I just got this

[zenman]

on IM and email:

Good Day,
How are you doing? Hope life is treating you well.
I do not mean to bother you as I know that you do
not actually know me but please just take a while to
listen to who I am.
I am a male of 18 yrs of Age from Africa and I have
been through a lot in life but because of things that
have happened to me I will not because of that steal
or cheat anyone of his/her money.Cause thats what
young people are doing here in Africa.I know it is
unGodly and i wont do it and thats why i am mailing
you and being honest.
Ever since my dad lost his Job in 2000,things have
been hard because my mum cannot take care of us with
the little money she earns from work...In this country
it is not easy to get a job at my age without a
university graduate certificate else I would be
working now...
I have contacted you just to see if you could help
me out just so I can make up the
money i need to pay for my school fees for college
....anything u could help me ith to help me further my
education...whatever you can help
with will go a long way in ensuring that I achieve
what I want in my academics and also when I am through
I promise I wont forget you..
I Just got out of High school and i need some
financial assiastance for me to be able to go to
college.I dont mean to ask u to send me
money...Anything or anyway u can assist me will
definetly go a long way.
God Bless you
Sincerely
Dele Badejo.

Note:This is not a spam mail...I got your email address from the teacherscorner...Thanks..I hope to read from You soon.

[Chef Dave]

Dele - If you are truly in need, I am sure there are organizations in your local area that you can turn to. If you are need of money to pursue a college degree, you could apply for scholarships.

As far as your request for money goes ... please ...:rolleyes:

In this country
it is not easy to get a job at my age without a
university graduate certificate else I would be
working now...

What do you mean that it's not easy to get a job? You could dig ditches or work in the food service industry as a host, cashier, server, busboy, or dishwasher. You could work in a retail store or stock groceries in a supermarket. You could join the army.

There are many things you could do ... but joining a teachers' website and soliciting money with your first post is really pushing the limits of credibility.

My father was the child of an uneducated immigrant to the United States. He spent most of his childhood doing all of the family chores so that my grandmother would be free to work.

When he graduated from high school, he joined the U.S. Army. He subsequently put himself through college and later attended medical school and became a doctor.

He did not panhandle and tell people how difficult his life was and how hard it is to find a job.

Everyone wants a better life ... but it is not enough to simply want it. You have to work for it.

I am sorry to say that my parents got divorced when I was an undergraduate in college. During the 2nd semester of my freshman year, I lost my college funding because all of my parents' assets were tied up in divorce court.

I did not panhandle.

I sucked it up and got a full time job as a stock boy. I also got a part time job working in the university library system.

No - you won't be able to take a full class load if you're working 1 1/2 jobs ... but if you're frugal with your budget and you work hard and apply yourself, you can put yourself through college.

I put myself through college AND graduate school AND culinary arts school. Assuming that you are not a miserable lying con artist who's simply out to cheat people out of their hard earned money by preying on their gullibility and holiday sympathies, there is no reason why you can't do the same thing.

[Chef Dave]

On second thought, maybe Dele has the right idea ... let's see ...

http://www.voetsek.com/lighter_side/images/beggar.jpg

P.S. Just in case you're wondering, no - that is not me in the picture. I will admit ... he does look a bit like me ... except he's the wrong ethnicity, his skin is too fair, he's too young, and he doesn't have a growing paunch or a receding hairline ... but aside from that ... he's my spitting image. (GRIN)

[Chef Dave]

Since we're on the subject of begging ...

http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/Publications/lacmf/vol17no2/graphics/downnout.gif

http://thegreatgeekmanual.com/images/graphical-gags/april/darth-vader-beggar.jpg

[Chef Dave]

But wait, there's more ...

http://www.laughparty.com/funny-pictures/Honest-Beggar-850.jpg

http://media.funny.co.uk/files/2774.jpg

[mopar]

I think that Zenman might be trying to warn us. It seems that Dele (student from Africa) emailed him and sent this message via IM. From the note at the bottom, I think that Dele is saying that he received Zenman's email from teacherscorner.net. Not completely sure, but I don't think Zenman is trying to solicit money from us.

