In today's world, scammers come up with different ways of scamming their unsuspecting targets and they are everywhere, on the phone, at your door and online. Here's one of their way in form of question and answer.

QUESTION:

Someone sent me an email that she is near death and she wants to make a big charity. She asked me to send my details like full name, address, passport scan, national identity card scan, etc. Is this a scammer?

ANSWER:

 So… do you actually run a charity? I bet you don’t. So, despite there being thousands and thousands of charities that could benefit from a large donation, and would know how to handle it, she contacted you.

Does that not strike you as odd?

It’s a variation of Advanced Fee Fraud scam. They will need you to make a payment to them to get the money (the exact reason varies). Then another payment. Then another.

This will carry on until you realise there’s no money coming, and you have sent them thousands. The passport and other details will be used to impersonate you to scam other people, to take out loans in your name or use for other identity theft.

Other versions use a Nigerian Prince trying to get funds out the country, a pastor, preacher or orphan looking for help with investments, a bank manager trying to claim money from an abandoned account, a lawyer looking for inheritors for a relative you do not have, a soldier bringing back stolen gold or gems.

Thanks to Jonathan Elder, the spotter of internet scams, cons and lies for the answer.

Be Scam Alert.

FEYDA MEDIA & PUBLICITY COMMITTEE