S/O Beggars, Moochers and Scammers

[pierrotlunaire0]

Had one this morning, not sure if a scammer or just clueless.  He said he was in the office to reinstate his driver's license.  I pulled up his record: No can do.  He has about 20 unpaid tickets which need to be taken care of.  He also needs to pay for the uninsured accident he was held liable for, and also various reinstatement fees, plus (my lord, the record went on for pages) he also needs to meet with a driving examiner to determine if he is even competent to be behind the wheel of a car.

Not to worry!  He declared bankruptcy, and all his fines and penalties are now waived.  He even tried to get someone on the phone who also had gone through bankruptcy to explain it to me.

Sir, that's not the issue.  Some things may be discharged through bankruptcy, but we need proof that a judge has granted it, and talking to your friend who also is bankrupt is not proof that you are.  What I was saying seemed to truly puzzle him which is why I wondered if he was clueless.  Discharging debts is serious, and no one is going to just take your word for it.

[Tea Drinker]

Had one this morning, not sure if a scammer or just clueless.  He said he was in the office to reinstate his driver's license.  I pulled up his record: No can do.  He has about 20 unpaid tickets which need to be taken care of.  He also needs to pay for the uninsured accident he was held liable for, and also various reinstatement fees, plus (my lord, the record went on for pages) he also needs to meet with a driving examiner to determine if he is even competent to be behind the wheel of a car.

Not to worry!  He declared bankruptcy, and all his fines and penalties are now waived.  He even tried to get someone on the phone who also had gone through bankruptcy to explain it to me.

Sir, that's not the issue.  Some things may be discharged through bankruptcy, but we need proof that a judge has granted it, and talking to your friend who also is bankrupt is not proof that you are.  What I was saying seemed to truly puzzle him which is why I wondered if he was clueless.  Discharging debts is serious, and no one is going to just take your word for it.

That sounds like he didn't understand that the issue was that he had to give you proof of the bankruptcy, and therefore was trying to explain what bankruptcy means, assuming that you accepted his word that he's bankrupt but didn't think it was relevant. Maybe he hasn't internalized that just because it's in one government system doesn't mean it's magically in all of them: DMV is not the bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy court doesn't routinely notify every state government agency that so-and-so has discharged his debts.

I have no idea why he thought that would take care of the requirement to meet with a driving examiner.

[ddawn23]

Had one this morning, not sure if a scammer or just clueless.  He said he was in the office to reinstate his driver's license.  I pulled up his record: No can do.  He has about 20 unpaid tickets which need to be taken care of.  He also needs to pay for the uninsured accident he was held liable for, and also various reinstatement fees, plus (my lord, the record went on for pages) he also needs to meet with a driving examiner to determine if he is even competent to be behind the wheel of a car.

Not to worry!  He declared bankruptcy, and all his fines and penalties are now waived.  He even tried to get someone on the phone who also had gone through bankruptcy to explain it to me.

Sir, that's not the issue.  Some things may be discharged through bankruptcy, but we need proof that a judge has granted it, and talking to your friend who also is bankrupt is not proof that you are.  What I was saying seemed to truly puzzle him which is why I wondered if he was clueless.  Discharging debts is serious, and no one is going to just take your word for it.

That sounds like he didn't understand that the issue was that he had to give you proof of the bankruptcy, and therefore was trying to explain what bankruptcy means, assuming that you accepted his word that he's bankrupt but didn't think it was relevant. Maybe he hasn't internalized that just because it's in one government system doesn't mean it's magically in all of them: DMV is not the bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy court doesn't routinely notify every state government agency that so-and-so has discharged his debts.

I have no idea why he thought that would take care of the requirement to meet with a driving examiner.

Is it possible he was required to meet with a driving examiner because of all the infractions?  I can see someone reasoning that if the bankruptcy made the fines and fees go away it should make the other consequences of the infractions go away.  This especially so if he assumed the bankruptcy erased the tickets themselves and not just his debt from the tickets.

