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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 22 Feb 2013 Posts: 1

Following is my first ever bait (technically the third I attempted, but the other two never sent a reply to the initial e-mail). I managed to keep it going a lot longer than I expected.

CHARACTERS
Dave Dawes - Lottery winner; wants to spread the wealth around
Daniel Gabriel - Head of Logistics & Cargo for Gold Star Express; understands neither logistics nor cargo
Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa - Technologically Inept Accountant for Gold Star Express; stuck in a time warp
Edorisiagbon Cynthia - Senior Broken Record for Gold Star Express; Senior Broken Record for Gold Star Express
vs.
Elizabeth Oakley - Paramedic; could really use some money

The initial e-mail account specifies the sender's name as "Mary Lowell", and was from an e-mail account used by a school district in Arizona. I contacted the webmaster of that school to tell them that their account was hijacked, but I never heard back.

Dave Dawes wrote:

This is a personal email directed to you. I am Dave Dawes, my fiancee and
I won a Jackpot Lottery of £1 million pounds ($156 million) in
October, and have voluntarily decided to donate the sum of £1 million
pounds ($1.56 million) to you as part of our own charity project to
improve the lot of 5 unknown lucky individuals all over the world plus 15
close friends and family. If you have received this email then you are
one of the lucky recipients and all you have to do is get back to us so
that we can send your details to the payout bank. Contac me on: [email protected]

You can verify this by visiting the web pages below.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8820740/101m-lottery-jackpot-winners-Dave-and-Angela-Dawes-to-give-millions-to-friends-and-family.html

Best of luck,

Dave Dawes.
Email: [email protected]

I decide to ignore the awkward e-mail address and reply to the address given in the body of the e-mail.

Elizabeth Oakley wrote:

Well, this is a bit unexpected. I could really use some money right now. What exactly do you need to know?

He took so long to respond I thought I had failed to hook a third time. When he finally does respond, he responds from a third e-mail account.

Dawes wrote:

Dear Friend,

This is a life time opportunity and 100% legitimate. My fiance and I have decided to make sure this is put on the internet for the world to see. You see after taken care of the needs of our immediate family members and friends, we decided to donate £1 million pound each to other unknown 5 individuals around the world in need, the local fire department, the Red Cross, and some other organizations in Asia, Europe and Africa. The bulk of the funds deposited with Bancaja. The funds will be transfer through bank to bank or a cheque will be issue in your name, as per what you need.

To speed up the disbursement process of the funds £1 Million Pound [$1.56 million] which have been donated solely to you, please send us your details below so that we can forward your details over to the delivery courier company. We are hoping that you will be able to use the money wisely and judiciously over there in your country. You are advice to keep this confidential for security reasons, to avoid double claims.

Please fill in the information requested below for more details.
Your Names.......
Your Home Addresses...
Country/City......
Your Direct Phone Number....
Marital Status....
Age/Sex.........
Occupation........

Thank you for accepting our offer, we are indeed grateful.
We anticipate your earliest response.

Best of luck,
Dave Dawes

Oakley wrote:

Name: Elizabeth Marissa Oakley
Country/City: U.S.A./Seattle
Marital Status: Single
Age/Sex: 25/F
Occupation: Paramedic

No offense, but I don't feel comfortable giving out my address and phone number over e-mail to someone I've never met in-person. If you can do a bank transfer you won't need my home address and we seem to be communicating just fine over e-mail, so I hope those details won't become necessary.

Dawes wrote:

Dear Elizabeth Marissa Oakley,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your last email and to confirm your reliability in this donation scheme. I am happy to inform you that we have forwarded your details over to the management of the Gold star International Express Company United kingdom. I am also pleased to inform you that we have issued out a cheque of [1 million pounds ($1.56 million) ] in your name and through our attorney, has now been deposited with Gold star International Express Company United kingdom, the Accredited courier company to deliver your bank draft to you in your country. Please remember that the objective of this donation to you is to make a notable change in the standard of living of the less privileged people all around your region before the end of the Month February the year 2013. Note that you have only be chosen to receive this donation once, which means that subsequent yearly donation might not get to you again so we advise you to take your time and thought in spending the donation wisely on projects that will last your community for a long time to come.

Recently, I discovered a huge number of double claims due to beneficiary's informing close friends relatives, attorneys and third parties about their donations. As a result, these close friends, relatives, attorneys and third parties tried to claim the donation sum on behalf of the real recipients thereby causing problems for the courier to deliver the draft. Please be informed that any double claim discovered in the disbursement process, will certainly result to the cancellation of that particular donation, making a loss for both the double claimer and the real beneficiary, as it is taken that the real recipient was the informer to the double claimer about the donation. So you are hereby advised to keep your informations strictly confidential until your claim has been fully recovered.

You are required to make contact with the delivery company as soon as possible, and discuss with them how your cheque would be delivered to your home address in your country and you will be informed about the cost of delivery by the courier company in-charge of your certified cheque of [1 million pounds ($1.56 million)] .
You will need to Contact Gold star International Express Company Ltd which is our accredited delivery company. You are to reach them with the information below.

