I know I must get back to studying, but until I can fully focus, I do not want to do something half-heartedly. So, one more post before I go back to mugging for the day. I have heard a lot about all these email scams, especially since the news on the Nigerian incidents. So I tend to be more wary about emails with similar headers.
However, ever since I switched my email address, for some reason, I got two emails, one on how I have won a lottery of One Million British Pounds, due to a random online draw, and another on how a lady is dying and she was newly converted to Christianity from a family of non-believers, so God told her to write to me to make me her new beneficiary of US$2.5 Million, of which the funds are to be used for church, charitable and humanitarian purposes.
Hmmmm... so all of a sudden I am a double millionaire? Maybe I am gullible, but also out of curiosity to see how these things actually work, I replied to them. The lottery email asked me to write to an agent, confirming my identity, and once my email address is verified, they will transfer the funds to me within forty-eight hours. So I did that just to see where it goes. So far I was not asked to fork out a single sum.
The agent replied me within a day, saying that my particulars have been verified and all I need is to supply my bank details and they will wire the money to me. The money has also been fully insured, so I do not need to pay anything.
Sounds too good to be true right? The catch is that, because I live overseas, and the money is fully insured, I have to pay a processing fee of US$1,800.00 in order to get the money transferred out of the lottery trust into my bank. Ah.... And because the money is fully insured, none of the winnings can be used to offset the processing fee.
So that is it. One has to pay first before one can get the money, and chances are, once a person has paid, he / she will never see any sign of the money, not to mention a loss of the payment for the processing fee! Well, in the first place, if I have really won the lottery, is it possible to win one without even participating in one?
Secondly, if I have really won such a big sum, why is it that I need to pay such a big sum of processing fee before the money can be transferred, and even if the fee is that amount, why is it it cannot be deducted from the winnings then? What is the difference paying the money and then receiving the winnings, and just deducting from the winnings and giving me the balance? If it is true, I do not see why the agents are so insistent I have to fork out my own money first!
The second email from the dying woman gives me mixed feelings. I know I should not make fun of a dying woman, nor to take her words so lightly. And God does perform miracles. It is true that at times, one will have inklings of a name and contact you never heard before, as evidenced by my friends who are staunch Christians.
But the thing is, if it is a scam, why use God? Why take advantage of a person's faith and religion? How do I know it is a scam? Firstly, the lady gave me her bank details and her banker's name. So I wrote to the banker just to see where it goes, and he referred me to his lawyer. I then wrote to the lawyer and he said he needs some foreign authentication certificate as well as to get some notary documents from the Notary office before the funds can be transferred to me.
Granted, sounds authentic enough. The lady even enclosed a full affidavit, with my name, and the amount, sworn in front of a Notary Public, with a Notary Certificate in full colour! Being a legal person myself, I must say the documents really seem authentic.
So what is the catch? The lawyer said in order to procure the necessary documents, I must pay an amount of US$3,500.00 before the funds can be transferred to me. So I wrote to them, saying why not proceed with the necessary documents and then bill me later? A true law firm will not ask a single cent from you at the beginning, they will bill you for their services only after the case has been resolved.
That is how law firms function. In a legal invoice, everything will be accounted for, like processing fee, notary public fee, disbursments, especially for big amounts. The invoice will be sent to the clients at the end of the case, or if it is a long on-going case, then the invoice will be sent to the clients at the end of every month.
Anyway, the dying lady wrote to me again, saying she wanted the funds to be transferred out before she leaves the world, which could be anytime now, and that obedience is more important than sacrifice as a child of God. It is very obvious where this is leading to, thus I stopped all correspondence.
Which makes me wonder, how many people have been taken in by these scams? How did these people manage to find out one's email addresses anyway? If there is a program to find out a person's email, I will like to have it too, then I can track down some long lost friends and send them a mail!
However, ever since I switched my email address, for some reason, I got two emails, one on how I have won a lottery of One Million British Pounds, due to a random online draw, and another on how a lady is dying and she was newly converted to Christianity from a family of non-believers, so God told her to write to me to make me her new beneficiary of US$2.5 Million, of which the funds are to be used for church, charitable and humanitarian purposes.
Hmmmm... so all of a sudden I am a double millionaire? Maybe I am gullible, but also out of curiosity to see how these things actually work, I replied to them. The lottery email asked me to write to an agent, confirming my identity, and once my email address is verified, they will transfer the funds to me within forty-eight hours. So I did that just to see where it goes. So far I was not asked to fork out a single sum.
The agent replied me within a day, saying that my particulars have been verified and all I need is to supply my bank details and they will wire the money to me. The money has also been fully insured, so I do not need to pay anything.
Sounds too good to be true right? The catch is that, because I live overseas, and the money is fully insured, I have to pay a processing fee of US$1,800.00 in order to get the money transferred out of the lottery trust into my bank. Ah.... And because the money is fully insured, none of the winnings can be used to offset the processing fee.
So that is it. One has to pay first before one can get the money, and chances are, once a person has paid, he / she will never see any sign of the money, not to mention a loss of the payment for the processing fee! Well, in the first place, if I have really won the lottery, is it possible to win one without even participating in one?
Secondly, if I have really won such a big sum, why is it that I need to pay such a big sum of processing fee before the money can be transferred, and even if the fee is that amount, why is it it cannot be deducted from the winnings then? What is the difference paying the money and then receiving the winnings, and just deducting from the winnings and giving me the balance? If it is true, I do not see why the agents are so insistent I have to fork out my own money first!
The second email from the dying woman gives me mixed feelings. I know I should not make fun of a dying woman, nor to take her words so lightly. And God does perform miracles. It is true that at times, one will have inklings of a name and contact you never heard before, as evidenced by my friends who are staunch Christians.
But the thing is, if it is a scam, why use God? Why take advantage of a person's faith and religion? How do I know it is a scam? Firstly, the lady gave me her bank details and her banker's name. So I wrote to the banker just to see where it goes, and he referred me to his lawyer. I then wrote to the lawyer and he said he needs some foreign authentication certificate as well as to get some notary documents from the Notary office before the funds can be transferred to me.
Granted, sounds authentic enough. The lady even enclosed a full affidavit, with my name, and the amount, sworn in front of a Notary Public, with a Notary Certificate in full colour! Being a legal person myself, I must say the documents really seem authentic.
So what is the catch? The lawyer said in order to procure the necessary documents, I must pay an amount of US$3,500.00 before the funds can be transferred to me. So I wrote to them, saying why not proceed with the necessary documents and then bill me later? A true law firm will not ask a single cent from you at the beginning, they will bill you for their services only after the case has been resolved.
That is how law firms function. In a legal invoice, everything will be accounted for, like processing fee, notary public fee, disbursments, especially for big amounts. The invoice will be sent to the clients at the end of the case, or if it is a long on-going case, then the invoice will be sent to the clients at the end of every month.
Anyway, the dying lady wrote to me again, saying she wanted the funds to be transferred out before she leaves the world, which could be anytime now, and that obedience is more important than sacrifice as a child of God. It is very obvious where this is leading to, thus I stopped all correspondence.
Which makes me wonder, how many people have been taken in by these scams? How did these people manage to find out one's email addresses anyway? If there is a program to find out a person's email, I will like to have it too, then I can track down some long lost friends and send them a mail!
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