My friend is beeing scammed, please advise

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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:27 pm

i should have known thanks for the info dorothy . i think it will be interesting too . i hope for mr jazz's sake he will be careful .

Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 10:26 pm

It is possible to appear as though you are on webcam when in actual fact it isn't you at all
but that is learning beyond most lads and I dont think it's the case here

Mr Jazz, I have done a search or 2 in my time, I may be able to find something if I had something to go on Wink

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Mar 2009 Posts: 1

My first thoughts are the likely hood of any Brazilian having a spare $30000 is just pure unbelievable. Brazil is a extremely poor country and that kind of money even through a dead relative isn't there. I don't even think judges in Brazil earn that much a year.
Second of all this persons immigration knowledge is poor. I have never meet a Brazilian who has duel nationality. They will take on the new nationality and completely ditch the Brazil part. I have encountered plenty of Brazilians who are now other nationality's and even when asked they will still try to hide this.
Also she says she does not need a visa due to her Portuguese nationality, but Brazilians do not need visa either. They can enter EU countries obtaining a visitors stamp in their passports.

I would be careful of what she is leading into. I don't know where you live but she may use you to try to help get her to the UK. Many Brazilians lure people into becoming friends in order to deceive a immigration officer therefore gain entry but will disappear.

Or she may want to travel through with you, get you to talk to the Immigration Officer pretending to be her boyfriend. Beware if she asks you to do this as you can end up getting arrested.

Ask her whether she has a passport or ID Card (beware the Portuguese ID cards are very easily forged) and get her to send you a copy.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 62

Thank you all for paying so much attention, and for your thoughts and opinions on "my case".

There seem to be some issues that need clarifying. So here goes.

The whole part of "opening an account in my name to deposit the money" is not part of the story. I don't know how it got there, but that's not important. She does indeed have an international bank account, which she would be able to access in Norway. That was initially the idea. But since she's just coming to deliver the money, per say, she prefered to make the withdrawals in Portugal before coming here and making the delivery. In EURO.

We are not entering any bank. The whole "money exchange thing" was actually my idea. She's bringing the money in cash. I want to, if the whole deal happens, to make her as exposed as possible. Therefore, I am taking her to a money exchange office, simply because if there would be any questions about the amount of money being exchanged, she would be there to answer them for herself. If this is "dirty laundry", I guess she won't show then, since she would be risking getting caught. If it isn't, I'll have the money in a legal and clean way in my own country's currency.

Yeah, and also. We're not meeting IN a hotel (room), but outside the hotel she will be staying at. Since she won't be given my phone number, for obvious reasons, we have to agree in a place where I can actually locate her at a certain time. She's as we're speaking travelling from Brazil to Portugal and then almost directly here, which makes regularly contact dificult at this time. She's supposed to find a hotel when in Portugal, and send me the information. It'll be interesting to see if she actually does.

I'm not "doing" anything for her. Not helping her out in any way. I mean, I won't. If she is who she says she is, she won't be needing my help at all, in immagration or elsewhere. In fact, like I told you, she seemed kind of offended when I tried to explain to her the details around the paper work. Anyways, she won't be able to make any "please help me" - last minute calls, not having my phone number either. And appearing so wealthy and independent, why would she THINK that I would feel the need to help her?

daveg84:

You were right about the visa thing. I did not know that, but any Brazilian can travel as they wish into the country. I will, however, need to see her passport if she comes, and by that I mean her Portuguese passport. I'm sure you have various Brazilian friends, but I myself have some friends with double nationality. Which in some cases is not problematic or stranger at all. It depends on the whole situation I guess. Did I mentioned I was MARRIED to a South American girl? She's now in possession of two passports and nationalities.
Oh, and when it comes to incomes. The area in Brazil she claims to be living in, and the professions mentioned, does indeed indicate the possibility of a good income. This confirmed by Spekkio, who himself is Brazilian (and Italian - double nationality)

I think that was all for now? Hope so. I'm still waiting to hear from here, so let's just see how this turns out. And yes, I am being careful. And much more skeptical, thanks to you guys. Razz

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:29 am

^^When is this meeting supposed to occur?

mrJazz wrote:

Just so you all now, I myself am very skeptical to all of this. It contains one of the first signs of a scam, it's too good to be true. That's why I'm taking precautions. I don't have any money for her to scam from me, so if such an attempt is initiated, too bad for her. Bad choice of victim.

Yes, it seems too good to be true. It also seems too complicated to be true. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't follow the whole bit about carrying large amounts of cash around through customs and to money exchanges. I can understand why she would want to meet you in person before throwing all of that money your way, but not carrying a bag of cash.

