Remember that promise we were given? If we listed our phone numbers with the Federal Trade Commission, we’d forever be freed from nuisance phone calls? Yeah, I bought that bridge, too.
Nowadays, I get 5, 10 phone calls a day to which I answer- without saying a word. And, at least 9 of them automatically hang up after 5 seconds. I don’t talk, because that’s what the automatic haranguing machine is seeking, so they can pitch whatever it is they’re selling.
But, I also get copious eMails. Telling me how easy it is to make money, just by agreeing to be this firm’s American representative. Yeah- I know what that really is.
The problem is that these folks really do pay out real money. But, most of the idiots (ok, uncurious folks) who sign up have no idea they are participating in a crime syndicate.
These firms are looking for money mules- folks willing to launder money on behalf of some very sophisticated criminals. These folks are seeking out a network of people who are willing to subjugate their bank accounts in the international scheme of laundering criminal gains. Why are they seeking Americans? Because as foreign nationals, they can’t use American Banks- which can be the imprimatur of their venture.
And, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that about ½ of the folks participating in these schemes know what they are doing is patently illegal. They don’t care. (Do you remember the old evening soap, “Dallas”. Where the nasty protagonist ushered in the age of Donald Trump and Lindsay Graham with him straight-forward statement… “Once you give up integrity, everything else is a piece of cake.”)
By the way, the fact that you can (try to) claim you didn’t know you were participating in a criminal gang has no effect on the judicial sentence. Acting as a money launderer is a crime- and you can be jailed for participating in the venture.
Some of the criminals are more creative. They work off dating sites. And, after you’ve been hooked into the gorgeous blonde or handsome hunk you’ve been chatting with for a while, they tell you they ran into a little problem and can you ‘lend them some money’.
Others use fictitious firms who recruit “financial officers”, lending the aura of a legitimate enterprise to the money laundering concept. And, then, you (not me, thank you) get sucked into the criminal system. Laundering their money so that the crime bosses can be kept scot-free.
You’ve been warned.
Lots of scams out there. This one is worth knowing about. I don’t answer my phone unless I recognize the number. However, I’ve missed important contacts by not answering. But it is what it is. Living alone makes me more vulnerable, too.
Try doing what I do- say nothing as you answer the phone. The caller- if truly human- wonders what is going on, thinking they can’t hear you, and will talk. If it’s a machine, it is programmed to hang up.
Oh, I never heard of that – recruiting others, I mean. I had heard about the dating scam, by way of Madam Secretary. 🙂
Forewarned is forearmed, Jeanine!
OMG I get more spam calls than I do regular ones! I too just listen and I can tell it’s a recorded message even before I hear anything because of a tiny bleep. It bugs me because most are my local area code and first 3 numbers of my phone number! My emails are loaded daily and even though I keep sending to spam they keep returning. Great info!
I just want folks not to help advance the cause of criminals, Martha.
The Blogs by you are Very Informative and Interesting to read ofcourse there is a lot of needy Information Thanks For Posting
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Thank you very much!