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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to give you all a warning

75 replies

SometimesLonely · 03/03/2014 10:56

I don't know where else to put this but there's a lot of traffic here. Spread the word. I've just received a scam e-mail asking for money. I quote below:

(I agreed to do a favour because I knew the e-mail address)

"Thanks for your email ^^, I'm in Kharkov, Ukraine right now for a short business trip and I'm short on cash right here, I tried to access my account from the cash machines here and it's not working, I went to the bank to withdraw and I was informed that I cannot withdraw money from my account in some countries, that it's network errors, I'm thinking if I could get a quick loan of £1,450 from you or anything you can afford to loan me so that I can clear some little things here and also take a cab to the airport. I promise to refund it as soon as I get back home on Thursday, let me know so I can send you my details."

Even the way it was worded told me it was a scam. Please watch out everyone. There will probably be others.

OP posts:

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 03/03/2014 13:07

DP was looking for a car once and he found the model he was looking for on eBay at a good price and he said to me - I think there's a scam here, but I can't see what it is.

The advert said the car was in Italy and it would be delivered after payment by bank transfer.

I suggested that we offer to fly out, pay cash and have a mini break driving the car back from Italy. Unsurprisingly, when we made this offer to the scammer seller, we never heard from them again.

tallwivglasses · 03/03/2014 13:08

Don't be embarrassed, OP. I'm an old cynic but I think I'd look twice at an email that was sent from a friend's email address. Thing is, friends of mine know I'm the last person they would turn to if they needed money :)

Floggingmolly · 03/03/2014 13:11

How did they use your friends email address?

BumpyGrindy · 03/03/2014 13:14

Dear Madam Bumpy,

As your esteemed friend Kenneth have told you on multiple places, my bank account in Bombay worth 2.4 million have been suspend owing to political infamy. Esteemed Kenneth assures me you being the correct trusty womankind to ask for advance in which you will recieve 10,000 english coin for troubles. Kindly forward your bank detailing and your payment will clear within 4 days.

Yours Mr Bob Bombataya.

I love making these up.

ExitPursuedTheRoyalPrude · 03/03/2014 13:18

I don't get any of these scam emails.

Hoppinggreen · 03/03/2014 14:41

Apparently DH's distant uncle Omar ( German surname) recently died in Dubai.
Shame but he has left us all his money - every cloud and all that

MsJupiter · 03/03/2014 14:48

My DMIL fell for one of these scams and sent some of her savings to help out a friend in need. She was devastated to find out she'd been conned. Apparently there was lots of email conversation back and forth before she sent the money where they pretended to be her friend.

Yanbu to spread the word as, however common or well known these scams are, there will always be some less internet savvy people who need to be told.

SuffragetteCity · 03/03/2014 14:51

I got a very similar one recently that they were stranded on holiday in Spain and had been robbed - it was from the email of the singer of the band Belle & Sebastian, I had done some graphic design work for him years ago. Made me smile to think that he'd come to me in such a desperate situation!

Thistledew · 03/03/2014 14:55

I'm quite amazed, but it seems I have a set of Chinese relatives, one of whom has just passed away leaving me a large sum of money. I am hoping to get to know this family and may send them some money for air fares so they can come to visit me in the UK. I think it is wonderful that they have integrated so well into Chinese society by all taking Chinese first names, although I do worry that I am being a bit judgy thinking the names look a bit odd when paired with our very British sur name.

Goldenhandshake · 03/03/2014 15:24

I know an idiot who fell for the 'tax rebate' email scam, sent off her bank details for her 'refund' etc, refused to believe it was a scam. The lightbulb moment came when I pointed out she had never actually had a job, so how on earth could she be owed an income tax rebate? smacks forehead

Puzzledandpissedoff · 03/03/2014 15:35

Great link about those who take on the Nigerian scammers - if the link doesn't come up "purple" (I'm not very good at this!!) just copy and paste it ...

www.419hell.com/

ohtowinthelottery · 03/03/2014 15:49

Most of these e-mails seem to be riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors which you would not expect to see from HMRC or a High Street Bank. The e-mail addresses rarely look official either.

I did once get a strange e-mail from an acquaintance and e-mailed her to let her know. Turned out she had a virus in her computer and it had used her e-mail contact list to send e-mails to all her business and personal contacts. Some of them had links to diet plans - which was a little embarrassing.

