You Got (Scam) Mail

The effectiveness of a scam artist is measured by his success at exploiting a human frailty - greed. An individual faced with the opportunity to make a fast buck might throw all logic and reason to the wind depending on the state of mind in which an offer is received. While old scams, such as the Nigerian “let me put millions in your bank account for the mere pittance of a couple thousand dollars in earnest money” still attract takers, new and improved schemes to part a fool from his money pop up every day.

So after a hard day at the office, I retrieved my mail from the box. Two letters caught my eye. Not because of the envelope, but instead the bright yellow postage stamps in the upper right corner. Never saw them issued at the post office. Later that night I gave a closer inspection. Strange, they were Canadian yet the return addresses were from the United States.
I opened the first letter and imagine my surprise when a check in the amount of $3,650.00 fell to the table. Eureka!!! Jackpot!!! New car!!!! Steak dinner!!!! Then I read the accompanying letter replete with grammatical and spelling errors. I had won a lottery. $125,000 was all mine. The attached check was to provide an advance for associated service charges and local capital gains taxes. Local capital gains taxes? How odd. Oh, but they are talking about Canada. Of course confidentiality of information was important to avoid any breaches of security.

However, the check would not be valid until I contacted Karen or Frank at 1-416-507-2489 Ext 1. Now the plot thickens. Letterhead reads Atlantic Financial Corporation, Resource Management and Payment Centre, 390 Parkdale Ave.., Ottawa, Ontario. The check is drawn on the Bank of America, South Portland, Maine. The check is in the name of A L Corporation, PO Box 29048, New York, NY 10029. While 416 is a Canadian area code, it is not that of Ottawa. Seems to be an awful lot of deception there.

The next envelope proved to be even more lucrative. This check was in fact a Cashier’s Check drawn on the Clarke County State Bank, Osceola, IA. for $4,982.00. All that was expected of me was to complete some shopping duties for: Shopping Jobs Here Agency, Suite 1200, 573 Simcoe St., Beaverton, ON CANADA.

Easy enough. I would be paid $600.00 for making a $50.00 purchase at Wal~Mart; $40.00 at the Gap; a Western Union transfer for $2620.00 and the accompanying service charge of $139.00; a Money Gram transfer of $1458.00 with a service charge of $75.00. Seems simple enough. Once I deposit the check and start all the transactions, I’ll be an easy $600.00 ahead. Except for one minor detail. FDIC Special Alert, SA 67-2007 notes theses checks to be counterfeit.

These offers were proposed in very early March. The FDIC alert came out a few weeks later. Although I didn’t take the bait, I wonder how many did. Like computer viruses, new scam schemes are devised daily.

Be careful out there.