NOTE: You do not have much time to get this done. I advise you act fast and get in touch with Pastor Daniel Gabriel of Gold star International Express Company Ltd .His contact information is stated below:

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Information/Payment Office
Gold star International Express
Unit 10a Pinfold Rd,
Thurmaston,
Leicester,
LE4 8AS UK,
Tel: +447045797283
E-Mail: [email protected]

You are to contact them with the following information within the next 24hours;

Note This Form Must be filled
1. Full name:
2. Address where you would want the parcel delivered to.
3. Telephone Number/Fax Number.

Please note that upon your contact with Pastor Daniel Gabriel, you are to provide him with your Donation Code Number [DAWES/231/2011BDB] so that he can verify your identity with the details we sent over to their office earlier on today. Please endeavor to keep us fully informed on all developments with the courier company so that i can also monitor the delivery process through a feedback from you.We look forward to your prompt response, should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me as soon as you possibly can.

Your follow up and full cooperation is highly anticipated.

Best Regards,
Dave Dawes

Oakley wrote:

Does that mean the bank transfer option fell through? That's okay, I think I've got a way to make this work. I'll get in touch with the delivery company right now.

The fax number is a K7 number. They never tried it.

Oakley to Daniel Gabriel wrote:

Mr. Gabriel,

I am contacting you in regards to a check deposited to your agency by a Mr. Dave Dawes. He says he has already forwarded my information to you under code number DAWES/231/2011BDB which I have also included in my subject line. Here also is the form he said you would require:

1. Elizabeth Marissa Oakley
2. None yet, see below
3. Fax number 206-339-1152, see below

Identity theft is a big thing nowadays, so I'm uncomfortable with giving out home addresses and personal numbers. The fax is a machine where I work. Mr. Dawes said it was important to keep this private, but everyone there is really good at not reading anything addressed to someone else (since it would get them fired) so as long as you put my name real big on the cover page no one else will see it. As for the address, I'm going to work on getting a PO Box. I assume the check will come in a normal-size envelope?

I didn't expect to get them off script this quickly. Wow.

Gabriel wrote:

The cheque will come in a normal-size envelope, but we need address of your home where you want the cheque to be delivered to.

Oakley wrote:

I was really hoping you'd be able to send it to a PO Box. That way only I'd be able to get to it and wouldn't be risking someone grabbing the envelope out of my mailbox. I don't live in a bad neighborhood or anything, but it wouldn't be the first time that someone on my street had their mail stolen. And Mr. Dawes really wants this to be as secretive as possible, so I would really prefer sending it to a box only I can get into. If you're absolutely sure that won't work, I can send you my home address.

I'm honestly not sure why they're so against using a PO Box address. It's not like they're actually going to ever send anything to it.

Gabriel wrote:

Please Elizabeth, your home address is the best in here, we don't want to be held responsible for missing cheque amounting $1.56m.

Part of the reason I was going the PO Box route was so I didn't have to make a believable address. On one hand I didn't expect them to try to map it, but on the off-chance that they did they needed to be able to find it. But I didn't want to give them an actual address. I compromised, and gave them an incomplete address that could be one of several locations in Seattle. If they called me on it later I could complete it, but they didn't.

Oakley wrote:

Okay, I get it.

4006 47th Avenue
Seattle, WA
98116

Never mind, he's on script now.

Gabriel wrote:

Gold star International Express.
Head Office & Accounts
Unit 10a Pinfold Rd Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8AS UK,
Contact Person; Pastor Daniel Gabriel.
Tel: +447045797283
DATE: 22/02/2013

Dear Elizabeth Oakley,

You are Welcome to Gold star International Express LTD. Gold star International Express & Cargo Service here Unit 10a Pinfold Rd Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8AS UK. We are proud to maintain the fastest growing courier fleet in the country allowing us to service our expanding range of clients including leading financial institutions, blue chip companies, public sector organizations, political parties, and personal users.
Your parcel with containing your bonded cheque, original copies of your certificate and security documents have been picked up from Dave Dawes and are ready for dispatch.

You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you via a certified Cheque to the tune of the amount given to you. With regards to this, there are three options open to you, you are required to select the more convenient from the three and immediately get back to us for adequate instructions.
The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below:

Express Delivery (24 hours):

Courier Charges------------------ $150. 00
Administrative Charge------------$40.00
Insurance Cover Fee--------------$160.00
Value Added Tax------------------$50. 00
________________________________________
Total $400.00
________________________________________
Courier Regular (3-4 Days):
Courier Charges------------------$140. 00
Administrative Charge------------$40.00
Insurance Cover Fee--------------$120.00
Value Added Tax------------------$50. 00
________________________________________
Total $350.00
________________________________________
Courier Economy (4-5Days):
Courier Charges------------------$100.00
Administrative Charge------------$60.00
Insurance Cover Fee--------------$90.00
Value Added Tax------------------$50. 00
________________________________________
Total $300.00

Courier premium (5-7Days):
Courier Charges------------------$80.00
Administrative Charge------------$60.00
Insurance Cover Fee--------------$60.00
Value Added Tax------------------$50. 00
________________________________________
Total $250.00
________________________________________
Also note that you will be required to sign for the parcel when it is delivered to you.
Please note that if you cannot pay for the delivery of your parcel, do inform us so that your check and other prizes can be sent back to Dave Dawes where it shall be re-used for the next edition of their draws as all orders not delivered within four (4) working days from this communication will be returned thus your urgent reply to this mail is needed.
We await your payment immediately to start up with your delivery ASAP.
Thank you once again for your patronage.
Congratulations once again.

