The art of scamming
On one occasion a while back my wife’s father – being the shrewd business man he was – thought he made a hell of a deal with a horse salesman travelling around the country. Little did he know, he wasn’t the first person to buy that horse cheap. The deal was too good to be true. Today’s scams are a little more sophisticated. It would appear that the perpetrators of these scams are using the good names of several First Nation Chiefs. It would appear the perpetrators gain your confidence with their apparent generosity. Usually you would get a call in regards to an item you have listed for sale, they tell you they were purchasing an item identical to yours, but that sale fell through because they were late in making the payment and they have to make a deal or they would lose a government grant. They then tell you they have a certified cheque which they can go to the bank and re-certify in your name and even though your item is of lesser value they will pay more so they don’t lose the grant and they have a declaration which has to be executed at your location. Well the next day their vehicle has broken down and they are having a tough time making it to your place, primarily because of the lack of funds. But if you could wire over some cash they will gladly add it onto the cheque. That’s it you’re done, if you wired the cash the gig is up and you are out of pocket. What is also alarming about this scam is the fact that if you did wire the cash via Western Union to the location you were asked to and if you actually tracked the transaction you would find that the money may have been picked up on the other side of the country. Scary, isn’t it? The sheer audacity of these unscrupulous criminals is simply astounding. This is a long way from selling the same horse two or three times in the same day. It just goes to show we may live out of the way at Ministikwan Lake, but with the instant communications of the internet, pagers and cell phones we may still fall prey to criminal activity. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it very well may be. I believe Donna’s father chalked that one up to experience. Be careful with too much experience you may end up broke. |