CrohnicallyFarting · 03/03/2014 15:50

My SIL almost fell for a scam. She had an email from one of the big banks, saying there had been a security breach or something, and she needed to enter her bank details. Luckily, she showed it to me as she knew I had an account with that bank (who by the way promise that they will NEVER ask for bank details via email) and thought I'd know if it was genuine- she'd never had an account with them so wasn't sure.

iklboo · 03/03/2014 15:51

Evil sods keep trying to access my Wells Fargo account apparently. And my Nat West / Halifax / Lloyds accounts. Whom I have never banked with.

CrohnicallyFarting · 03/03/2014 15:53

Yes, it's a virus that sends out emails without the person knowing. I read that if you have a couple of fake email addresses at the top of your address list (so under 'Aaa Aaa' or similar) then when error messages come back the virus will stop. Not sure if it's true, but at least if you receive error messages you will realise that a virus has accessed your email.

CrohnicallyFarting · 03/03/2014 15:54

Ah iklboo that'll be the same scammers that were accessing SIL's nonexistent bank account then. Sneaky fuckers.

Johnogroats · 03/03/2014 15:57

I have seen 1000s of these - I work for a money transfer company, and we do try to stop these scams. You would be amazed how upset people get when you try to warn them that it isn't a good idea to send the money and that they are being scammed..."No. The money needs to go...he is my boyfriend...."

My uncle is Mr Gullible, and he has paid up several times. Now my Dad insists he sends the emails to me, and I tell him it's a scam.

AngelaDaviesHair · 03/03/2014 16:00

I'll see you your Nigerian prince and raise you an Ivorian ex-oil minister who is going to give me a 50% cut of his ill-gotten proceeds.

SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed · 03/03/2014 16:02

I once got an email from someone claiming to be Sandra Bullock.

Original poster

SometimesLonely · 03/03/2014 16:59

I've just had another one not addressed just to me (as the other one was) but, this time, to 'undisclosed recipients'. If that doesn't tell you it's gone to millions at least thousands, what does?

OP posts:

ChubbyKitty · 03/03/2014 18:06

I once got caught up in something like this only it wasn't an email, it was through a job website. It was one of those money laundering things that looks really fucking genuine when they contact you through the job website!

The bank was very kind and sorted it all out and i didn't get any kind of police involvement or anything, I gave them all the information I had about it and they had to close my account and give me a new one.

What sickens me is these people are obviously going to prey on people who are unemployed, and desperate, maybe students whose loan doesn't even cover their rent for the year?

VodkaJelly · 03/03/2014 18:28

Woohoo, I'm fucking rich, look at the email i got in my spam folder today -

Attention Beneficiary,

This is to officially inform you that the United Nations Organization compensation payment committee, have mapped out funds running into Millions of United States Dollars for the settlement of all funds that have been lost to Nigerian Scams via Lottery Winnings, Contract payments, Fake Bank Transfer scams, Inheritance Funds payments, fake money orders, fraudulent online shopping, dating scams, charity scams, check transfer and ATM scams etc. This compensation is sponsored and done by the Nigerian Government in collaboration with the World Bank, United Nations Organization and Western Union Money Transfer.

We have been directed by the United Nations Security Council to make a compensation payment of $50,000.00 USD (Fifty Thousand United States Dollars Only) to you being one of the listed beneficiaries. Be informed that a first part payment of sum of $2,000.00 (Two Thousand United States Dollars Only) shall be sent to you on a daily basis for 25 days.

They just want my bank details, how sweet, returning all my money to me... oh hang on, I've never actually sent any money to scammers - oh well, I'm rich!!!!

VodkaJelly · 03/03/2014 18:32

I am now quite worried about my banking, my Natwest account needs all my bank numbers to verify my account, Paypal needs me to verify my account and want all my card details and my Natwest credit card needs to be verified too. I am going to kill DP, he must be doing something wrong

Puzzledandpissedoff · 03/03/2014 18:38

Working for the police I see it every day ... You tell them it's a scam and they don't listen and say they will think about it

I really feel for you, Purple - there's only so much you can do and if people still won't listen it must be very frustrating

RustyParker · 03/03/2014 19:20

A friend of mine received a text telling her she had won a £100 prize in a competition - all she had to do was reply to the text (costing £3) with her name and address then she will receive her prize. I told her it was a scam: she wasn't sure. Frustrated, I asked if she had entered any competitions lately? "No.. but it's worth a go in case I do get the money"

Forward one week later, she received a "voucher" for £100 worth of electrolysis.

She is now a police woman...

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