[Chef Dave]

I think that Zenman might be trying to warn us. It seems that Dele (student from Africa) emailed him and sent this message via IM. From the note at the bottom, I think that Dele is saying that he received Zenman's email from teacherscorner.net. Not completely sure, but I don't think Zenman is trying to solicit money from us.

Thank you for the clarification. The introduction was incredibly weak. I thought Dele's user name was Zenman.

[Chef Dave]

Since Zenman - who is not a lying con-artist, shared an e-mail with us from someone who IS a lying con-artist, I've dug into my e-mail files to share another type of con.

Here is the e-mail I received: This e-mail comes in many variations usually differentiated only by the name, current location of the supposed sender, and supposed source of money. Collectively, this type of fraud is known as the "Nigerian Scam." There are currently well over 500 different variations.

How does the scam work?

The bait is the fictional millions of dollars described in the e-mail. Once you reply to the e-mail, the con man will ask you to front the "expenses" required to transfer those millions to you. The thought of spending a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars seems trivial compared to the millions you'll be making ... and guess what? After you've been milked for every penny you're willing to spend, you'll never see a dime of the transferred money.

Bottom line? Don't expect something for nothing.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Mr.Pius Mbata
Attn:Assistance From You.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr.Pius Mbata an aide in the Netherlands to former President Charles Taylor of Liberia who is presently in exile in Nigeria.But he will want to have a trusted foreign business partner that he can invest substantial amount of money in his or her country.He has given me the mandate to scout for that reliable partner,like you.

I am contacting you due to the present situation in Liberia (Civil War),and also the aspect of investment in your country.My boss,President Charles Taylor who has mandated me to urgently look for a foreign partner with good business experience to help us immediately move and receive an
exact amount of US$7.5 million dollars out of the Netherlands into any account of yours.The account required for this project can either be personal, company or an offshore account that you have total control over.

Your area of specialization will not be a hindrance to the successful execution of this transaction.

This fund was brought into the Netherlands for investment purpose through diplomatic means and has since been deposited in a private security and finance company and was tagged an official consignment belonging to a foreign affiliate and placed in a crate and tagged antique, thereby making the consignment safe and the actual content undisclosed to the security company.

All I want you to do is to receive the said amount in your name and invest it on behalf of my boss family who shall be a partner (under anonymity) in whatever business venture you intend investing the money on.

All documentation regarding this transaction are all in my possession and a power of attorney to transact this business has been fully given
to me by my boss.

In the light of the above,I am soliciting your assistance and
partnership to move this fund out of the Netherlands as you and I stand to benefit immensely from this transaction.After due consultation and approval from my boss, we have both agreed that 20% of the fund will be given to you for your assistance,while the remaining 75% will be for
investment purpose in your country or any country of your choice.While the remaining 5% will be set aside for any expenditures we may incure during this transaction.

Please contact me asap if you are able to carry out this transaction or call me to my direct line(+31 648 443 277).And please note that your reply should include your confidential phone number,through which further correspondence would be made.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr.Pius Mbata

[Chef Dave]

P.S. I love the public service announcements that have started to air in Arizona. I don't know if they're being played in other parts of the country.

On TV, I've seen a public service announcement, where a foreigner in a crumpled business suit introduces himself to someone at a diner.

He claims to be a wealthy foreign dignitary who is trying to move money into this country. He needs the diner's help and will give the diner full access to this money in exchange for a mere pittance in return.

The diner tells the supposed dignitary to bug off and the narrator then says that this is why e-mail has become such a popular delivery mechanism for such frauds.

[Chef Dave]

Another popular e-mail scam is the "lottery scam."

The mark (victim) receives an unsolicited e-mail. Guess what? You've won a major prize in an international lottery. If you ask, you will be told that your e-mail address was collected online and attached to random number that was subsequently drawn. You my dear friend are a winner-winner-winner!

To claim your prize, you have to contact the "agent" in charge of your file. If you respond in any way to the email, the scammers will send further messages or even contact you by phone to draw you even deeper into the scam.

