Aquene
22 May 2006, 15:31
The scammers have come up with a new twist on their 419 scams. In the past, many people who would respond to the 419 e-mails, simply did not have the money to send the scammers for the fees and other charges needed for the victim to get their millions. To get around that problem, and keep a willing victim in the scam, they have now developed financiers who will give the victim a loan until they receive that trunk box of money or their lottery winnings.
This financier is just another of the gang members playing a role in the scam. He always grants the victim the loan and often they offer the victim their choice of two options, to receive the money from the financier.
(1) They will send the victim a check for the amount of the loan. The victim is to deposit the check in their bank account and then draw out the amount of the fees and charges and wire them to the scammer via Western Union. The only problem is that the check is counterfeit; and it is not usually caught until it reaches the issuing bank, long after the victim has wired the money to the scammers.
(2) They will take the victim's bank account information and wire the money directly into the victim's bank account from another account. The victim is then instructed to either draw the money out and use it to wire the fees and charges to the scammers, or wire the money to a third bank account that the scammers give the victim.
The money is actually wired into their account from the accounts of other victims and is thus stolen property. The accounts provided by the scammers are either another victim's account or an account that the scammers control where they empty the money from the account almost as soon as it arrives.
In either of these scenarios, the victim is left holding the empty bag when the police get involved. The victim is the person who passed a counterfeit check and then drew the money out of the account. Money that has now suspiciously disappeared. If the victim is unlucky enough to be in a location where the local law enforcement is not familiar with this scam; they may wind up in prison. Many here in the US have done just that. Or when the victims upstream of this victim in the scam, call in police; the police do what they would usually do in cases like this and follow the money. Stolen money which winds up in the current victim's account and then again disappears. This time the current victim may be arrested and convicted on various money laundering charges.
In any variation, or outcome of this scheme, the current victim is left legally liable to replace the money lost by the bank in the transaction. I have talked to people who have lost their businesses and homes as a result of this.
Recent studies by law enforcement and fraud investigators in the UK have shown that the scammers are then doing what we call DOUBLE-DIPPING the victim. The victim has given the scammers most of their identity information, and the studies have shown the scammers then taking that information and using it to obtain other personal information on the victim, that allows them to steal the victim's identity. They then open new accounts using the victim's stolen information and quickly max out the credit limits on those accounts, ruining the victim's credit. This can be corrected by the victim, but it usually requires the services of a lawyer to do so; and winds up costing the victim thousands of dollars more, to repair the damage.
I will try to post some of the names of these phoney companies providing supposed loans to the victims.
PS in some of the scams the scammers get the victim's to provide collateral for the loans, such as property etc. and during the process the victim has given the person they thought was a lawyer (actually another gang member) a real Power of Attorney. It has of yet not happened very often, but in a few instances this has caused the victim untold problems by clouding the deeds and titles to their property, that will be needed to stand as collateral for real loans to pay the bank back their lost money. Just another nightmare for victims.
From Browade
This financier is just another of the gang members playing a role in the scam. He always grants the victim the loan and often they offer the victim their choice of two options, to receive the money from the financier.
(1) They will send the victim a check for the amount of the loan. The victim is to deposit the check in their bank account and then draw out the amount of the fees and charges and wire them to the scammer via Western Union. The only problem is that the check is counterfeit; and it is not usually caught until it reaches the issuing bank, long after the victim has wired the money to the scammers.
(2) They will take the victim's bank account information and wire the money directly into the victim's bank account from another account. The victim is then instructed to either draw the money out and use it to wire the fees and charges to the scammers, or wire the money to a third bank account that the scammers give the victim.
The money is actually wired into their account from the accounts of other victims and is thus stolen property. The accounts provided by the scammers are either another victim's account or an account that the scammers control where they empty the money from the account almost as soon as it arrives.
In either of these scenarios, the victim is left holding the empty bag when the police get involved. The victim is the person who passed a counterfeit check and then drew the money out of the account. Money that has now suspiciously disappeared. If the victim is unlucky enough to be in a location where the local law enforcement is not familiar with this scam; they may wind up in prison. Many here in the US have done just that. Or when the victims upstream of this victim in the scam, call in police; the police do what they would usually do in cases like this and follow the money. Stolen money which winds up in the current victim's account and then again disappears. This time the current victim may be arrested and convicted on various money laundering charges.
In any variation, or outcome of this scheme, the current victim is left legally liable to replace the money lost by the bank in the transaction. I have talked to people who have lost their businesses and homes as a result of this.
Recent studies by law enforcement and fraud investigators in the UK have shown that the scammers are then doing what we call DOUBLE-DIPPING the victim. The victim has given the scammers most of their identity information, and the studies have shown the scammers then taking that information and using it to obtain other personal information on the victim, that allows them to steal the victim's identity. They then open new accounts using the victim's stolen information and quickly max out the credit limits on those accounts, ruining the victim's credit. This can be corrected by the victim, but it usually requires the services of a lawyer to do so; and winds up costing the victim thousands of dollars more, to repair the damage.
I will try to post some of the names of these phoney companies providing supposed loans to the victims.
PS in some of the scams the scammers get the victim's to provide collateral for the loans, such as property etc. and during the process the victim has given the person they thought was a lawyer (actually another gang member) a real Power of Attorney. It has of yet not happened very often, but in a few instances this has caused the victim untold problems by clouding the deeds and titles to their property, that will be needed to stand as collateral for real loans to pay the bank back their lost money. Just another nightmare for victims.
From Browade