Let's assume for a moment she is exactly who she says she is, and she has no plan but to give you 30K because she feels sorry for you: no strings attached. So she makes a plan to meet you and check out your face, or the cut of your jib, or whatever it is she's looking for. If I were her, I would do all of that and then if I felt comfortable, I'd send you a check or wire you money when I was home, safe and sound. What do you suppose her friends are telling her about flying off to meet a near stranger with a pile of cash?

It just doesn't add up. Confused

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 3:10 am

Hehe, sorry about that, I guess I was describing MY Dream Girl.

The going to the bank, to do the deal, was just a suggestion, I didn't
mean to "insert" it into your "case", sorry bout that..

Oh an I guess the whole hotel thing prolly wouldnt work out to well
with the wife either, (no you didn't mention you have a wife.) heh

Anyways, your last post cleared up a couple of small details, it seems
a little less complicated now, and if your really really not gonna let any
of your money go to her, then you just might end up with a brand new friend, and that is allways a good thing,
it just happens that you owe your new friend 30,000.
(allways better to owe em, then to cheat em out of it, I guess.) Very Happy

Sounds like you got it all worked out mrJazz, Just be carefull and bring
lots of friends, (try not to scare her.) and let us know how it ends..
Good luck.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 62

Quote:

Oh an I guess the whole hotel thing prolly wouldnt work out to well
with the wife either, (no you didn't mention you have a wife.) heh

I don't have a wife, I HAD a wife. Hehe, sorry about that. Grammar gets screwed up when I insist on posting here before going to bed, no matter WHAT the time is. Smile

I do agree the whole deal-y-o with the cash is reeeally strange. But she seems kind of strange about the cash thing, all in all. Seems like she just doesn't get how dangerous that sounds like the rest of us do. When she was going to send money through the Brazilian embassy, she was also talking about me collecting the money in cash.

Well, you know, I'm getting kind of tired from speculating about her motives. I think I will have a much better impression of her when I meet her in person, and I feel like I have to that no matter what. (Imagine it all being true, her coming her with. 30.000, and then I would just stand her up.) I do realize scammers can be good actors, papers can be forged, and so on. But I do actually believe I can see through a fasade. After years of spending time with people who was always putting up an act (not meaning to disrespect South American people here, just talking about the people I'VE met), at least I'm not starting from scratch.

Well, anyway, let's just see if she respond with more details. And then, let's see what happens. Waiting for her email still. I'll run an IP search on the mail's header of course, but since it's already is Saturday, it will probably turn out to be sent from my own country.

Once again, I would like to thank you all for thoughts and ideas. Nothing has shown up as an obvious explanation for her generous behavior, so I guess the only thing that remains is to see how it all plays out.

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:17 am

Just a random thought, but has any mention of paying the money back to her been made?

I'm wondering whether this is some sort of elaborate money laundering scheme. She turns up with 30,000 of dirty money in Euros/Dollars, which you clean for her by converting it into kronnas and paying into your bank account. At a later date, you pay the money back and she has a nice innocent source for the funds.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 78

daveg84 wrote:

I have never meet a Brazilian who has duel nationality. They will take on the new nationality and completely ditch the Brazil part.

While I agree with your immigration scam concerns, I have meet dual nationality Brazilians - mostly US / Brazilian. I had a class mate who was a dual national simply because he was born in the US while his father was working in the US. Oddly enough, some 30 years later his son was born in the US while he was in grad school; not that that matter in term of US citizenship since his Dad was already a US citizen although it makes getting a passport somewhat easier the first time.

As for the whole deal, one of my economics professors put it best:

"When you find $5 on the sidewalk, the first question to ask is 'Why me?'"

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 2

call me paranoid but could this mrjazz chap just be trolling and stringing everyone along to fill some time at work etc? A sort of baiting the baiters game if you will?

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 1:39 pm

^^ How's that for a first time post Laughing

Welcome, scorchisio .. there's not much we need to explain about tinfoil hats to you, do we? Wink

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 2

hello mate hows your weekend going, thanks for the welcome

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:01 pm

Mr Jazz seems rational with his head screwed on, not really troll-like behaviour. From here it's really a case of let's see what comes of it all...I do hope we find out.

Please do get a photocopy of her passport(s) - European banks etc have an anti-laundering programme sometimes known as "know your customer" for transactions over £10,000 or so - evidence of where the money, should it exist, comes from will be helpful if the Bobbies come knocking...

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:55 pm

reodor wrote:

A friend of mine who has a debt problem has been approached on a dating site by a lady "from Brasil" that want's to help him. Her father is dead and she has inherrited a lot of money.

