Scam Warning-Important
According to www.fraud.org this is one of the top worst scams on the Net.
Admittedly this column is
not about disabilities. However I think it is important and relevant since
it is about a problem that seems to prey on people with disABILITIES
Yours truly doesn't mean
to imply that disabled people are the only victims of scam artists. The
truth is that this population is especially targeted.
The reasons I believe are
several. First many disabled people are on fixed incomes so the appeal
of getting rich quick may have some appeal. Second scammers assume that
just because someone has a disability that they are an easy touch for them. Not assuming anything about
gullibility. Please take this as a warning only. If you are skeptical already,
great. More power to you
There are many scams on
the net. In essence, if it sound too good to be true, it almost always
is One warning sign is if you
have to pay money to get in, its a ripoff. Also if there's a time pressure
or any other type of pressure that should be a sign to warn you too.
There is one particular
scam that claims if you are willing to fly to Uganda and meet the wife
of the former leader of Togo, you will get millions of dollars. This is
an actual scam. For more information please go to home.rica.net/alphae/419.coal
Many people have lost their live savings with this scam and even gotten
in trouble with the law. They are stranded in Togo with no help from the
Togolese govt. or their native country
Believe it or not, to coin a phrase, many people, too numerous to count have actually fallen for this foolish scheme. The illicit plan has been around for close to twenty years !!!
I know about this one because
I received several of their emails. I can honestly say I did not fly to
Togo and I was not a victim. I don't want you to be one either.
Note: I am not condemning
the Togolese people, Nigerians and all other African People, African Americans
or People of Color anywhere in the world.
Here is an actual email that I believe is part of this terrible scam. I must assure you I did not answer this email.
Telephone: 228084460
Dear Sir,
I am Akunor Rawlings, a cousin of the former president of the Federal
Republic of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, and I also held an appointment during his
10yrs in office as the General Manager in charge of Ministry of Solid
Mineral such as Gold, Diamond, Bauxites etc.
During this 10yrs tenure, I managed to secure a large quantity of Gold and
Diamond secretly before he handed over power to his successor Mr. John
Kuffour. When he took over power, information got to me that the new
president is aware of this large deposit of Gold and Diamond that is in my
possession, and because of this, I have to look for a way to dispose it.
To this end, I contacted a friend of mine in a neighboring Country Federal
Republic of Togo, who helped me to sell the Gold and Diamond for a total of
$18.5Million (Eighteen Million, Five Hundred United States Dollars), which
is now deposited in a security company in Lome, Togo.
Because of my relationship as the cousin of the former president of the
Federal Republic of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, my Togolese friend suggested that
we should move this entire fund Overseas to avoid being traced by the
present Ghanaian president.
However, I am now asking you to be my partner in this transaction.
Therefore, if you are interested, kindly contact me through my e-mail
address or call me on my telephone number in Togo: 228084460 so that we can
discuss on the modalities for a smooth transfer of the entire fund into your
nominated bank account Overseas.
For your participation, I will offer you 15% of the entire fund but which is
subject to negotiation.
Meanwhile, I am looking forward to hearing from you so as to plan on the
next line of action to execute this mutual beneficial transaction.
Yours sincerely,
Akunor Rawlings.
About the Author
Disabled disability activist for over twelve years for local greater Philadelphia, disability groups.