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Blatant scam?

My friend recently got a letter from a man claiming to be from Singapore. He said that a man with the same family name as him had recently died and left a will behind, and would he like to pretend to be related to this man and claim the small fortune left to 'him'.

He said 'reply by email if youre interested' so my friend did. He got an email back explaining that the plan would involve my friend sending a copy of his passport to Singapore so that they could use it to claim the money. Despite what I advised, my friend actually did this and received another email saying that they needed him to fill out a 'claim form' - which included all his bank account details so that they could 'transfer the money into the account when the claim was successful'. Theyve also said they'll give him the details of a lawyer who can make the claim.

Is it just me or does this sound like a blatant scam? My friend is convinced that its not and that he'll end up a millionaire. Ive tried to tell him that they could easily steal his identity and take out loans etc in his name but he wont listen. He says theres no way that could happen and he could prove that it wasnt him who took the loans out if that did happen anyway. Im very suspicious about this. Has anyone ever had anything like this happen before?

Reply 1

dh00001

sounds dodgy. tell your friend the word guliable isnt in the dictionary.

Reply 2

JayEm

They can photoshop the photocopy and put someone else's photo in. Then go to a branch of your friends bank in Singapore and clean out his account.

Reply 3

Profesh

roobyloo

Take him to a vet, and request that he be humanely put down.

Reply 4

Subminor

I got offered £27m in an email few weeks ago in an email . Its was all saddams money. it was in the hands of some soldiers over there. they needed a place to put it and claimed they would eventually give up 30%.

....Theres loads of these scam emails going around at the mo. dont fall for it. along with the ones from banks asking for your online banking details. "we are updating our system and need you to submit you customer number and password!" ITS ALL BOLLOX!

Reply 5

dh00001

wesetters

Spelt like that, it isn't :p:

how is it then?

Reply 6

o-e-s-j

if all else fails (in persuading your friend he's a jackass) just set up a bank account and leave it empty (they cant steal nothing can they/ just his identity)

Reply 7

F1 fanatic

o-e-s-j

if all else fails (in persuading your friend he's a jackass) just set up a bank account and leave it empty (they cant steal nothing can they/ just his identity)

Except that most backaccounts allow you to withdraw into the red, but then charge you an extortionate interest on it. His friend would still be responsible for repayment.

Reply 8

o-e-s-j

F1 fanatic

Except that most backaccounts allow you to withdraw into the red, but then charge you an extortionate interest on it. His friend would still be responsible for repayment.

good point, but i'm sure you can specify withdrawal limits, like rich parents do with their bratty kids, so they dont buy a car or something. :confused:

Google '419 Scam'

darkfairy

How old is your friend?

Hes 22. Old enough to know better :rolleyes:

But not old enough to overcome his own greed, it seems

Reply 11

JayEm

roobyloo

Hes 22. Old enough to know better :rolleyes:

But not old enough to overcome his own greed, it seems

You could always tell his mother that her son is being a fool. :dontknow:

Reply 12

F1 fanatic

roobyloo

Hes 22. Old enough to know better :rolleyes:

But not old enough to overcome his own greed, it seems

When things appear too good to be true, it's usually because they are. It's just the way the world works. You really need to convince him he's being an idiot. Just loss of passport has already cost him at least £70 to replace it. Tbh, no-one other that a government institution can be up to any good if they have your passport.

As for withdrawal limits, I think that is generally from cash machines, I'm not sure it applies to account withdrawals from the bank itself. These are usually quite high enough to hurt the victim anyway.

Reply 13

prash_s90

IT IS A FAKE . GUARANTEED. Trust me, this is how they scam you !!! tell your friend to stop now !!

Reply 14

Cbt

Youre friend may want to check this site out:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/09/419_scam_anatomy/

Reply 15

jose

I was recently contacted by someone involved in the Japanese lottery who wanted my help to move $14million of unclaimed money out of the country. Naturally i agreed and i'm typing this from my superyacht in Monaco.

Reply 16

Stick Man

For God's sake, try to work some sense into your friend. It's clearly a scam, and not even a particularly well executed one.

I get a few of these emails and now I just wind up the people who conduct the scams, a la www.419eater.com.

Reply 17