Advance Fee scams , also known as 419 scams are very popular with scammers as they are very simple to invent and played well can lead to a stream of stolen money from people whose greed overcomes their common sense.
The basic idea of an advance fee scam is that the scammer promises a treasure of some kind – a box of cash stuck in customs or a consignment of diamonds willed to you or the estate of a long lost relative – anything that sounds impressive and starts the greed reaction in some people. Once the person is hooked then the scammer needs an advance fee of some kind – a customs release charge or transfer charge etc. And the victim pays up, then another such charge appears and so on repeatedly until the victim realises there is no ‘treasure’ – just a scammer stealing money from them.
There are various standard stories used by advance fee scammers – the most common being of a shipment stuck in customs or money left in a bank account when someone died, but the latest story includes Bitcoins.
Everyone has seen mention of Bitcoins in the news and the idea that Bitcoin makes people into millionaires is widely believed. So this scammer is using Bitcoins as the treasure (but converted into cash for release).
The story is really just an updated version of the money in a bank account that the scammer wil share with you if you follow their guidance and claim to be a long lost relative and you agree to share the proceeds with the scammer.
Of course there is no such treasure – just a greedy evil criminal trying to steal from you..
“My name is Richie Lia, a client relations manager at one of Canada’s foremost Cryptocurrency exchanges snd I am contacting you in regards to the Bitcoin of a deceased account holder which has been valued at $7.2 million”.
Common sense warns you the story is a pack of lies – don’t be deceived.
If you have any experiences with scammers, spammers or time-waster do let me know, by email.