Best Regards
Pastor Daniel Gabriel
Head of Logistics & Cargo
Dispatcher Office

Oakley wrote:

I'm just about to leave for work, so I'll look over this and get back to you when I get home.

The first time I use the abbreviation "GSE" for "Gold Star Express". Dawes would later pick it up and start using it as well.

Oakley to Dawes wrote:

Got in touch with GSE. They gave me a bit of a runaround with my address. For some reason the guy couldn't just tell me someone would have to sign for it, and instead just kept telling me no PO Box. I know he's probably a busy guy, but he could put a little more effort into customer service, I think. Anyway, I'm off to work right now so I'll let you know when anything else happens.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Whoa. That's a lot of money for sending an envelope. What exactly is the need for all these extra charges?

Gabriel wrote:

The need for all these extra charges is for security reasons. We don't want any body or something to temper with the cheque amounting $1.56USD. You are to choose from the delivery list of options on how you want the cheque to be delivered to you. Once this is remitted, your cheque will be delivered without any delay. We await you for your prompt email, as to enable us provide you with the payment details on how the fees should be remitted.

Oakley to Dawes wrote:

Dave, I got this from GSE yesterday:

[the e-mail with the fees was quoted here]

I sent an e-mail asking for a more-detailed explanation of the charges, and Gabriel told me they were "for security reasons". Are you sure you trust GSE? Because the next time I see a tax added "for security reasons" will be the first time. If you can, get back to me quick. I work triple overtime on Saturdays and won't be back on my e-mail for a while.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, and sorry if anything in this e-mail comes off a little terse. I just got off a 12-hour shift and all I want to do right now is go to bed and enjoy sleeping in tomorrow.

Before I make a choice I have to ask you something: Since when is a tax for security purposes? Be honest with me here. I know you charge more than your expenses, otherwise your company wouldn't be around for very long. If your "administrative charges" and "value added tax" are your markups so you can actually make a profit, you can tell me. And we both know at least part of that is going towards the delivery itself. Hiding everything behind "security purposes" seems a little silly.

So just tell me what the individual fees are actually for, all right?

Oakley to Dawes wrote:

I didn't hear back from you so I had to challenge Gabriel on the fees. Still waiting to hear what he says.

Dawes wrote:

I just received your email. You don't have to challenge Gabriel, that is the run down of the delivery fees. They deliver efficiently and speedily without any delay or obstruction.

Oakley wrote:

I guess maybe "challenge" was the wrong word. The list of fees says "added tax" and "administrative charges" but he told me they're all for "security" purposes. Personally I think he's just adding a ridiculous mark-up to it because he figures he can get away with it considering the sums involved, but whatever they're for I don't like that he won't tell me. Besides, they can't all be for "security" since he has to pay someone to actually make the delivery, right? I'm assuming that's what the "courier charge" is. My initial reaction towards someone who tells me something so blatantly false is that he's up to something. I think maybe you should just tell your bank to cancel that check, write out a new one, and send it through someone other than GSE. Maybe even try a bank transfer like you mentioned in your second e-mail?

Gabriel wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for your email. We want you to know that we are not adding additional fees to this delivery fees. The options of delivery fee that was pasted to you is the exact and original fee lists. For your information, you are the last among the 5-lucky winners to have it's winning donation prize claimed.

The ability for us to deliver this cheque to you efficiently without delay or mis-place of the cheque makes it a good thing, because security is our major priority. The cheque must be secured and delivered to you without any complain or damage of cheque. You using the words like "seems a little silly" is not a proper word to use.

This is not the first time for us to delivery a cheque, but yours must not be a different. You must use appropriate words in your emails.

Await your email as to enable us proceed further with the delivery of the cheque to you.

Best Regards
Pastor Daniel Gabriel
Head of Logistics & Cargo
Dispatcher Office

Dawes wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

GSE is not up to anything. GSE had delivered 4-winning cheques already and you are the last winner to claim it's donation. They are not adding additional fees to you. Is too late for me to use bank transfer because the cheque had be insured and issued in your name, and am my bank director is on vacation. You have to follow the rules and regulations of the GSE, they are not adding additional fees to the delivery fees because of of the cheque amounting $1.56m. They have to secure your cheque in-order for it to gets to you without damage.

Dave

Oakley wrote:

I think you're being a bit naïve, but if bank transfer isn't an option I'll go ahead with them.

If they paid attention at all, they'd realize this e-mail and the last one were sent with less than a minute in-between. At this point (and for the majority of the rest of the bait) I wrote the e-mails ahead of time and waited until it was the right time of day to send them. This wasn't the last time I'd forget to allow "writing time" between them. They were either too stupid to catch on, or not on speaking terms. Or both.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Mr. Gabriel,

For the record, I do not trust you. Every company charges more than its expenses, it's called making a profit. If companies don't make a profit, they go bankrupt. So I don't believe you for a second when you claim you're only charging me for expenses. That would be a terrible business decision and you would be fired for it. The fact that you hesitate to simply tell me the truth is not making me confident in your abilities.

