Letter

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Peter your new 55 inch Cas would be waiting at home in its full , autimatic , sytematic , hydromatic , computerised observatory beside the helipad , 300km from the nearest light .. . waiting for you when we get home from the US of A , aye mate?
My observatory would be wiating for me as well .
Brian.

Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA

Have to be honest Brian, playboy bunnies, stretch limos, etc wouldn't be the first thing I think about! Hmmm, now where is that order form for my 50" Cassegrain!

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Peter your new 55 inch Cas would be waiting at home in its full , autimatic , sytematic , hydromatic , computerised observatory beside the helipad , 300km from the nearest light .. . waiting for you when we get home from the US of A , aye mate?
My observatory would be wiating for me as well .
Brian.

Only 300km away from light? Much more than that mate, for sure, and instead of a helicopter it would be a business jet on my private runway! One can dream!

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

George Bush was told two Brazilian soldiers died in Afghanistan - he replied "I didn't know that we had that many over there..um how many is a Brazilian?"

If any of my relatives died, they'd only leave me a bill.

[Ric]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

I must be a triple gazillionaire by now

Your shout Ken

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

The sad part is that some people do get taken in.
One lady here at work responded to the email and was completely taken in. As she was near to retirement she had some funds available and it didn't take the scammer long to find out. She was so convinced that everything was kosher that she sold her house for less than what it was worth to raise funds. (didn't matter she was getting millions.) Sold off other assets because the lawyer needed more money to clear legal objections (didn't matter she was getting millions.)
Ran up all lines of credit to the full (didn't matter she was getting millions.)
She shed a tear when the poor povety striken lawyer used his own money to pay fees and charges that she should pay. Put down a deposit for a new retirement villla better than the house she had just sold and even went as far to get one for a friend (didn't matter she was getting millions.)
went to the bank to try and borrow more money for that last few things that were holding up her getting the millions. At this point things screech to a halt when the bank tells her that it's all a fraud!!! BUT she doesn't believe them! this just can't be possible! the Lawyer is her friend.... he wouldn't lie! She sends him her last few grand. Friends, coworkers try in vain to tell her to stop but she cannot accept that it is not real because she's in too deep and her ailing husband has not been told that everything has gone.

Unfortunately there was no way back.. everything was gone and a very nice lady has been destroyed, her retirement, her life her family and her husband are all gone. I miss her at work she was vey nice person and not someone that this should have happened to.

I saw a doco on the internet about these scammers and they laugh about the rich westerners who fall for their scams and think that it does not matter as we can all afford to loose our money. they don't think about the devestation that they can cause to someone like my friend from work.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Yes Paul, it is a shame. We hear, too often, these stories; and the surprising thing, for me at least, is that these people are warned that they are scams, but can only see the dollar signs, it seems, and continue despite the clear warnings. How can so many people get caught up in these scams; and they are often reasonably intelligent people! Mind boggling, to say the least.

As for lawyers acting in your best interests, well.........? Maybe I am just too damn cynical, which is probably just as well!

[ReaPerMan (Paul)]

Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA

Yes Paul, it is a shame. We hear, too often, these stories; and the surprising thing, for me at least, is that these people are warned that they are scams, but can only see the dollar signs, it seems, and continue despite the clear warnings. How can so many people get caught up in these scams; and they are often reasonably intelligent people! Mind boggling, to say the least.

As for lawyers acting in your best interests, well.........? Maybe I am just too damn cynical, which is probably just as well!

Some people are very vulnerable to being taken in by the psychology behind these scams. It's a bit like being colour blind. They just can't see it until it's too late.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by ReaPerMan

Some people are very vulnerable to being taken in by the psychology behind these scams. It's a bit like being colour blind. They just can't see it until it's too late.

Agreed, but it is still mind boggling. I am just glad I am a sceptical as hell!

[Octane (Humayun)]

Look up and read an article titled The Perfect Mark, on the New Yorker site.

H

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by Octane

Look up and read an article titled The Perfect Mark, on the New Yorker site.

H

Interesting article.

It just fascinates me that reasonably intelligent people can be so easily conned. I occasionally get "junk" emails (too frequently lately) but I never open them, even though my natural curiosity wants to just take a look, but I am very aware that I could infect my computer with a worm, so I resist.

I can, sort of, understand the psychology as to why people get caught up in such scams and am very thankful that I have a healthy dose scepticism (or is that cynicism?), despite having an innate curiosity.

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

If nothing they are persistent. I got another letter in the mail today from the same lawyer, same wording, same rich person with the same surname.

This time I might join the scam buster website and see what they can do with it.

Adrian

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

My missus knew of a family of, to be fair, fairly dimwitted people, who received a letter similar to those described here (at the time I too was surprised it came by snail mail..). These people hadn't actually got around to doing too much before they had their dreams shattered, however they were already arguing amongst themselves as to who was getting how much and what would they would spend it all on..

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

Except for a new car build my house and an observatory with all the latest gadgets I don't have anything to spend on.

Adrian