WU clampdown: good news or bad?

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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:00 pm

Here I am in Ireland, anxious to transfer $3000 freight charge etc for a box of money to be delivered, but my lad insists on WU. I've never heard of this Western Bank thingie and we don't have it in Ireland so he helpfully sent me a link to the WU website and sure enough there is a branch in Dublin. Unfortunately I'm in Ballymebolix some 500 miles west, but while I was online I clicked on WU's Nigeria tab. There's a big flashing screen with the message:

Quote:

To all our customers. As required by Nigeria regulations all money transfers to Nigeria will only be paid if receiver holds a bank account confirming his/her identity
OR
is referred to by a bank account holder.

There is a link to much more detail which states the rules applied from August. I was away then, so if this has already been dealt with my apologies.

Meantime I shall thank my lad for his helpful referral which took me to this screen, too bad it will lead to more delays in payment. But I wonder whether this regulation will lead to long-term loss of business for Eater and scammer alike?

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:20 pm

Probably not. Either the lad will get his money at a WU office that's not so picky when it comes to pickups.
Or there will be a migration to Money Gram.

I'd guess there will also be an increase in bank accounts for Alan to shut down.

But that's just a guess.

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:38 pm

I'm sure most lads have bank accounts. If not, they probably know someone (like their oga) who does and can refer them. This, of course, presumes (as Dr Mike suggested) that the WU offices even give a damn about following this law. And if they don't, who is going to complain and who is going to enforce? I suspect this law, for all practical purposes, changes nothing.

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:21 pm

Defiantly good news. Lots of opportunity to slow things up. You can say that the westy people at your end need them to confirm their bank details to you and supply full details of the referee. Who, will no doubt, have a list of crimes as long as your arm against their name.

If they complain, you send them to that page on the westy site to back your argument up. They are bound to come back with a load of lies that westy will spot right away and lead to all sorts of form filling and delays.

This is Manna from heaven. Laughing

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:29 pm

windypops wrote:

Defiantly good news. Lots of opportunity to slow things up. You can say that the westy people at your end need them to confirm their bank details to you and supply full details of the referee. Who, will no doubt, have a list of crimes as long as your arm against their name.

Oh.. that's devious Very Happy

More piggies!

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:36 pm

Completely agree, windy! Here is the link: clicky

And this is rich... On that same page there is a link titled "Protect yourself from fraud". On that page is this statement:

Quote:

Western Union knows you work hard for your money. That’s why we’re working to help you protect yourself from fraud. If you think you've been a victim of fraud, contact your local Western Union Agent.

What the hell is "your local Western Union Agent" going to do about it! Even if they give a damn that you just sent your last dollar to some internet thief, there isn't a damn thing they can do about it except have you fill out some form that will probably go straight in the trash. Evil or Very Mad

This gets better and better... On the "Protect yourself from fraud" page is a link to information about Lottery Scams which includes this gem:

Quote:

• Legitimate organizations will not demand money before they award lottery winnings or other prizes.
• If you have a concern about a solicitation, talk to family members or an attorney or even local police before making the financial decision to send money for a lottery prize.

So, despite the fact that Western Union says legit lotteries won't ask for up front fees, if you talk to Uncle Bubba and he thinks it is a good idea, go right ahead and "make the decision". Shocked

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:46 pm

^ Thanks Raga, I'd already had a look. Checking if it gives the same warning about the other "Usual Suspects," I was a little disappointed to see that it didn't.

But then I realised this can be used as safari fodder to get lads to a neighbouring country where the rules don't apply.

It gets better the more I look at it. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:46 pm

Whereas everything is, it will be a pleasure to direct lads to the site and watch the frustration it may cause. Very Happy

And it could be a shortcut to getting piggies. Wink

Possibilities, gentlemen! Let's look at the glass as half full. Wink

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:56 pm

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:01 pm

If you read the last bit. We even get to claim a refund from westy if they fail to comply and the transfer falls through.

* Edit to add * Which we interpret as compensation from westy for them messing us around.

It's too good to be true. Laughing

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:45 am

I might have known that the twisted minds on this site would turn this to advantage. Thanks windypops, I suppose I shall just have to comply with these new laws.
Got my first piggy last night, details off to Alan. I fear the bank here in Ballymebolix may not be so helpful now my lad has introduced them to the WU website with its warning. Twisted Evil

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:04 am

windypops wrote:

... form filling and delays.

Now this is getting interesting Very Happy

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:11 am

this is an excellent development that will make getting bank accounts out of nigeria based scammers very much easier. i'm impressed that WU would do so much for the baiting community Laughing

ETA: can someone make a nice PDF that looks all black and yellow, WU logos etc with some nice space for lad banking information and some sort of silly thing like thumbprint or photograph etc, just for giggles? it would be nice to get that and then claim you can't read it and get the information in an email for alan as well.