She is now going to fly to Portugal and then to Stochholm to meet him and give him tthe money (about USD 30 000) in cash. He must then exchange it to swedish kronor and deposit it in his bank account.

This has scam written all over it....what is the likely scheme of this scam??? How can I help my friend if I don't manage to convince hhim to drop it? He don't believe this is a scam because he can't see the catch...

The catch is that "real people" with large amounts of money, do not approach random people on date sites for help transferring money - only scammers do that.
It's been done thousands of times before - this is no different except that your friend is having a hard time believing it. Love scammers are good at this as they first make sure they have your heart and will be inclined to believe anything they say to you.

Welcome scorchisio Very Happy

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:56 pm

Quote:

October 31, 2006 Calif. Man Killed in Brazil in Ripoff

By KIM CURTIS and STAN LEHMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) - The lonely, divorced carpenter thought he was going to Brazil to make wedding plans.
Instead, he was drugged and held captive for six days at his fiancee's home while she and another man emptied his bank accounts, according to Brazilian authorities. Then they drove the 56-year-old victim to a vacant lot, where they strangled him with copper wire, doused his body with fuel, and set it on fire, investigators say.

Authorities found Raymond Merrill's charred body in April.
Now, the woman he believed was his betrothed is under arrest, along with a man suspected of helping to kill him.
"He would talk to me about ideal relationships and pure love," said Merrill's best friend, Bill Rauch. "With age doesn't necessarily come wisdom. He was used to doing things his way and, in the end, it did him in."

For months, his family knew nothing of his horrifying end. It was only after a bungled robbery in Brazil that investigators even learned of Merrill's fate.

Merrill met Regina Filomena Rachid last year through an online dating service. At the time, he was lonely and depressed, having been dumped by a Las Vegas woman for whom he had bought expensive gifts, according to Merrill's best friend.

Merrill and Rachid exchanged dozens of calls, e-mails and photographs, often enlisting Rachid's 18-year-old daughter as a translator. Rachid was 41, from an upper-middle-class family that was in the real estate business.

"I thought, `This is going a little fast,' but I didn't want to sound critical," said Merrill's sister, Marcia Sanchez Loebick.
The warning signs were obvious to Merrill's friend of nearly 30 years. Merrill gave Rachid $10,000 to start a skin care clinic and bought her a $20,000 sport utility vehicle. She complained it wasn't a fancier, more expensive model, Rauch said.

"This from a man who was tightfisted," Rauch said. "Ray and I would go out and I'd have to buy all the beers. All of a sudden, he's lavishing all these gifts and money on a relationship he's not even close to consummating.

"I said, `Ray, these are so many red flags. I can't believe you're pursuing this,'" Rauch said. "He would just slough it off. He'd say, `She's just a passionate and emotional Latina.' What do you say to a guy like that?"

Merrill visited Rachid twice in Sao Jose dos Campos, an industrial city about 60 miles from Sao Paulo. Both times he stayed a week longer than planned. Both times he notified Rauch, who then drove to Merrill's home in San Bruno to water the plants and collect the mail. On the third trip, Merrill again overstayed his return, but this time he didn't call Rauch to let him know.

Loebick, who lives in Cleveland, said she sent her brother repeated e-mails warning him that their 86-year-old father was dying, but got no response. She and Rauch's best friend called police in California to report him missing.

What happened to Merrill was more awful than either could have imagined.

Sometime after he arrived on March 21, Rachid and her real boyfriend, Nelson Siqueira Neves, drugged Merrill, kept him in a room in Rachid's house, and drained his bank accounts, stealing about $200,000 in all, according to Merrill's sister and Brazilian authorities.

Then, on April 1 - the day he was scheduled to return to California - they hired Evandro Celso Augusto Ribeiro for $5,600 to help kill him and set fire to the corpse, according to investigators. Authorities found the scorched remains but could not identify the victim, and buried the body in a pauper's grave.

But then Rachid - to raise money to pay off the hit man - took part in the holdup of a black-market money changer, and accidentally left her purse behind, investigators say.

The money changer went to police and turned over the purse, which contained Merrill's credit card. Hours later, Rachid showed up at the same police station to report her purse stolen. Police arrested her on the spot. The alleged hit man soon told authorities what happened to Merrill, investigators said.

Rachid and Ribeiro are in custody, charged with armed robbery followed by death.

Rachid's boyfriend was questioned by police in early October but was released under a Brazilian law that says no one can be arrested in the days immediately before and after an election, investigators said. Now he cannot be found.

"I feel a really terrible sense of loss," said Merrill's best friend. "You expect to lose your parents. But you don't expect one of your best friends to die."