Fortunately for you, Dave is probably a bit off in the head and believes you, and since it's his check, I have to go with his judgement on this. Sign me up for the cheapest option and let's get this thing shipped.

Here comes the money. This was the phase I figured would be the most difficult: Stalling them. Turned out it was ridiculously easy with these two. Note that Gabriel says the fees are going to five different countries, the receiver's name, and the fact that he asks for payment to be made via Money Gram but for me to send him a Western Union receipt.

Gabriel wrote:

Dear Customer Elizabeth Oakley,

As per your email, you chose the cheapest shipping option which is Courier Premium (5-7Days) which is $250USD. As per Mr. Dave Dawes instructions, the delivery fee is to be sent to charity organization in West Africa (Nigeria). The delivery fee is to help the orphans and not for our investment but for the investment of Dave Dawes charity organization. You are the last among the 5-lucky winners to claim the donations, and the delivery fees were distributed in different four continents where Dave had an orphanage home, and you are the last lucky winner of the donations. The first four of the lucky donations remitted theirs to four different organization in Europe, America, Asia, Australia and this is the last organization, because you are the last among the 5-lucky winners.

PAYMENT DIRECTION:
You are to visit any of the Money Gram Transfer location closest to you with the required amount to send. Pick a Money Gram transfer sender's form, on the sender's column you are to fill your full details in and the amount you intend sending as required by the various lines of the sender's form. On getting to the receiver section of the form, you are to fill in the name of receiver which is below:

Receiver Name: OGBOMO GABRIEL ETINOSA
Address: 1 God’s will Avenue, Benin City, Nigeria
Amount to send: $250USD
Security Question: Favourite colour?
Answer: Blue

After payment and completing the transaction, a copy of the western union receipt will be given to you, and on the form the western union officer would write the Money Transfer Control Number on the form and carry out the necessary protocols.

You are to send the following information which will be on the senders form to us via email to enable us pick up the funds:

Name of sender:
Address of sender:
Amount sent:
Reference Number:

If you have access to a scanner you are required to send me a scanned copy the western union payment slip via email. As soon as we receive this information our accountant Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa will pick up the funds from our Money Gram unit there, and then proceed with the approval of the delivery of your package. A payment receipt will be given to you via email attachment upon receipt and confirmation of delivery charges payment.
As soon as the payment is confirmed by us, your parcel will be insured and channeled to you at your designated address and you will be updated on the delivery status of your parcel in our next correspondence with you.

Also note that you will be required to sign for the parcel when it is delivered to you. We also need a scan copy your identification as to enable us present the parcel to you in personal.
We await your payment immediately to start up with your delivery ASAP.
Thank you once again for your patronage.
Congratulations once again.

Best Regards
Pastor Daniel Gabriel
Head of Logistics & Cargo
Dispatcher Officer.

The #1 tactic I've learned from reading other baits: Ask for an invoice.

Oakley wrote:

I'll get the payment together. Please send me an invoice for my records.

Gabriel wrote:

Invoice receipt goes along with the cheque to you

The first time Oakley uses your last name in a salutation she's being polite. Every other time she's pissed at you.

Oakley wrote:

Mr. Gabriel,

An invoice and a receipt are not the same thing. Please send me an invoice for my records.

Attached to this e-mail was an "invoice" thrown together so quickly that it still had the program border around it.

Gabriel wrote:

Dear Elizabeth Oakley,

when exactly is this fee going to be remitted?

Daniel

I had to think of a way to continue to stall them. So I decided to pretty much admit I had been stalling them intentionally.

Oakley to Dawes wrote:

I know you trust Gabriel but I don't. He's claiming that his company is taking a loss on this transaction and I don't believe it for a second. He also said the money is going to a charity and then told me to send it to one of his employees instead of a charity. On the 22nd he said the check would be returned to you if it wasn't shipped to me in four days. It's the 27th now, so you should be getting it back soon if you haven't got it already.

I'm not in a hurry to get this. I've lived twenty-five years without a million dollars, I can wait another week. When you bank director gets back from his vacation you can schedule a transfer.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Was going to go send it now, but I just re-read your original e-mail, the one with the fees. I guess I took too long; the four days is up and the check is back with Dave now. I'm sorry we couldn't get this transaction completed before the deadline, I'll have to pursue other options with him. Good luck with the whole intentionally not making a profit thing you have going.

Note that Dawes says the checks are going to five different countries, while Gabriel said the fees were. Guess these two never really bothered to get their story straight.

This next e-mail was sent twice in the space of seven minutes.

Dawes wrote:

I absolutely do not understand what you mean. He had remitted 4-other cheque before you, i trust him so much. The cheque is still with him not me and i have nothing to do with bank to bank because insurance had be paid with GSE. What that statement meant that the cheque will be returned to me within four days of you the client not contacting the GSE, you contacted the GSE before the four days and so therefore, the cheque is still under GSE care. I can't deal with bank to bank because the previous 4-winners where delivered through cheque and yours should not be different. Follow the rules and regulations and don't doubt the GSE ability of delivery the cheque to you.

