Should I help on this scam?

[chiang mai]

I don't believe you Costas. I think you made this story up.

"ludes", the day after, they'll do that to you.

[Trembly]

I wouldnt even question writing to the website or trying to help in some way, i would just do it.

Even if logic dictates that chances of anything coming of it, doesnt matter.

What matters is showing you wife and her sister support in what has obviously been a distressing situation for your sister in law.

Obviously i think she was foolish to fall for this, but sadly she did.

When the situation and money is long forgotten..how YOU responded to their requests will not be.

Id say choose carefully how you wish your wife and sister in law to remember you in this..the cost or reward could be huge (in terms of long term memory and harboring resentment..or, the better scenario, placing you on a heroic pedastle).

Lara, if it was my sister in law, I would have kicked her arse.

That is a colleague of my wife, not even a friend, that I met her once or twice.

She is asking my wife to help her, and by default I get the request.

As I said before, she is a qualified nurse, and she was able to correspond in English on the website.

Now, because of her naivety, she wants the others to deal with her dirty laundry.

Don't give a damn about the heroic pedestal.......but I will still write for her a letter on her behalf, addressed to the Scottish police.

As about the Thai police and the dating website, she can do it herself........she is supposed to have a bachelor degree in nursing.

How do you know he is in Scotland and not in an internet cafe in Pattaya?

You need ID to receive money at Western Union, but that Western Union branch can be anywhere. Otherwise what would be the point in using it for the scammers?

https://wumt.westernunion.com/info/howToPickUpMT.asp?country=global

[starky]

reverse bargirl... maybe he have sick buffalo? Good on him. Thai's have been juicing falangs for years I am certainly not feeling any sympathy for a girl that got rorted, actually som nam na, and by the way I have a great timeshare apartment you can buy into near cosy beach only 1 million baht per year if you interested please PM me

[Basil B]

Firstly, the name and address of the scamer will almost certainly be false and his nationality to, so very little point in contacting the police in Scotland the UK.

I would advise reporting it to the police in Thailand, though I can not see there is much they can do or will do.

Again report it to the dating web site with the hope that at least they tighten up their security to ensure these scamers do not operate from their website, operator of such web sites should morally if not legally have a duty of care to there users, legally a lot depends where the operators of the website are located and where there server is, though if a lot of Thai's are being hit by conmen (or con-women) and the website is not doing anything to stop it the Thai's might just block it, probably not legal under international agreements but they could do it all the same.

If the police follow this up, and unless the scamer is in Thailand it will require a lot of international cooperation from the police and the web site operators who hopefully have a log of of the perpetrators Ip address and possibly bank or credit card details, but probably if the perpetrator is a professional at this they will be untraceable, an other thing it is almost certain the web site has warned users not to send money or make contact with other users directly.

[starky]

actually forget my last post. Care factor less than zero..... moving on or perhaps the mods could close this topic

[phuketjock]

So the Scam got scammed.

She wanted to do something very illegal and got scammed.....

Ask yourself would you help the drug dealer, because the wholesale drug dealer sold him wheat powder for heroin?

You may inform the UK embassy that she wanted to get a Visa by illegal means, so they can put her on some watch list.

h90, there is a good logic in what you are saying.

But don't forget that these people have dreams, for a better life.

I had my dreams when I was young and I believe you wanted a better life also.

So, can we really blame them?

Contact info for Scottish police.

http://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/

Hope this helps.

[Costas2008]

So the Scam got scammed.

She wanted to do something very illegal and got scammed.....

Ask yourself would you help the drug dealer, because the wholesale drug dealer sold him wheat powder for heroin?

You may inform the UK embassy that she wanted to get a Visa by illegal means, so they can put her on some watch list.

h90, there is a good logic in what you are saying.

But don't forget that these people have dreams, for a better life.

I had my dreams when I was young and I believe you wanted a better life also.

So, can we really blame them?

Contact info for Scottish police.

http://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/

Hope this helps.

Many Thanks,

Got the link already and a letter has been drafted to be sent tomorrow from the nurse that was scammed.

Don't expect much, but we will see.

[benalibina]

reverse bargirl... maybe he have sick buffalo? Good on him. Thai's have been juicing falangs for years I am certainly not feeling any sympathy for a girl that got rorted, actually som nam na, and by the way I have a great timeshare apartment you can buy into near cosy beach only 1 million baht per year if you interested please PM me

Juicing, as you name it, by anyone to anyone is wrong. Regardless of race, colour, nationality etc.....

[arunsakda]

Every website has a warning that you never send money to anyone you meet on the net. The scammer could be anywhere, it could be a woman posing as a lovelorn Scotsman

Once you send money western union it is GONE. Doubt anything can be done,

Edited June 30, 2014 by arunsakda

[Costas2008]

To keep you updated on the situation, I passed the Scottish link to her, and I wrote a letter for her to attach.

Also wrote a letter in English, for her to send to the dating website.

My wife gave her both, on Monday, and she is refusing to do anything.

Can't understand why she asked my wife's help in the first place.

