The ‘devil is in the details’
Every couple of months someone in my household will receive a very detailed, and convincingly elaborate, letter about one way or another the writer can “enrich” the life of the intended recipient. Sometimes it is a clairvoyant do-gooder seeking payment in exchange for invaluable insight to your life, other times a seemingly pious nun with a direct line to God promising answers to all your prayers in exchange for a monetary contribution to support their mission and help cover the overhead costs at the convent, of course.
Every time, though, the correspondence is long and detailed, and even quite convincing at times.
Snail mail isn’t the only means in which these story-telling scammers will try to catch you on the hook for some cash. Take for instance this email that’s made the rounds over the years that starts “Dearest one, God has sent me to you and I need your assistance. I have $3 million left to me by my father, who was poisoned, and I need to get it out of my country. I am so very sad to lose my father, but he wanted to make sure I use this money and I am willing to give you 15% if you help me.”
Now while this story may seem farfetched to some, this is a tried-and-true practice of creative con artists who have quite literally banked on these fabricated feelings of connection through their story-telling. After a year filled with quarantining and social distancing when many might be feeling a little lonely, it would be understandable that a random letter or email, seemingly out of the blue, could be taken as a sign from above. But keep in mind, these letters often are form letters that are sent to anyone and everyone these scammers can reach, be it by phone, email, or even social media.
Take for example this lucrative, and random job offer letter that was received from a stranger by email and reads “Hello Friend, Good day to you, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, My name is Mrs. Gabrielle Jersey. I am an artist by profession, I’m a British woman and I based in London, United Kingdom, with my husband and three kids. Actually I’m looking for a representative in United States of America. I have a job offer that will earn you $1,500 every week, this job offer will not stop you from your daily job, and the job offer is thus:...” I’ll stop here, but it goes on to describe in great detail this artist’s (con artist, no doubt) customer base and reasoning why she cannot cash the foreign cashier’s checks she receives and titles the job as “American Representative.”
Should you accept such an amazing job offer like this, you can expect then to receive a cashier’s check that you are asked to cash and, after taking your cut, wire the rest to an overseas bank account. You can then expect to find out, probably after all transactions are complete, that the cashier’s check you just cashed was fake and now you are responsible for repaying the entirety of the funds back to your bank.
As you can see just in the first few sentences of Jersey’s letter, she did not skimp on the details, and just like the nuns and the grieving daughter I mentioned earlier, she used religion as a show of legitimacy and credit to her character. While this may seem unbelievable to some, it is a method that has been proven to work time and time again, which might explain the longevity of this particular tactic.
Stay suspicious of strangers, especially ones with long, elaborate stories asking for money in any form, and always call and check with us at the BBB Education Foundation at 713-341-6141 before doing business with someone or if you have questions about whether something might be a scam.