The delivery fee is going to a charity organisation in Nigeria and the fee is going to be claimed by person in charge over there in Nigeria. You absolutely do not have anything to worry about because am in charge and he had already delivered 4 cheque to four different continents. Am currently out of the country, and the next email i should receive from you is that the fee had been remitted and the cheque delivered to you in your country.

You are to contact GSE for the delivery fee, because everything had be put in place for the delivery of your cheque through Gabriel. Don't doubt his capability, he is going to deliver and nothing negative is going to happened, because he had delivered 4 cheque already.

Dave

Oakley wrote:

No need to send the same e-mail twice. I suppose the content of this message isn't going to please you. You say Gabriel has sent the other four checks already. You also say the check isn't to be returned to you. If he told you that, he's lying and I can prove it. Here's what the e-mail he sent to me said:

Gabriel wrote:

all orders not delivered within four (4) working days from this communication will be returned thus your urgent reply to this mail is needed.

It has now been six (6) working days from that communication and the order has not been delivered. According to him, that means the check should have been returned to you. If you don't have it, that is one more piece of evidence pointing towards something strange going on over at GSE. Have you ever been in touch with a man named Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa?

Gabriel wrote:

When ever you are ready to make the payment for the delivery fee, let me know.

Dawes wrote:

I want you to stop your doubt about GSE, you have to listen to me if you really want this to work out. The check is still under the GSE possession, you have to contact them with the payment details, as to enable the delivery of the check. Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa is an accountant in GSE who will monitor the delivery fee over there in Nigeria. I want to stop complaining and perform, because action speaks louder than words. Go ahead and have the delivery fee remitted, because Pastor Daniel Gabriel believes in action and not words.

There is nothing strange at GSE, all what they want is the delivery fee so as to enable them have the check delivered to you in you country.

Oakley wrote:

Maybe having all that money has made you forget how the world works. Everything at GSE is strange. I haven't had a good day today so I don't feel like dealing with this right now. Tomorrow I'll go back to Gabriel.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

If Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa is going to pick up the money, I'd like to have his e-mail address so I can send any relevant information directly to him.

Gabriel wrote:

The email address is [email protected]

Oakley to Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa wrote:

Mr. Etinosa,

My name is Elizabeth Oakley. I have received your e-mail address through Daniel Gabriel of Gold Star Express, and am contacting you in reference to a transaction I am performing with them. Mr. Gabriel has demonstrated to me that he is quite possibly slightly insane, so as the person he designated to receive the payment, I wished to speak to you directly. Please confirm to me that you are, indeed, Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa, that you are an accountant for Gold Star Express, that you have been selected to receive this payment, and that you will forward it to the charity immediately after informing Mr. Gabriel of the fee's receipt.

I hear nothing, so...

Oakley wrote:

Mr. Etinosa,

If you are receiving this e-mail, please respond.

Oakley to Dawes wrote:

Gabriel gave me an e-mail address for Etinosa, but I'm not getting a response. Can you give me the contact information you have for him?

At this point, I thought it was over. Four days later I decide to still if they're still there.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Etinosa has yet to get back to me. What's going on?

The next day...

Gabriel wrote:

He told me that he emailed you and you refused to reply.

Ten minutes later, this happens over the space of two minutes.

Etinosa wrote:

Hello Elizabeth, how

Etinosa wrote:

Hello Elizabeth, how are you doing? pastor

Etinosa wrote:

Hello Elizabeth, how are you doing? i emailed you more than twice but no responds from you.

I think someone was in a hurry.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Well if he told you that, he's lying. I received several e-mails from him around 10:30 AM, but never anything before that. I'm about to type up a response to him.

Oakley to Etinosa wrote:

No, you e-mailed me TWICE, not more than twice, and there was no response because you only waited two minutes. I had questions for you about the payment, but now I want to know why you lied to Gabriel and told him I "refused to respond" to you. I received the first e-mail from you at 10:33 AM today.

Now I thought it was done AGAIN. But wait! Suddenly, NINETEEN DAYS LATER:

Etinosa wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for your email. I want you to know that i emailed you more than twice, not knowing that the internet was bad here, am so sorry, but everything is in good condition now. I will be expecting your email as to enable us proceed further

Oakley wrote:

I honestly never thought I was going to hear from any of you again. I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I'm going to have Mr. Gabriel find someone else to handle the transfer. I can't place this amount of responsibility on someone who takes over two weeks to reply to someone, bad internet or not.

Etinosa wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

You dont have anything to be scared about, because everything is under-control. Your emails will be attended to anytime you emailed me. All what you need do is to proceed further with the remission of the fees as to enable the Gold Star Express have the access to deliver the cheque to you.

Your prompt email will be appreciated as to enable us have this transaction completed immeddiately.

Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

I just heard back from Mr. Etinosa. I last e-mailed him a few minutes after I last e-mailed you; almost three weeks ago. He is clearly not reliable. Please find someone else to handle his end of the transaction.

