A Mystery Letter Promises Untold Wealth
“We’re going to be rich, Madeleine! We’ll travel and help with the grandkids’ schooling and, oh, Honey, we will never have to worry about money again!” Josh was so excited that his wife truly thought he might have a heart attack.
“What are you jabbering about, old man? Where are we going to get that kind of money? Did a rich relative remember you in the will? You’re talking crazy.”
“Look at this letter! Some man named Christain Botoka says I helped him out once and now he wants to repay me. He’s come into loads of money and is sending me $4,900,000. The trouble is, I can’t say as I remember him. See, it does pay to help folks, even when you don’t know them.”
“Let me see that letter.” After reading it, Madeleine pointed to one paragraph at the end of a letter glowing with praise for her husband. “What’s this? He wants you to send him money?”
“Oh, it’s just a few dollars. He says to get the money to me, he has to pay an attorney over there to write things up. He’s asking me to split the fees by sending $2500. Doesn’t seem like very much to get almost five million in return. I’ll get it out right now.”
“I don’t know, Josh. Something doesn’t seem right.”
“You let me handle this and soon you’ll be wearing silks and hiring a housekeeper.” Josh grinned as he tossed those words over his shoulder.
Sad Ending to a Fairy Tale
Six months later, neither Josh nor Madeleine grinned. In fact, they stood staring at another letter. This one advised them they faced foreclosure on the home they had owned for forty-three years. Bit by bit, the anonymous Christain Botoka drained them of all their savings, only a few hundred thousand, as they chased the false dream of millions from a stranger in another land. They had nothing except social security checks to fall back on and those did not cover their cost of living.
This drama plays out more often than most people think. What does it take to succeed?
• Greed
• Small savings and no retirement.
• Those who live on the edge because of lack of funds
• Or, those who have saved a nice rainy day fund they would like to see grow
• Being Elderly plays a primary role in many frauds.
For those who think snail mail is dead, think again. It is alive and well all over the world for those who defraud the elderly. Many elderly do not use computers, cellphone and other electronic technology, which makes the United States Mail, an institution they trust, the perfect method for contacting them.
There Are Dangerous ‘Phishermen’ in the Scam Sea
The draw is always everyone’s dream: free money from some unexpected source. After getting a nibble, which is the person sending the first payment; the next hook is feigned frustration on the sender’s part. In their country, things do no go as smoothly as in your country. They may need to pay a small bribe, but they don’t have the money, so could you help just one more time?
When your money runs out, so do they…usually. Sometimes they return to threaten life and limb if you do not get more money for them.
These frauds also come through Western Union, mainly because it is so much easier for the Mark to transfer the funds.
After being nearly or completely wiped out, occasionally some brave soul determines to visit the country where the fraud began and face down the person sending the letter. This is perhaps the DUMBEST possible thing anyone can do.
Rarely are these people working alone. You may not come back.
Instead, forget being embarrassed and:
• Turn all information you have over to local, state or Federal agencies.
• Educate relatives and friends of mail scams.
• Ask relatives and friends to help educate other seniors. This is urgent.
Will you get back what you lost? Highly unlikely, but you will get something. We will get enough knowledge that just maybe you will not fall for these scams again.
The Fake Tax Man Cometh
Another con job happens especially around tax time, although it can come at you any time of the year. In this one, the person claims to be with the IRS, and they demand payment of a phony bill immediately with a prepaid debit care or wire transfer. They threaten to arrest you, should you object. Often, the person knows the last four digits of your social security number. This makes them sound legitimate. To make certain, they use spoof proof software so you think they are calling from the IRS.
They may even have someone do a follow-up call that seems to come from a state police. This can be enough to terrify a person into going along with the demands.
First, the IRS will NOT reach out to you via email or phone. They come to you via the post office. They will NEVER ask for credit cards or other financial information over public social sites or by phone. If someone calls you and threatens, here is what the IRS recommends you do.
* If you owe federal taxes, or think you may owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.
* If you do not owe taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury inspector general of tax administration at 1-800-366-4484.
* You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments in your complaint.
* If you get an email that is purportedly from the IRS, do not open any attachments or click on any links in the email. Send it to phishing@irs.gov.
What it takes to get rid of these people is every person fighting back. They can only fight back, if they are aware of the danger. If we start the ball rolling to educate, we will stop being hopeless and helpless!