How best to innoculate against religious based scammers?

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419Eater is my life Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 298

I have a cousin out in Arizona, we'll call her Julie. She is one of the daughters of my mother's brother.

I knew Julie fairly well when we were kids. But at some point maybe 16 or 17 years ago, my uncle picked up his family and moved them from our area on the East Coast and over to the other side of the country. I probably last saw any of them in 1994

At any rate, irrelevant timelines notwithstanding, just recently, through Facebook, I got back in touch with Julie. She's in her early 20s now, college student. She's also immensely religious. I mean super devout bible thumping Christian. I can tell it makes her happy, and from what I gather, her conversion came after some really bad tribulations.

I'm not a religious man myself, but I'm happy that she's happy. I'm glad that her faith brings her stability and joy.

I'm scared though, because this sort of combination of youth and deep spiritual devotion would make her a prime target for 419 scammers. Julie is the kinda person who'd help out the less fortunate in a heartbeat, and so much faster if that person was also a devout Christian. I'd really hate to see her become a victim. I mean, I can just see the scenario playing out in my head. Some scammer scum E-Mails her, says they need to disburse a couple million to worthy Christian charities, Julie opens up her wallet and heads straight to the Western Union office.

So, any good tips on how I can diplomatically broach the subject and educate her?

I dunno. I might be underestimating her, and she might be more saavy than I expect. The thought that she makes such a perfect target for a religious based scammer frightens me.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:40 pm

Has she ever indicated, or is there any warning signs that she may have been, or is currently being scammed? This a bit of a random concern. anyway... I'm worried my family members might get hit by a car, so I teach them to look both ways, double check and pay attention.

Bring the subject up and express your disgust at the level of a scammers depravity. Make it conversational and just give her the basic skills to spot a scam. If she's in doubt, have her email you. Besides double checking her every email, it's the best you can do.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:41 pm

Just educate her on how the scams work. Show her some examples if need be. But whatever you do, leave her with at least this one thought: "Never send money to anyone you have not met in person."

The rest is up to the individual.

EDIT: On every single thread with a question, I always get beaten to it by a matter of seconds. It never fails. Confused

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:13 pm

NickTheCop wrote:

EDIT: On every single thread with a question, I always get beaten to it by a matter of seconds. It never fails. Confused

Oh so now it's our fault your so bloody slow... Wink

Maybe you need your own thread: 'ASK NICK'. Only one you'll be able to post. Stay here I'll go and get Rover on that right now. Keeping hitting refresh until I get back. Very Happy

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:18 pm

Don't think I'm not onto you, you scheming bastards. Shocked

I'll unearth this conspiracy one day.

Master Baiter Joined: 02 Aug 2009 Posts: 144

^^

You guys kill me.

Ray, just because your cousin is a Christian and wants to help people doesn't exactly mean she is gullible. I see where you're coming from though. The best you can do is warn her how these things work, explain how to spot a scam, and tell her do not ever send money through Western Union unless it's to family or real life friends. Also tell her about the love scams and how they work since scammers target a lot of Christian sites.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Dear Mods,

I vow to stay out of this thread.

Love,

PF

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