How the hell does anyone still fall for this bovine crap? Aren't many many hundreds of news reports of this enough?
The answer is that enough people must still fall for it - so that it's worth their while to continue trying.
Helped no doubt by having a population of over a billion, most with some English language skills, and many young people so desperate to "better themselves" that commission work for a "call centre" (or work at home from your computer) seems like a good career option. Pretty sure they're being told where to go so many times, they're getting quite hardened - not reluctant to swear and abuse you, then hang up if they know you're on to them.
It should be possible to report the scammers to the software provider they're using. Some do in fact have a report function at the top of their page prior to installing the software but not all.
Ditto for the phone calls where some don't hide their phone number - it should be possible for you to immediately call a phone number that flags the last caller as a scam or being abusive and when enough people report it a flag is raised. At the moment you can't lodge a complaint for phone abuse unless they call you a repeated number of times in a set amount of time.
There was a piece on TV a year or so ago (Fair Go maybe) where a guy was rung up by people purporting to be the IRD, claiming that they were going to arrest him for an unpaid $8000 tax bill (which he had no clue about) unless he paid them that day in iTunes cards by buying them and scratching off the numbers and reading them to them over the phone.
Yeah, I remember reading about that one! Wonder how long it took him to read out all those numbers. LOL.
Ever come across this one?
Subject: Nigerian Astronaut Wants To Come Home Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Plot 555 Misau Street PMB 437 Garki, Abuja, FCT NIGERIA
Dear Mr. Sir,
REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE-STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
I am Dr. Bakare Tunde, the cousin of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde. He was the first African in space when he made a secret flight to the Salyut 6 space station in 1979. He was on a later Soviet spaceflight, Soyuz T-16Z to the secret Soviet military space station Salyut 8T in 1989. He was stranded there in 1990 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. His other Soviet crew members returned to earth on the Soyuz T-16Z, but his place was taken up by return cargo. There have been occasional Progrez supply flights to keep him going since that time. He is in good humor, but wants to come home.
In the 14-years since he has been on the station, he has accumulated flight pay and interest amounting to almost $ 15,000,000 American Dollars. This is held in a trust at the Lagos National Savings and Trust Association. If we can obtain access to this money, we can place a down payment with the Russian Space Authorities for a Soyuz return flight to bring him back to Earth. I am told this will cost $ 3,000,000 American Dollars. In order to access the his trust fund we need your assistance.
Consequently, my colleagues and I are willing to transfer the total amount to your account or subsequent disbursement, since we as civil servants are prohibited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (Civil Service Laws) from opening and/ or operating foreign accounts in our names.
Needless to say, the trust reposed on you at this juncture is enormous. In return, we have agreed to offer you 20 percent of the transferred sum, while 10 percent shall be set aside for incidental expenses (internal and external) between the parties in the course of the transaction. You will be mandated to remit the balance 70 percent to other accounts in due course.
Kindly expedite action as we are behind schedule to enable us include downpayment in this financial quarter.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message via my direct number 234 (0) 9-234-2220 only.
Yours Sincerely, Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager tip@nasrda.gov.ng
There was a piece on TV a year or so ago (Fair Go maybe) where a guy was rung up by people purporting to be the IRD, claiming that they were going to arrest him for an unpaid $8000 tax bill (which he had no clue about) unless he paid them that day in iTunes cards by buying them and scratching off the numbers and reading them to them over the phone.
Guess what he did....
It's deeply disturbing and upsetting that there are people that stupid out there whose vote counts for just as much as mine.
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