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:57 pm

Quote:

A final-year student of the Department of Survey and Geo-Informatics Engineering, University of Lagos, Mr. Lawal Adekunle Nurudeen, has been sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for obtaining $27,900.91 from an Australian woman, Pee Loo Rosalind Summer.

The convict was arraigned before Justice M.O. Obadina of the Ikeja High Court on a 19-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and forgery. He was found guilty on all the counts and consequently sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on each count.

The convict was also ordered to pay the sums of $5,900, N526, 117.15 and any interest standing to his credit in his savings account with Sterling Bank Plc, Ikorodu Branch, to the victim.

In addition, the convict is to pay $250 monthly to the victim until the total sum fraudulently obtained by him is liquidated. His two plots of land situated at Mowo Kekere, Ikorodu, bought from the proceeds of the crime, are to be sold and the money realised remitted to the victim. The Honda prelude car recovered by the EFCC from the convict is also to be sold and its proceeds remitted to the victim.

Some time in 2007, the convict, who was an undergraduate of Unilag, met the victim on the internet and introduced himself as Engineer Benson Lawson, a Briton working with a multi-national company in Nigeria. Along the line, the victim, a 56- year old woman from Australia, told the convict that she wanted a husband and all the men she had met always disappointed her. The convict, who is married with three children instantly applied and told the victim that she had met her Mr. Right.

To convince his prey, he told the woman that he was a 57-year old widower and that a few years back, his wife and their only child died in a ghastly motor accident in Lagos. He sent the picture of a white man to the victim to foreclose any suspicions. The victim accepted his proposal and that gave room for the next stage of the heist.

A few weeks later, he called the woman to introduce himself as Dr. Saheed Bakare and informed her that her 'fiancé,' Benson Lawson, had an accident and needed money for his treatment. The love-struck woman sent some money. Two weeks after, the convict called the victim and thanked her profusely for her kindness. He now told her that he would like to visit her in Australia so that they could consummate their relationship. He demanded for money for air ticket, police and customs clearances, etc.

At the end of the day he duped the woman to the tune of $47,000 before his arrest and arraignment by the EFCC.

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:58 pm

Quote:

I just returned from Johannesburg where I was to assist
one of those REFUGEES from ZIMBABWE and I was neer
death. I spent up to day allmost $10,000 up to today
on this guy and when I came to Johannesburg and they
arranged place for me to stay, only about 2 hours
after I arrived 3 guys entered my room where I was put
to stay with guns they tight me up ,tape my mouth to
prevent from nois and told me they will kidnapp me and
I have to cooperate with them or be KILLED. They ask me
to give them all my money I have and the FIGHT just begin.
I am 62 years old and they were 3 of them, but I told
myself if I have to go with them and be killed anyway, I righter
dye here and start fight back. I want to buy some time,
maybe someboby will hear me? I did it for about 10 minutes
and than being without OXYGEN, taped ny mouth and nose,
suddenly I lost consience and next thing I wake up to
everybody surprise and POLICE next to me, telling me
I BEAT ALL THE ADDS MAKING MIRACLES BEING ALLIVE
telling me they left me thinking I AM DEAD,NOT BREATHING
so they took my wallet with $1750 and bunch of CREDIT
CARDS and surprisingly left my Passport that I found under the
bed and $ 2000 in TRAVELERS CHECKS in envelope untouched,
probably not checking CONTEND OF ENVELOPE. GOD was
my SAVOR! I made MIRACLE. Police took me to American
Embassy next day and following day Embassy order POLICE to
release me to go home. I consider myself extremly lucky
and I can say I am born SECOND TIME. Thank GOD.
I made history and survive the TERROR that 80% peaple
would not be surviving. Those things happening only
in the MOVIES .

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:58 pm

Quote:

Virtual 'love' cost her $12,000

She had gone on the Web to search for a life partner but his web of lies left her nearly $12,000 poorer.
Last Friday night, the 37-year-old accounts executive, who declined to be named, made a police report after she was cheated by a man she 'met' on international dating website match.com

The divorcee with three children told The Sunday Times yesterday she had put up her profile on match.com after hearing success stories from friends and colleagues.

She, too, thought she had found love when two months ago, the man, who went by the username tony7407 and who claimed to be Taiwanese, sent her an e-mail message.

They chatted online daily, occasionally calling each other over the phone too.

The man, claiming to be working in an investment company in Hong Kong, was 'caring and knowledgeable'.

'He said we had a future together and I believed him. He even said he was going to visit me in Singapore within the next two weeks,' she said.

