I made my application, consoling myself with the thought that, after all, nothing ever runs smoothly.

The following day I was advised that, before I could have an access code, three pieces of documentation were required to satisfy the Financial Services Authority that the money was not obtained fraudulently. Frantically, I phoned Mr. PC who calmed my nerves and indicated that this was just a matter of routine with large sums of money. Who was I to argue?

Zapping off this request to PW for the three documents required by the Financial Services Authority, I somehow didn't see this as any big deal. Two of the documents were provided to me the following day, and eventually, after sorting out my computer, we received the third document which happened to be the qualifications of his legal counsel.

WARNING # 8: NEVER AGREE TO PAY ANY LEGAL FEES TO A LAWYER OBTAINED BY YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER, NO MATTER WHAT SERVICE HE AGREES TO RENDER.

While not applicable in the Clydesdale and PW case, there have been many instances when James's 'business partner' advised him to obtain the services of lawyer. Naturally, the business partner referred him to someone in the legal profession he knew.

A lawyer was needed because large sums of money were being transferred from one bank to another, and were immediately suspect under the Money Laundering and Fraud regulations. Therefore, it is the lawyer who produces the necessary certificates through official channels to allow the smooth transfer of the money.

It is an entirely different matter that the money never arrives in your particular bank anyway. Once you have accepted the legal services of a lawyer, they dig in and never let you go, demanding almost as much from you in fees as the 'business partner'. If you suggest to them that their fees can come out of the massive amount of money you are about to receive, they tell you flatly that it is not possible because they must have their fees up-front.

To see what eventually happens to our hero, who is now completely hooked on the whole process and has totally ignored all our warnings, please read our final post.


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Susan Lancaster is a retired consultant, a member of the Chartered Institute of Management and a writer.
Susan is counting on your comments at http://scamaddiction.blogspot.com . If you are interested in writing, go to http://susanlancaster.blogspot.com Also, you must visit http://www.snosrappublishing.com and http://www.hellsgatetrilogy.com especially for the youngsters.