Gabriel wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for your email. I want you to know that everything is fine with with Mr. Etinosa. All what you need do is to send the delivery fees to him as to enable us proceed with the delivery of the cheque parcel to you without any delay or obstructions.

Etinosa wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

I hope everything is okay? Haven't heard from you since Thursday.

And that's the last anyone would hear from Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa.

Oakley wrote:

"Everything is fine?" Are you kidding me? It took him almost three weeks to respond to an e-mail! What was he even doing during that time? If he can't even respond to an e-mail, he certainly can't be trusted with any sum of money. If you want to keep him on your payroll then that's your decision. It's in keeping with your tendency towards awful business practices. But I won't be sending any of my money to someone so unreliable. Find someone else to receive the fees.

I'm having fun with this because it's pretty obvious Gabriel and Etinosa are the same person.

Gabriel wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

As per your email, use the below information to have the fee remitted:

PAYMENT DIRECTION:
You are to visit any of the Money Gram Transfer location closest to you with the required amount to send. Pick a Money Gram transfer sender's form, on the sender's column you are to fill your full details in and the amount you intend sending as required by the various lines of the sender's form. On getting to the receiver section of the form, you are to fill in the name of receiver which is below:

Receiver Name: EDORISIAGBON CYNTHIA
Address: 2, Harry Avenue, Benin City, Nigeria
Amount to send: $250USD

After payment and completing the transaction, a copy of the western union receipt will be given to you, and on the form the western union officer would write the Money Transfer Control Number on the form and carry out the necessary protocols.

You are to send the following information which will be on the senders form to us via email to enable us pick up the funds:

Name of sender:
Address of sender:
Amount sent:
Reference Number:

If you have access to a scanner you are required to send me a scanned copy the western union payment slip via email. As soon as we receive this information our accountant Edorisiagbon Cynthia will pick up the funds from our Money Gram unit there, and then proceed with the approval of the delivery of your package. A payment receipt will be given to you via email attachment upon receipt and confirmation of delivery charges payment.
As soon as the payment is confirmed by us, your parcel will be insured and channeled to you at your designated address and you will be updated on the delivery status of your parcel in our next correspondence with you.

Also note that you will be required to sign for the parcel when it is delivered to you. We also need a scan copy your identification as to enable us present the parcel to you in personal.
We await your payment immediately to start up with your delivery ASAP.
Thank you once again for your patronage.
Congratulations once again.

Best Regards
Pastor Daniel Gabriel
Head of Logistics & Cargo
Dispatcher Officer.

I was having so much fun just trying to figure out how to pronounce this name that I never got around to intentionally mangling it.

Oakley wrote:

As I requested last time, I'd like to speak to the person whose job it is to pick up the money. Without having taken this step the first time I never would have been aware of how unreliable Mr. Etinosa was. Please send me the e-mail address for Edorisiagbon Cynthia.

Gabriel wrote:

You can contact her on : [email protected]

Oakley wrote:

Wil get that email to her tonight

Sent from my Android device.

Gabriel wrote:

ok

Gabriel wrote:

Have you contacted Edorisiagbon Cynthia?

These aren't being sent from a phone and I never sent anything to Cynthia. But you knew that already.

Oakley wrote:

I thought I did, but apparently the e-mail app on this phone is having issues. I'll have to send it when I get home.

Sent from my Android device.

ok

Gabriel wrote:

ok

Oakley to Edorisiagbon Cynthia wrote:

Ms. Cynthia,

My name is Elizabeth Oakley. I have received your e-mail address through Daniel Gabriel of Gold Star Express, and am contacting you in reference to a transaction I am performing with them. Mr. Gabriel has demonstrated to me that he is quite possibly slightly insane, so as the person he designated to receive the payment, I wished to speak to you directly. Please confirm to me that you are, indeed, Edorisiagbon Cynthia, that you are an accountant for Gold Star Express, that you have been selected to receive this payment, and that you will forward it to the charity immediately after informing Mr. Gabriel of the fee's receipt.

Please be advised that I have previously had to deal with an incompetent member of your organization, Ogbomo Gabriel Etinosa, and so I hope you will forgive me if I am very careful in these proceedings.

Cynthia wrote:

Dear Elizabeth Oakley,

Thanks for your email. Am Edorisiagbon Cynthia an accountant for Gold Star Express who is designated to receive the payment for the charity organisation.
As per your harsh words in describing Mr. Gabriel is unfair, you dont have to speak like that, is absolutely not proper.You dont have to be so rude to people in such a way. I will advised you to always mind the way you write as not to insult anybody. For your information, we are all competent.

The fee will be forwarded to the charity organisation once the fee is remitted by you and the cheque will be delivered to you at once without delay.
Await your next email as to enable us proceed further.

Thanks
Ms. Cynthia

Oakley wrote:

It took Mr. Etinosa three weeks to respond to an e-mail. If that's not incompetence, what is it? But that's beside the point at the moment. I'm curious, what can you tell me about the charity that this money is being sent to?

And here I thought they wouldn't have a script for that.

