Promises of Wealth

There’s no reason to be the richest person in the cemetery.  You can’t do any business from there.

We’ve all had them.  It’s amazing how many times I’ve been told that I’m the heir to a vast fortune.  I’ve also been the lucky winner of many awards or told a money wire by Western Union is just waiting for me to pick up.  Even better than that are the private little emails that I receive from unknown folks who seem to have discovered that I just might help them sneak unclaimed funds out of Africa and into my own hands.

Certainly you’ve received all these promises of wealth.  Things haven’t changed much in this field.  It’s still the same because if it sounds too good to be true, by now we should know that it is.

One of the first tip offs is the name of the sender.  Americans aren’t quite as formal with their English as the Brits are.  They rarely use the Mr. or Mrs. title in their own name unless they want your money.  Many of these emails are definitely speaking the Queen’s english and not the American slang.  To begin with if the sender just happens to be a Mrs. Barbara Jindal or a Mr. Robert Mueller or something similar, you can bet it’s some type of scam.   Another clue is the time of day you receive them because most are sent from the other side of the globe while you’re sleeping. 

We’ve all heard about the rows and rows of computers set up where con artists push out email after email of false promises.  They’re hoping for a taker.  There are many ways to be taken but these promises usually involve letting you know you’ll end up with great wealth. Nigeria is known for their internet cafes and even though posted signs say it’s illegal, it’s those internet cafes that produce thousands of spam emails.

Unlike other scammers not a lot of information is required from these folks.  Mainly they just want your money.  The email scams are numerous. Some may ask you to help them get millions out of the country.  Others indicate you are the beneficiary of a large estate and still more let you know you were chosen because of your honesty.  Oh, there are just hundreds of them.

Have you ever fallen for one?  Do you know someone that has?  We do.  Again, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  The single retired lady we know was asked just to pay the taxes. First it was a small amount.  Then, they needed a little more and then a little more after that.  After refinancing her home to get more needed cash, she had no more to give.  She had nothing left.  The con artist had taken everything she had and forced her into bankruptcy.

You may think the price of fuel will break you in this economy but schemes like this are truly intended to do just that.  Believe me unless you already know about it no one is going to leave you millions, no one is going to need you to sneak funds out of Africa and the FBI isn’t going to trust you to trip up some agency. 

‘Tis life on the road.