Just as she began to let her guard down, he told her he had lost heavily in the recent stock market crash.

Now eager to help him, she invested $5,500 through a 'VIP account' of his client. He promised her it would 'definitely make money'.

Last Monday, he told her the stock market had rebounded, she had made a huge profit, and that his company would reinvest the profits.

Twenty-four hours later, more good news came: She had made a million dollars.

But to get her money, she had to remit $10,000 in administrative fees. Smooth as ever, when she said she did not have that sum, he said he would borrow it from friends.

Later that day, he claimed to have borrowed about half the money. He also said he would get into trouble if his company knew he had illegally used his client's account.

Not wanting to see her 'boyfriend' in trouble, the woman called her sister, who works in China, to remit $6,100 to him.

But the man failed to log in that afternoon, as he usually did. Now suspecting a scam, the woman called him on the phone. He denied receiving the money.

She then tried to get her sister to stop the fund transfer but it was too late.

Last Friday, she made a police report in Singapore and in Hong Kong but was told that her chances of getting the money back was slim.

'I was too engrossed in the relationship, and I used my heart to think instead of my head.'

She added: 'Things on the Internet can't be trusted. You must be 110 per cent on guard.'

This story was first published in The Sunday Times on 19 October 2008.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 78

manbiteslion wrote:

Mr Jazz seems rational with his head screwed on, not really troll-like behaviour.

Actually, the best trolls are those that drive that unstoppable urge to hit reply before fully engaging the brain. Real trolling is an art form and requires talent few have. Back in the day, USENET groups such as AFU set the gold standard for trolling.

Unfortunately, as the internet grew and we launched into eternal September, words took on new meanings very different from the original. Just as hacking and hackers took on sinister meanings; trolling became synonymous with flamebaiting for many people. Flamebaiting requires no skill; anyone can act like an ass; but be able to craft a good troll, well, it is, IMHO, a rare talent.

anyway, back to Dora for an update on our favorite sport...

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:02 pm

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:02 pm

First of all, let me say that I think, like most of us here, that it is a scam.
I don't see the immediate catch either.

And let me tell you that I am very curious what will happen Monday.

I think MrJazz is pretty well prepared, warned and cautious. I don't think he is in a state-of-mind where he can not think straight, since he has another girl already and is not interested in the Brasilian anymore.

I think the tricky part comes, when the catch comes later. Let say she arrives with the money and gives it to you. What are you going to do then? Accept it? Put it in your bank-account? I think the trouble will only start then. Either the catch of the scam comes to light, or the catch of the woman. I don't know which one is worse

I believe in quid-pro-quo, and even if she presents herself as sincere, and pretends she does not want something back, she might have some disturbed personality or other psychological problems. People always want something back!

Even if all were true, I would never accept any money from a stranger. If in need, I would turn to my family, friends etc. Even if a rich person offered it, i would not accept. If my family and friends turned me down, and my children would be starving, I would steal myself Smile

(ofcourse only from the rich)

Anyway, all the best on Monday. Be carefull, stay safe and please inform us nosy old baiters how things went. Good Luck, and please ask if she has a sister Smile

Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 11:26 pm

With all the safeguards Mr Jazzz says are in place I am still wondering what she is getting out of the deal. She doesn't have your phone number but wants to go out of her way to another country to drop of 30K of her own money out of the kindness of her heart?

The thought also crossed my mind that he is a troller, but neglected to voice that since I trust others more experienced with these things, but the thought is pervasive.

Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 12:08 am

xdisolvedgirlx wrote:

The thought also crossed my mind that he is a troller, but neglected to voice that since I trust others more experienced with these things, but the thought is pervasive.

That has happened here before. It started out as "a friend is being scammed," everybody took it very seriously, everybody slowly got suspicious, and it ended up with a "tee-hee, fooled you" from a new member who was immediately banned.

As most eaters are saying, let's see what Monday brings us.

Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 12:15 am

That's a stupid thing to do.

Well what made me think this was a similar thing is Mr Jazzz has "no reason to believe this girl is scamming him", so why come here? To debate this for his own peace of mind? If his friend couldn't convince him it was a scam, what convinced him to stop by here right quick and rehash the details? Just very suspicious....Maybe I'm too paranoid.... Wink

Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 12:58 am

Yesterday, May 29,

Mr.Jazz wrote:

She's as we're speaking travelling from Brazil to Portugal and then almost directly here,

But he also said she will not be arriving until day after tomorrow (Monday). Does that "almost direct" flight include stops and overnight stays in Tokyo and Moscow? - That would be the only way it can take someone 4 days to get from Brazil to Stockholm (or anywhere else in the world for that matter).

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