[pierrotlunaire0]

ddawn23, you are correct about why he needs to see an examiner.  At one point, he was racking up tickets so quickly that it raised concerns in Driver's Assessment that he was perhaps medically incapable of driving. 

And tea drinker was also correct.  Bankruptcy can wipe out a lot of tickets and other DMV kinds of debt, but we need proof. 

[ladyknight1]

I feel like I am being scammed from the Universal Healthcare site. They have sent me 5+ emails per day for over a week, even though I have unsubscribed. I now have them going directly into the spam folder.

[PastryGoddess]

I'm a bit ticked off right now. I just got this email in my inbox
--
Greetings from the cave of war
My name is Sgt Danny Evans,I am an American soldier.based in Afghanistan/.With a very desperate need for assistance,please contact me for more info email:(sgtdvevans@aol.com)

Regards
Danny
---

[Mollie]

I'm a bit ticked off right now. I just got this email in my inbox
--
Greetings from the cave of warMy name is Sgt Danny Evans,I am an American soldier.based in Afghanistan/.With a very desperate need for assistance,please contact me for more info email:(sgtdvevans@aol.com)

Regards
Danny
---

That is funny through.

[Lynn2000]

My friend Emma fell for one of those Craigslist apartment scams.

Emma has a solid track record of making poor decisions, frankly. She decided, very suddenly, that she HAD to move out of the apartment she'd been living in for several years, because an ex had become a little stalkery. That part is totally valid, it's just that this town is not that big, but apparently it did shake him because she never mentioned him again. Anyway, she was suddenly looking for a new apartment, bit of desperation, yet she was also being incredibly picky--she wanted an industrial loft with hardwood floors for a really low price on the bus route etc.. Can't find it, can't find it, more desperate.

She sees a Craigslist ad showing the interior of a beautiful apartment that is everything she could possibly want. But they don't say the address. To get the address, and other info, you have to fill out an "application." Which asks for your Social Security Number. So, she did. ::facepalm::

It was found out because she was super-excited to show me the photos of the apartment she might get, and I was like, "Where is it?" and she was like, "I don't know," and I was like, "That seems weird." Then she told me about the application and the SSN, and I said, "That sounds really shady. Do me a favor and Google the name in the ad." Whole first page of results is SCAM SCAM SCAM.

So she spent the rest of the day calling around to the police and whoever, getting this on record and so forth. As far as I know, she was lucky and nothing bad ever happened because of it. To me it's interesting because of the factors that came together to her getting scammed--that desperation and longing clouding her mind, leading her to miss several shady features. If she'd just Googled it herself before contacting the person, she would've found out what it was right away, for example. I try to keep this in mind now and apply skepticism in proportion to how awesome the thing seems. Cynical, but...

[Alli8098]

For those that posted earlier about getting phone calls from the IRS the media has finally picked up on it.  The IRS and media are warning people that those calls are indeed a scam.  If the IRS is trying to collect from you they will contact you by mail.

[KB]

Apparently there are people going around the local area where I work claiming to be from the Council and there to do inspections for fire blankets and smoke detectors in residential homes. Last time they did this, a year or so ago, they got a lot of credit card details from people. This time it seems like they're trying to check the insides of the places. And when you tell the residents that they need to call the police about this, they panic. I think an awful lot of unparliamentary language about scammers like that.

[Momiitz]

I have to share this email I received today.

Attn: Beneficiary
 
Sometimes i do wonder if you are really, really with your senses. How could you keep trusting people and at the end you will loose your hard earned money,or are you being deceived by their big names? They impersonate on many offices,claiming to be Governors, Directors/Chairmen of one Office or the other.
 
Their game plan is only just to extort your hard earned money. Now, the question is how long will you continue to be deceived? Sometimes, they will issue you fake check,fake ATM card,introduce you to fake diplomatic delivery,UN-existing on-line banking and they will also fake wire transfer of Your fund with Payment Stop Order.
 
