Hello dear friends!
I am back here after a long break to share with you two experiences I had with Internet fraud in the last month.
So here we go:
I listed my computer to be sold on the Internet on a Bulgarian website. The ad was in Bulgarian. And surprisingly I got an e-mail from a lady, claiming to be in the US. She wanted me to send the computer to her husband, who was doing research in Nigeria. She promised to pay 500 Euro, including the transportation costs, while the price I was asking was 100 Euro in Bulgaria. She asked for my bank account, so I gave it to her, and she was supposed to wire in the money. And then Sunday morning comes with an e-mail from an US bank, which claims to be holding the money until I send the package to ensure that I send it. Sunday morning, that is! Which bank sends e-mails on Sunday morning? No one, of course. So I knew it was fraud. And then this deal was over with a smile :)
The second case was a bit more complex. I get an unexpected phone call from a brokerage firm in Tokyo. Where did they get my phone number, I ask? Oh, your phone number is on every Internet business directory in Bulgaria. So am I interested in Stock Market investments? Of course I am! I figure that I will listen to any advice they have for me while they are trying to convince me to join in their business.
So one of their brokers will give me a follow-up call, we agree.
One week passes by and I have almost forgotten about the call. But it comes. The call comes from Mr. William Moore. He speaks with an excellent British accent. And he is obviously experienced in convincing people to invest. He lets me in on a special deal with the shares of one American company. The company makes a cure for prostate cancer, which will be approved by the US authorities next week! So it is time right now to pounce and buy! So let's go! 500 shares cost $20 each and make $10,000. But don't worry, we will buy the shares for you and then you will pay us in three days. Well, thank you, Mr. Moore. No, don't thank me, Nikola. Only thank me, when I make you money! Good! Right on!
But still, I am not very much convinced and while I let them go on with the transaction, I get the advice of friends and specialists here in Bulgaria on this deal. And then today's morning came. I get an e-mail that the deal went through! Very good! Everything is ready now, I just have to sign the papers and then pay within three business days. Just to note, the company had a very good website, and I called the number of the website and the same people I talked to answered my call. Very good! So what made me cancel the deal. Well, the address was weird. Or rather say, the guys were unlucky that I lived in Japan for seven years and could tell a slight mistake in the address they had made, intentionally, I believe. So I ask them about this mistake, and they say, oh, this is just a mistake! While my mistrust is building up, I come up with an idea. Since you are in Tokyo, can I speak to a Japanese person? Sure, the guy on the phone says. And then he connects me with his secretary, who speaks good Japanese. Better than mine, perhaps. The problem, however, is that I could tell by the accent that the person isn't Japanese. So I tell him, dude, you aren't Japanese! No, he says, I am second-generation Japanese and I was born in the US and I learned my Japanese from my mother, so I have an American accent. Anyways, I am more than not convinced, so I ask to speak to a 100% Japanese person. Then I will believe you, I say. OK, we agree, and then I hang up the phone. And of course, I get no call back. Then I get two replies from Bulgarian investment advisers, who tell me that this is a 100% fraud. Good! And again, I smile and thank life for the good experience!
So what is the conclusion? If you at all have time to deal with such situations, then at least listen to them. It is OK to show interest. It is OK to exchange e-mails and answer phone calls. After all, it is all experience and they are not wasting your money, only wasting your time. But never do the mistake to send money! Always think twice, even trice, and get a second opinion before parting with your hard-earned money. This is the advice I give myself, at least.
And at the end, I would like to share with you a saying. A man with money met a man with experience. And after they parted the man with the money had experience and the man with the experience had money. Smile and protect your money!
Good luck!
I am back here after a long break to share with you two experiences I had with Internet fraud in the last month.
So here we go:
I listed my computer to be sold on the Internet on a Bulgarian website. The ad was in Bulgarian. And surprisingly I got an e-mail from a lady, claiming to be in the US. She wanted me to send the computer to her husband, who was doing research in Nigeria. She promised to pay 500 Euro, including the transportation costs, while the price I was asking was 100 Euro in Bulgaria. She asked for my bank account, so I gave it to her, and she was supposed to wire in the money. And then Sunday morning comes with an e-mail from an US bank, which claims to be holding the money until I send the package to ensure that I send it. Sunday morning, that is! Which bank sends e-mails on Sunday morning? No one, of course. So I knew it was fraud. And then this deal was over with a smile :)
The second case was a bit more complex. I get an unexpected phone call from a brokerage firm in Tokyo. Where did they get my phone number, I ask? Oh, your phone number is on every Internet business directory in Bulgaria. So am I interested in Stock Market investments? Of course I am! I figure that I will listen to any advice they have for me while they are trying to convince me to join in their business.
So one of their brokers will give me a follow-up call, we agree.
One week passes by and I have almost forgotten about the call. But it comes. The call comes from Mr. William Moore. He speaks with an excellent British accent. And he is obviously experienced in convincing people to invest. He lets me in on a special deal with the shares of one American company. The company makes a cure for prostate cancer, which will be approved by the US authorities next week! So it is time right now to pounce and buy! So let's go! 500 shares cost $20 each and make $10,000. But don't worry, we will buy the shares for you and then you will pay us in three days. Well, thank you, Mr. Moore. No, don't thank me, Nikola. Only thank me, when I make you money! Good! Right on!
But still, I am not very much convinced and while I let them go on with the transaction, I get the advice of friends and specialists here in Bulgaria on this deal. And then today's morning came. I get an e-mail that the deal went through! Very good! Everything is ready now, I just have to sign the papers and then pay within three business days. Just to note, the company had a very good website, and I called the number of the website and the same people I talked to answered my call. Very good! So what made me cancel the deal. Well, the address was weird. Or rather say, the guys were unlucky that I lived in Japan for seven years and could tell a slight mistake in the address they had made, intentionally, I believe. So I ask them about this mistake, and they say, oh, this is just a mistake! While my mistrust is building up, I come up with an idea. Since you are in Tokyo, can I speak to a Japanese person? Sure, the guy on the phone says. And then he connects me with his secretary, who speaks good Japanese. Better than mine, perhaps. The problem, however, is that I could tell by the accent that the person isn't Japanese. So I tell him, dude, you aren't Japanese! No, he says, I am second-generation Japanese and I was born in the US and I learned my Japanese from my mother, so I have an American accent. Anyways, I am more than not convinced, so I ask to speak to a 100% Japanese person. Then I will believe you, I say. OK, we agree, and then I hang up the phone. And of course, I get no call back. Then I get two replies from Bulgarian investment advisers, who tell me that this is a 100% fraud. Good! And again, I smile and thank life for the good experience!
So what is the conclusion? If you at all have time to deal with such situations, then at least listen to them. It is OK to show interest. It is OK to exchange e-mails and answer phone calls. After all, it is all experience and they are not wasting your money, only wasting your time. But never do the mistake to send money! Always think twice, even trice, and get a second opinion before parting with your hard-earned money. This is the advice I give myself, at least.
And at the end, I would like to share with you a saying. A man with money met a man with experience. And after they parted the man with the money had experience and the man with the experience had money. Smile and protect your money!
Good luck!