Cynthia wrote:

Dear Elizabeth Oakley,

The charity organisation belongs to Mr. Dave. Is a Foundation that is non- profit, charitable, humanitarian, non-governmental organization which is positioned to alleviate the suffering of less privileged children notably orphaned & vulnerable children and youths in the society through sustainable and viable programs.
The money is to support the charity organisation in Nigeria. The organization is positioned to alleviate the suffering of less privileged children notably orphaned & vulnerable children and youths in the society through sustainable and viable programs.The money going to the charity organisation are for: the prevention or relief of poverty ,the advancement of education,the advancement of health or the saving of lives,the advancement of environmental protection or improvement, scholarship opportunities to indigent children,other purposes currently recognised as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose.

Mission
To provide quality educational and health care support to less-privileged children and youths in the society.

Vision
To improve the quality of life of under privileged children and youths through viable and sustainable programs which will translate into a ripple effect of development for the society.

So once this fee is remitted, the money will be sent to this charity organisation and your cheque will be delivered to you without delay.
Ms. Cynthia

Oakley wrote:

Well, I guess I can't be upset that the money is going to such a good cause. However, I have to admit to a bit of an embarrassing fact... Somehow I managed to delete the e-mails that held the amount I was supposed to spend. I would really appreciate it if you could remind me of the value.

The "supposed" fees?

Cynthia wrote:

Dear Elizabeth Oakley,
The value of the supposed fees to spend depends on you. These are the options that was initial provided to you by Pastor Daniel Gabriel:

[fees quoted here]

You have to choose from the list of options and have the fee remitted.

Ms. Cynthia

I've been sitting on this stalling point for a while now.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

I am preparing to make the payment, but as I was looking over your e-mail I noticed a problem. You instructed me to make the payment via MoneyGram then to send you the Western Union receipt. I don't think MoneyGram is going to give me a Western Union receipt. Which service should I use?

Gabriel wrote:

Make use of Money Gram.

I realized too late that it was a bad idea to teach him to fix that mistake.

Oakley wrote:

Okay, will do.

Gabriel wrote:

Still awaits the payment details.

Cynthia wrote:

Haven't heard from you concerning the payment of the fees.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

You will not be receiving the payment details as I will be sending them to Ms. Cynthia, not to you.

Note this exchange is happening around lunchtime on Friday. I wanted to give myself some time to come up with a new stalling tactic.

Oakley to Cynthia wrote:

I'll pay you when my boss pays me: On Monday, after work.

Cynthia wrote:

Let me know immediately as the fee is remitted.

Oakley wrote:

It's done. The number is 80325910.

Cynthia wrote:

The information you gave is in-correct, please provide me with correct details. If possible, have the slip of the Money Gram scan to me.

Provide me with these information:

REFERENCE NUMBER:
AMOUNT SENT:
SENDER'S NAME:

Oakley wrote:

Sorry, I thought you knew my name and how much money I was sending.

Number: 80325910
Amount: $250
Name: Elizabeth Oakley

Cynthia wrote:

The reference number you provided is invalid, according to the Money Gram instructor. Let me have the scan copy of the payment details as an evident that the fee was truly remitted and that you are not making a mistake

Cynthia wrote:

These information you provided is invalid, please check the payment details very well for the information, and if it is the same, go back to the Money Gram office and complain to them that the reference number they provided to ou is invalid, as to enable them have it rectified at once.

Oakley wrote:

I'm not making a mistake, I sent the money. If you want a scan I can get you one tomorrow.

Cynthia wrote:

I dont really know what is going on? I want you to re-visit the Money Gam office you used in sending the fees, that the reference number they provided is showing invalid.

Oakley wrote:

Do you want the scan or for me to go in to the office? I won't have time to do both tonight.

Cynthia wrote:

If what you provided to me is correct in the payment details, then go to the office and tell them that the reference number is invalid.

Oakley wrote:

I went in, they said the number was correct.

Cynthia wrote:

Then let me have the payment slip, as an evident that the fee was truly remitted.

Oakley wrote:

I'll send you a scan of the slip when I can. I told you I could get it Thursday. You didn't want me to get it for you. Now I don't know when I'll have another chance.

Cynthia wrote:

i dont really know what is going on? if you haven't made the payment simply like me know.

Gabriel wrote:

What is going on? have you remit the fee ?

Oakley to Cynthia wrote:

I told you I made the payment. I don't know what's going on either. I'd get you a scan of the slip right now if I could, but I can't. I might have access to a scanner in the next few days, I'm not sure. Do you think maybe I should just see if they can refund the payment and send it again?

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

Yes I did, but something is wrong. Either Cynthia is being stupid or something went wrong with MG. I just sent an e-mail to Cynthia asking if she wants me to have them retract and re-send it.

Gabriel wrote:

Enough of your harsh words. You provided Cynthia with invalid reference number. Confirm from the bank the correct digit.

Cynthia wrote:

Tell them to refund the payment and have it re-send, because it is getting out of hands.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

I'll speak harshly if I want to. Your organization has shown itself to be utterly incompetent during every single step of this process. I already went back and they confirmed the number I had was correct. Cynthia says it's not. I don't know what happened either, but I'm going to have them re-send the thing today.

Oakley to Cynthia wrote:

All right, I had the payment re-sent. The new number is 50145710.