Anyways,by the virtue of my position,i have been following this transaction from inception and all your efforts towards realizing the fund. More often than not,i sit down and laugh at your ignorance and that of those who claim they are assisting you,it is very unfortunate that at the end you loose. Although,i don't blame you because you are not here in Nigeria to witness the processing of your payment in Nigeria.The problem here is that you've never been told the whole truth about this transaction and it is because of this truth they decided to extort you.
The most annoying part is even fraudsters have really taken advantage of this opportunity to enrich themselves at your expense, those you feel are assisting or working for you are your main problems.
I know the truth surrounding this payment and i am the only person who will deliver you from this long suffering if you will abide by my advice.
 
Please i beseech you to stop pursuit of shadows and being deceived.Feel free to contact me immediately you receive this mail so that i can explain to you the modes-operandi guiding the release of your Payment. Do not panic be rest assured that this arrangement will be guided by your embassy here in Nigeria.
 
N/B: You are urgently requested to provide me with the following information.
 
*Full Name:...
*Address:.....
*Sex:.........
*Telephone:...
*Country:.....
 
Other details concerning this payment would be made known to you upon receiving feedback from you.
 
Best Regard
Dr. Brookly James
DIRECTOR DEBT MANAGEMENT OFFICE (CBN)

[Twik]

Here's my daily laugh:

I am Attorney (Redacted) an account operator to late (Mr. Michael ) a nationality of your country who unfortunately died on the Terrorist attack in Liverpool London on the dated 7th July 2005. Since the death of (Mr.Michael) I as his account operator have made several enquiries to locate his relations to come up for the inheritance claim , without any success

I came across your name on the course of my personal searching for my late relations/next of kin so i dedicded to contact you for this project.I am contacting you to assist in securing the wealth left behind in a fixed deposit account by my late client (Mr.Michael) before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where my late client operates an account The board of Directors of the bank has issued and spread a notice that after 2 months from now and no relation shown up for the claiming of the said funds, the funds will be confiscated and declared unserviceable .

Since The board of Directors of the bank have locate my client relatives for sometimes now, it's on this note that I seek your consent to present you as the relation/next of kin to my late client that the proceed of this deposit can be released into your account. The amount deposited (GBP 9.8M) ,i will agree with you on 40% for you while 60% for me ; I guarantee that this transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement which will protect you from any breach of the law. Upon your response, furnish me with:

Your full name and address
Your telephone and fax numbers
Your occupation and age

Note : Forward your information to my direct email (redacted).

As soon as I receive all these information from you I will present it to the bank Directors that I have locate the relation to my late client since they asked that I should provide the next of kin for them to release the inheritance fund. Let me hear from you once you acknowledge my email.

Yours faithfully,
Attorney Peter Johnson Esq.

I'm rather miffed. He's only going to give me 40% of my ill-gotten inheritance, not the 50% or more most scammers offer! Considering it's non-existent money, he could afford to be less chintzy with it, I think.

[Yvaine]

I don't know what the scam is here, but I was on Amazon, looking at a very newly-published book. As in so new, Amazon lists it as in stock, but the listed publication date is next month. The book is selling for $15 (Kindle version) - $60 (hardcover).

2 outfits have listings for used copies - at $999 each.

What???

I know that on ebay, sometimes sellers with a lot of product turnover will change a price to some absurd amount if they don't currently have the item but anticipate having it again soon. The thinking is "no one in their right mind would pay this," so the listing goes ignored until the item is in stock again and they can switch it to a normal price. It's easier for them than creating a new listing each time.

[Thipu1]

A good way to check on prices is to run the book through Bookfinder.com. 

This isn't a book dealer.  It's a clearing house for book dealers and you can get a good idea of reasonable prices.

[Harriet Jones]

Just got this email, they made an effort to put in some fancy graphics to make it look official, but use several different font sizes and poor English

Hello ,
I've recently being employed here in this Bank with Telex/ATM Credit department, i saw your payment file this morning with your ATM Visa Card pending to be delivered to you.

Why did you abandoned your atm card valid such huge amount of money just because of a mere reactivation fee?.

Please ,what is your problem and what can I do to help you?.

We apologize for any inconveniences we must have caused you.