20-04-2005 02:53									#1
	I need advice, my friend fell for Nigerian internet scammers for around 10,000 dollar Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Ok a few years ago I received my first Nigerian email scam invitation, and I laughed for weeks because of it. Later on I found out that this type of scam goes on all the time. Well a few weeks ago my friend tells me about this girl he met on a dating website, and they started talking. It turns out she lives in Africa, and wanted to come here. I warned him that it was a scam, but obviously not sternly enough. So like a week later supposedly her boss sends my friend money orders for back wages he owed her that she couldn't get in Africa. He went to the bank cashed 10,000 dollars worth of these money orders and then sent them by Western Union to her. A few days later he gets more and he goes to the post office to cash them but they tell him that they are counterfeit and at first they act like they are going to charge him with a crime. The next day they back off and say that basically they knew he wasn't trying to purposely do anything wrong, and they tell him to break contact with her. They then go about their business.

However, the money orders my friend cashed came back to his bank and now he is 10,000 dollars in the hole. This is a pretty devistating blow to him, and he doesn't know what to do. So I was wondering if any of you could give me any advice that could help him out. He is only a waiter trying to finish up college, so he lives on a very modest income. He's really kicking himself because he was so naive, but basically the bank said that he was liable and not the person posing as the boss who created the counterfeit money orders then sent them to my friend, because nobody knows where to find him.

So what are some of my friends options? He doesn't really have the money to pay them off, he doesn't want to declare bankruptcy, so can he do anything about this? Thanks for your help!

	20-04-2005 02:56									#2
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This really, really sucks.

	20-04-2005 02:56									#3
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contact the FBI

they have a group looking into crimes of this sort..

JM

	20-04-2005 02:57									#4
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Jesus... people can be so naive.

He should go to the police first (though I doubt they can do much). Get all the info about the 'girl' he can first.

	20-04-2005 02:57									#5
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Hmmm, problematic...

	20-04-2005 03:00									#6
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shouldn't 10k US from a nigerian sort of tipped him off?

like I could expect even 1k... but 10k?

JM

	20-04-2005 03:01									#7
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i like it how they are all sitting on $45 million in cash, but they need you to send them $2,000 to help move it. i mean comon, youve got $45 mil, use some of that.

	20-04-2005 03:01									#8
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Well he's been working with a postal inspector (the one who questioned him at first and implied that they were going to charge him with uttering counterfeit money orders) but basically the government's stance so far seems to be "That sucks, but there is nothing we can do to catch these people, so you're SOL."

	20-04-2005 03:03									#9
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What a muppet, what was he thinking? Even a five year old on LSD could see though that scam

	20-04-2005 03:10									#10
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Smother him with a pillow, a la Big Chief in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. It's really the only proper thing to do, both for him and for society at large.

	20-04-2005 03:11									#11
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WTF? If they accept the money orders aren't they responsible?

	20-04-2005 03:16									#12
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My friend apparently talked to this person often for what little time he knew her. He liked and trusted her, he's a really nice person who would do just about anything for a friend, so when she asked him if he could accept the money orders her boss was sending to him and then western union them to her he didn't think it was a big deal. He told me it wasn't like she sent him a check or got his bank account information, so he thought it was legit. Yeah he made a mistake and was a very naive, but **** happens I guess. He knows this, I know this, and I'm sure all of you know this. I just don't want to get 600 responces telling me something I already know. I still have no clue what he was thinking though, because unlike most of those scams he wasn't even getting anything...

	20-04-2005 03:19									#13
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Yes they were counterfeit postal money orders, the post office spotted them in like a second, the bank though took his information accept them, then returned them like a bounced check...

	20-04-2005 03:25									#14
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Shows what happens when you think with you d1ck...

	20-04-2005 03:25									#15
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http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/f...es.htm#nigerian

	20-04-2005 03:25									#16
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quote: Originally posted by KrazyHorse WTF? If they accept the money orders aren't they responsible?

It doesn't work like that, by presenting the orders he's effectively vouching for them/ bought them. It's up to him, not the bank, to recover the money if those orders are fake.

Sorry theres no easy way out Korn. He's screwed.

	20-04-2005 03:27									#17
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Couldn´t some insurance cover this? Like stupid insurance?

	20-04-2005 03:29									#18
	Suffering from ads?

The only way out of this that I can think of is to move to Nigeria and start scamming.

	20-04-2005 03:32									#19
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argh. that sucks

for that kind of money I could have introduced him to some girls in vegas that could have given him something for that money.

	20-04-2005 03:33									#20
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Or change your name and flee across the border.

	20-04-2005 03:33									#21
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Oh, and your friend should probably send a nice cake or a bouquet of flowers to the post office employees who spotted the counterfeiting, thereby considerably limiting his overall liability.

	20-04-2005 04:56									#22
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Your friend is dumb as a rock.

	20-04-2005 05:01									#23
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin Your friend is dumb as a rock.

	20-04-2005 05:11									#24
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I feel terribly sorry for your friend, but hate him too, for now, this idiotic scam paid off once again, which just means that they'll continue doing it.


(Well, my dad actually thought that someone wants his assistance in moving a couple of millions out of Sierra Leona ( I think), so take heart. )

	20-04-2005 05:13									#25
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Yea, it all really sucks, I guess I'm going to tell him to try and contact the FBI and see if they are any more helpful than the postal inspectors.

	20-04-2005 05:22									#26
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When you say friend, you mean yourself don't you?

	20-04-2005 05:27									#27
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quote: Smother him with a pillow, a la Big Chief in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. It's really the only proper thing to do, both for him and for society at large.

	20-04-2005 05:36									#28
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a legitimate Nigerian business would have a hard time doing business. Who would have any dealings with them? As soon as I hear Nigeria I am thinking "scam".

It sucks for your friend but there is no practical remedy that I am aware of.

Too bad he didn't cash the orders and hang on to the money. That might be an idea for someone ofefred the scam. cash the order and keep the money. If they bounce, you have the funds to give back. If they don't bounce you are in cash.

I'll leave it to you and your attorney to deal with the DA LOL

	20-04-2005 05:38									#29
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I'm wondering if he is liable for the counterfeits.

How's a lay person supposed to spot counterfeits if the people who work at the bank can't?

It might be worth a trip to a lawyers, or a law library, or a legal aid society, or something in order to look into it. Maybe even the detectives on the case might know a little something about this...although they're trained in criminal law, and who gets stuck paying for these bad boys is a civil matter.

	20-04-2005 06:34									#30
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin Your friend is dumb as a rock.

Hence my suggestion.

And I prefer "dumb as a sack of hammers." "Dumber than a boxful of hair" is also a good one.