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:01 pm

^^^ I'll see what I can do, but I won't have the time until Sunday.

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:04 pm

^^^
I did that already, however some things may be wrong... Feel free to suggest changes

http://www.mediafire.com/?4n8fbpgrqb7dtjs
Here it is.
Contains form for filling the bank information and paper sign photo with the same info

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:34 pm

This an excellent reason to WIMP (tm) the lad. I've had many potential accomplices tell me to send one orphaned Nigerian transfer to him as a test. They will have to go to Togo or Ghana to pick up the funds.

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:28 pm

Dr Mike wrote:

Or there will be a migration to Money Gram.

That's good news. I love sending lads to Money Gram with 9 digit MTCNs. Very Happy

Bad news would be Money Gram providing ability to check MTCNs on line like WU does. Crying or Very sad

ETA: @Yabadabado: thanks for the post. This is good to know.

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:09 am

Does anyone know how this got initiated?

If this is due to some Nigerian law, then Money Gram might follow suit shortly - Lad torture taken to a new dimension Laughing

I bring this up as the EFCC would know for sure that this would be a great obstacle for lads. So this would actually be a very logic move for EFCC to make, if they really mean to do something about the lads.

AND - Possibly piggy heaven for us - I feel a bit with The Man, he's gonna get a busy day at the office Confused

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:14 am

this is awesome, first scammer ( a hitlad) i tried it on:

Quote:

Hello Jenny
Below is the bank details...Make sure you fill in for 24hrs so that the payment reflect fast...Immediately you make the payment kindly get back to me with the confirmation scan slip.

INTERMEDIARY BANK: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY
INTERMEDIARY BANK ADDRESS:- 280, PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK NY USA 10017
INTERMEDIARY BANK SWIFT CODE: BKTRUS33
INTERMEDIARY BANK ACCOUNT NO: 04177479
INTERMEDIARY BANK ROUTING NO (ABA): 021001033
INFORMATION FOR INTERMEDIARY BANK OR NOTE :- REC FFCT ACC# 1723003000179

BENEFICIARY BANK: OCEANIC BANK PLC LAGOS.
BENEFICIARY NAME: BALM OF GILEAD COMMUNICATION
BENEFICIARY BANK SWIFT CODE: OCBINGLA
BENEFICIARY ACCOUNT NO: 04177479
BENEFICIARY COUNTRY: NIGERIA
INFORMATION FOR BENEFICIARY BANK OR NOTE :- REC FFCT ACC# 1723003000179

Hope to hear from you ASAP...

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 9:24 am

^^^Well done, indeed, JumpinJayJay!
This is fantastic news Yabadabadoo and, yes, I've gleaned some new ideas for my baiting.
My morning Zubrowka will be drunk to the health of the WU employee responsible for this measure.

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 10:06 am

Glad to help folks, beginner's luck that I should find what seems to be a Good Thing. But I take no credit, that all goes to my helpful lad who pointed me at the site in the first place.

I have written to thank him for helping me avoid internet fraudstars, and assuring him he will get his $$$s just as soon as he sends the bank details. This seems to have caused him some distress, I hope to post sometime when it's all over.

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:27 pm

^ Remember to thank him for us. Laughing

Of course, not only must Naija lads safari because they have this rule there. The same applies getting other lads to go to Nigeria because their own country does not have it. Very Happy

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:39 pm

Just a thought here with regards to the bank accounts, I'm sure Alan will be able to give a definitive answer however.

Do the bank account we report not have to actually be offered to receive the proceeds of crimes in to?

For example, simply giving bank details of an account, is not the same as using the account for receiving ill-gotten gains.

We might end up swamping Alan with reports of accounts that are not being used illegally.

Confused

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:45 pm

Old Coaster, peace be upon him, posted a very good sticky under Hints and Tips
http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=119780

Quote:

When forwarding stuff to Alan ... set up the forwarded e-mail to show full headers and then copy the details of the bank and paste them at the very top of the forwarded e-mail.
Next look at the evidence in the e-mail - is it sufficient to convince a bank official that the account is being used for fraudulent purposes? If so, just send it to alan. If not look at the earlier e-mails from the scammer and copy/paste a suitable one at the bottom, preferably with full headers as well.

I'm sure the mods keep in touch with Alan, and will let us know if we stray from the path. We should know how to fill in forms by now, if not the baiter is always wrong ... Embarassed

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:30 pm

evil_sheep wrote:

[...] Do the bank account we report not have to actually be offered to receive the proceeds of crimes in to? [...]

The scammer sends you the account so that he can receive money, even if the money does not go into said account. So I'd say the account is still 'used in a scam'.

It does seem it would increase the chance that the account is fake or defunct or used without the holder's permission.

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