Cynthia wrote:

why is it always difficult for you to have the slip scanned? Please my friend, i need the scanned slip of the payment details.

Gabriel wrote:

what do you mean by incompetent? You are incompetent by not paying the delivery fees instead of giving fake numbers for payment. if you truly remit the fee, as you claimed, scan me the receipt for the payment.

Oakley to Cynthia wrote:

Are you really that dense? I don't have a scanner at home. I only know one person who does, and our schedules don't really match up all that well. Since I need a scanner to make a scan, I can't exactly do it at the drop of a hat. I'm going over there tonight and will send you the scan either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how late it is when I get back home.

Oakley to Gabriel wrote:

YOU are incompetent, Mr. Gabriel. You run a business that only charges customers enough to break even. Or did no one tell you companies are supposed to make profits? Your accountant, Mr. Etinosa, is incompetent. It took him TWO WEEKS to respond to an e-mail. And whatever job Ms. Cynthia has, she is also incompetent. I have told her multiple times now that it is difficult for me to get access to a scanner. At one point I told her that I would only have time to get the slip scanned or have the payment re-sent. She told me to have it re-sent and then started hounding me about the scan again; she doesn't seem to understand that I don't have a scanner. I have responsibilities in my own life, I can't drop everything and run around town just because you're impatient. I just sent Cynthia an e-mail stating this same fact: I have paid the money. I have the slip. What I do not have is easy access to a scanner. I will get the slip scanned as soon as I possibly can. I can't just make a scanner magically appear in my house.

BE PATIENT. You're only going to break even on this anyway, so it's quite literally not costing you anything by waiting a bit. And the scan is going to Cynthia, not you. Unless you plan on flying down to Nigeria?

Cynthia wrote:

Enough of your rubbish. The digit you emailed me is also invalid. What is really going on? That is why i needed this scanned slip of the details. What do you take me for? Going to the bank everytime with invalid digit. I truly need a scan copy of this payment as to enable me verify the details in the payment slip myself.

How come you always provide me with invalid reference number all the time?

Oakley wrote:

To answer your questions: First, what is going on is that you are too stupid to understand the phrase "I don't have a scanner at home". Second, I take you for someone who is too stupid to understand the phrase "I don't have a scanner at home". Third, I have been providing you with the same numbers that have been provided to me. It is not my fault that they are not working.

Now, I have the scan done but to be honest you're not exactly putting me in a good mood and I'm way too tired to go get my flash drive and copy the thing over, so I'll send it to you in the morning

Cynthia wrote:

Enough of your stupid words. You keep on providing me with wrong digit. If you dont have a scanner, go to public cafe and have it scanned, as to enable me check for the correct digit, and if it remains invalid, you are to return to the bank and ask them why . Await you for the scan copy.

Oakley wrote:

You're like a broken record. Did you even read what I wrote in my e-mail? No, that's a stupid question, you obviously didn't. So WHY didn't you read what I wrote in my e-mail? The scan is attached. Now do whatever it is that you need to do.

Cynthia wrote:

Thanks for the scan copy. The details you provided to me was correct with the scanned copy information. I want you to go to the money Gram office with the payment slip and tell them that the reference number they provided is invalid. Is like the money was not posted along with the reference number they gave to you. You have to make it know to them that the money was not sent,that they should rectify the fault. I now understand that the fault is not from you but from the Money gram office. Thanks once again for the scanned copy. Please try your best to go to the bank for rectification.

Oakley wrote:

I went back to MG, they told me the number was correct. So I went to a different one, and they said the number was incorrect. When I went back to the first and told them what the second had said, she came back and told me the money had been collected. I'm already sure you didn't, but just so I can be sure before I start throwing accusations around: Did you pick up the money around an hour ago?

Cynthia wrote:

As earlier mentioned in my previous email, the number was incorrect just as the second MG said. I think the problem is from where you send the money. I didnt pick up any money simply because because the number was incorrect. The money can't be picked up, if it is, then it had to be the MG where you sent the money or the second MG where they told you the number was incorrect.

I want you to go back to the MG and tell them to have the resend with correct details that the fault is from them and if the money had be picked up, they are responsible for it, that you dont want any excuses. The two MG are responsible if the money is collected. You have to act fast, tell them to do something about the money and provide you with the correct number.

For your information, we are 6 hours far apart, and arounod an around the time you sent your email, we are already far aslept. Once you are at noon, we are at night, and MG dont work at night here, they do close by 4pm here, and 4pm here is 10am your time. The MG are playing you around, i think you have to act fast.

Oakley wrote:

I got called down to the local precinct here. They wouldn't give me very many details but from what they told me I think a couple of the MG clerks have been cheating people out of their money for a while. The cops said I shouldn't try to send any more money until they figure out just how widespread this is.

Unfortunately, my new stalling tactic scared them off completely and I never hear from them again. The whole thing lasted just over two months.

I'm just looking for some advice here; what I did right, what I did wrong (that I haven't already noted), etc.

Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:39 am

I think you did very well with this bait-you kept two different lads frustrated and running back and forth to MG for two months! Simple, effective straight bait, without tools or elaborate fakes. Nice job!

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