You will be asked to provide banking details, personal information, and copies of your passport and/or driver's license. You are asked to do this simply to "verify" that you are in fact the person you say you are. Should you give up this information, you will have given these people a bonus. They will have all the information they need to commit identity theft.

In time, these people will request an advance fee to cover the administration and delivery costs. Once you pony up the money, they'll milk you for additional fees. By the time you realize you've been scammed, you'll be out of a great deal of money. You will also have given them all the information they need to apply for credit cards and/or loans in your name. They'll run the cards up and the next thing you'll know - you'll be getting angry calls from creditors you've never heard of.

[Chef Dave]

By the way ... if any of you are wondering why I've made so many replies to the original post in this thread, it's because I have actually been the victim of a con.

I owned and operated an 8 bedroom Victorian B&B for four years and was targeted by several con artists who were running a "reservation scam." If anyone is interested, I'll tell you how that scam works.

I didn't fall for the e-mail reservation scams.

I fell for the one that was made in person.

A person alleging to be a salesman for a publishing company walked through my door looking for a room. He needed my best room for a week.

Insofar as it was my off season, I was happy to accommodate him. The only problem was that he didn't want to pay for the room himself. He wanted his boss to pay for the room. He called up his boss who gave me her name, address, phone number, and credit card number. I also recorded the salesman's residential address in the guest register.

I checked the guest in, ran the credit card through my credit card processing company, had the payment (less processing fees) deposited to my bank account, and thought that was that.

When the guest checked out, he told me that he was short of cash. He asked me to bill the card for another night.

"Do you need to stay for another night?" I asked.

He smirked. No. He did not need to stay another night. He reiterated that he needed cash and if I would give him the cash for this room for one night's charge, he'd give me $10 under the table.

I refused to do this because I had no authorization from the credit card holder. I was also most definitely NOT an ATM.

I was so annoyed with the guest that I sent a letter to his boss.

It turns out that his supposed boss had never heard of him. What's more, she hadn't realized that her credit card information had been compromised.

I was forced to pay back the money I had received for guest lodgings as the lodgings had been appropriated with a stolen credit card.

As a result of this experience, I have done my best to educate myself about con artists and their tactics and scams.

[mopar]

There are a lot of different methods of being conned out there. I am just glad that people are willing to share so that we know what to look for and stay away from.

[Boxcar]

I think there are two good rules of thumb to go by:

If it sounds to good to be true, it is. (Someone actually already said this, but I'll restate it.)

Give to charities you know, not individuals you don't.

[Addict]

Yes, there are a lot of scams out there. Never ever give money to someone who contacts you via email - no matter how much they claim you can make.

In addition, The Teacher's Corner will never ask for money or credit cards for any reason - ever. If anyone says they got your email from us, they are lying - unless of course you put your email in a post for the public to see (we do not recommend doing this).

[Fransisca]

Chef Dave...the pictures that you sent made me smile.

I'm saving them to be used in my classes (one day). Is it okay?

[Chef Dave]

Chef Dave...the pictures that you sent made me smile.

I'm saving them to be used in my classes (one day). Is it okay?

I'm sorry. What pictures?

[Boxcar]

I think Fransisca means the ones at the start of this thread.

[Chef Dave]

I think Fransisca means the ones at the start of this thread.

Oh. Thank you for clarifying that.

Fransisca: I did not take any of the pictures in question. I found them on the internet. To the best of my knowledge, they are not copyrighted.

Regards,

David

[teach1027]

Teachers are struggling to make ends meet as well. We all have our hardships. I agree with chef Dave apply for scholarships and you can alyws take out loans, I know I did.

[Chef Dave]

Teachers are struggling to make ends meet as well. We all have our hardships. I agree with chef Dave apply for scholarships and you can alyws take out loans, I know I did.

Dele Badejo (if that is his real name) is a conman who tried to prey on Zenman's sympathy by asking for money - supposedly so he could go to college.

The e-mail he sent Zenman is a variation of what has been called the Nigeria scam.