E-mail scam unveiled; local residents being solicited for funds
Over the past year, Lynda Long has received dozens of e-mails from people who want to give her money. The Uniontown resident says that the unsolicited notices come from around the world, including Nigeria and China, all claiming that money is trapped in a foreign country and that the writers need Long’s assistance – and an American bank account number – to free their cash.
In return for her help, Long is promised hefty commissions, sometimes as high as 20 percent.
“Many days, I get more than one e-mail with these promises,” Long said.
However, while the letters might sound like a great way to make extra money and help people in the process, the U.S. postal inspector’s office is warning people that the e-mails are an Internet scam, designed to pry into people’s bank accounts and steal vast amounts of money.
“If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is,” said Andrew Richards, supervisor of the financial crimes task force for the postal inspector in Pittsburgh.
According to Richards, the e-mails Long receives are part of a large and dangerous scam that recently moved to the Internet, seeking new victims.
“It’s been around for a while now. They used to send letters using counterfeit Nigerian postage, and we were able to destroy those letters,” Richards said. “But now, they have turned to plan B, which is the Internet. They all make the same claims that there are excess funds, and if you help them by using your bank account, they will give you a commission. People should not be fooled, as these are definitely scams.”
Long believes that the e-mails are phony, but she worries that some people might be susceptible to following the instructions, anyway. Long wants to make sure everyone knows the truth about the e-mails, and she contacted law enforcement and the local media to get the word out.
“This is certainly a scam, but I have to believe that they are successful sometimes,” Long said.
Richards confirmed that the scammers do find willing victims and that getting involved with the scam can be extremely dangerous.
“Unfortunately, people do fall for this kind of thing,” Richards said. “We even know of someone who traveled to Nigeria to meet with the scammers and was murdered there.”
Long agrees that the e-mails sound scary and can be dangerous.
“It’s a little bit scary to be getting these. I don’t like this stuff in my living room,” Long said. “It does sound like a very dangerous network of people.”
Stopping these money scams can prove troublesome for law enforcement, Richards said, because many of the e-mails originate overseas and governments abroad are not as aggressive in stopping fraud.
“It is quite difficult to prosecute them. They usually have some liaisons in the United States, and we go after them to the best of our ability,” Richards said.
But compounding the obvious law enforcement problem is that many people who are scammed are reluctant to report it to the authorities because they are embarrassed.
Richards said that in order to stop the scam, law enforcement must be notified.
“People don’t complain, because they are too embarrassed to report it. But, I stress to people that the last thing we are going to do is run to the newspaper with your name,” Richards said.
“We need people to report this scam when they have been a victim, because we can collect evidence. It helps us stop these criminals in the future.”
Anyone with information about e-mail money scams, should contact Richards directly at 412-359-7932 or at 1001 California Ave. Pittsburgh, Pa., 15290-9000.