Anyway, I would like to Thank everybody for your time to answer my thread.

Regards

Costas

[Tomtomtom69]

Sounds like a Nigerian scam to be honest, and these have been widely reported previously. Although all countries have them. It's unlikely the details tat you have are real, but still worth making a report.

Sadly, I think she has to accept the money and the scammer have long gone

I agree, unfortunately for her, I bet she doesn't the the guys details.....

These kind of scams are very easy for most people to unravel, if you haven't been able to do so at first contact, by the time you get to the "transfer" part, alarm bells should be ringing. First of all, the guy probably stole a picture of a handsome, looks too good to be true white American guy from somewhere on the net, created a fake profile on a dating website, made up some bogus English sounding name like "Thomas Richardson" and then for some reason when he asks you to send him money you have to send it to "Timchia Basil"? Hint...Timchia Basil is the scammer's real name and he comes from Cameroon or Nigeria etc. and resides there. Even before that, if you ever talk over the phone with him his accent should give him away as not being genuine - but of course he'll have a story about that too. If you haven't figured that one by then well...god help you. But not everyone is able to connect the dots. And knowing the guy's details aren't going to be of much help after you've been scammed. Even if an internet search or an IP search narrows him down to a specific location in say Nigeria, it's not like you're going to have much success getting your money back, right? And it doesn't matter if the victim is Thai, American, Australian, hell even another Nigerian. These guys know what they're doing and despite the many subtle and sometimes more noticeable mistakes they make, most naive people are still easily able to be conned, which is the sad part here.

[choochoo]

this nurse needs a little more edukation-MeThinks..................lol. It really hard to blelieve people send money to unknowns but i guess they do.

i thought only thai girls did the receiving...............lol.

[VillageIdiot]

this nurse needs a little more edukation-MeThinks..................lol. It really hard to blelieve people send money to unknowns but i guess they do.

i thought only thai girls did the receiving...............lol.

Yes, you're quite right... it is the Thai girls that usually do the receiving.

It is the farangs who "...needs a little more edukation-meThinks."

[The Deerhunter]

To tell you the truth, I don't believe there is any point to make a report in Thai police or the website.

I was thinking of writing a letter to the police in Scotland, explaining the situation and providing them with the name and address...............if I find the address of the police department, I should write to.

Would it be Scotland Yard or the Scotish have a different authority?

No Scotland Yard is in London.

You will need to contact Chief Inspector Gordon McFuzz of The Royal Mounted Jock Constabulary (RMJC)based in Glasgow

Thank you........I think I know the man.........Scottish counterpart of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau.

Yeah, but this one is fuelled by alcohol

Scotch????

[Showbags]

Just what do you suppose the website or even the police can do about this now ? You need to tell her to accept she has lost her money and to never send money ever again. Sorry but that is the harsh reality of this situation unfortunately.

I agree with you, but can you please convince my wife that this is the situation, because she thinks I am a lazy so and so and don't want to help!

Tell your wife to send me 15k baht and i'll sort it out for her.

[choochoo]

if the nurse want to meet a prince charming(fat smelly bald short farang) to sweep her off her feet and be taken to PARADISE may i humbly suggest she start hanging out in thailands tourist bars...................hahahahahaha!

[DerekMarshall]

Sounds like a Nigerian scam to be honest, and these have been widely reported previously. Although all countries have them. It's unlikely the details tat you have are real, but still worth making a report.

Sadly, I think she has to accept the money and the scammer have long gone

I agree, unfortunately for her, I bet she doesn't the the guys details.....

The name should be correct, otherwise how did he get the money from Western Union.

Thought you have to present a passport or driving license to get the money.

As about the address, shouldn't the letter been returned to her as address Unknown?

It's been 3 months now.

To collect the money, all that is needed is a Government issued ID. These can easily be faked

Only if she put a return address on the envelope, will the letter be returned to her if the address was fake

There is no Government ID in the UK other than driving licence and passport.

[DerekMarshall]

I wouldnt even question writing to the website or trying to help in some way, i would just do it.

Even if logic dictates that chances of anything coming of it, doesnt matter.

What matters is showing you wife and her sister support in what has obviously been a distressing situation for your sister in law.

Obviously i think she was foolish to fall for this, but sadly she did.

When the situation and money is long forgotten..how YOU responded to their requests will not be.

Id say choose carefully how you wish your wife and sister in law to remember you in this..the cost or reward could be huge (in terms of long term memory and harboring resentment..or, the better scenario, placing you on a heroic pedastle).

Lara, if it was my sister in law, I would have kicked her arse.

That is a colleague of my wife, not even a friend, that I met her once or twice.

She is asking my wife to help her, and by default I get the request.

As I said before, she is a qualified nurse, and she was able to correspond in English on the website.

Now, because of her naivety, she wants the others to deal with her dirty laundry.

Don't give a damn about the heroic pedestal.......but I will still write for her a letter on her behalf, addressed to the Scottish police.

As about the Thai police and the dating website, she can do it herself........she is supposed to have a bachelor degree in nursing.

For a country where saving face is so VIP that the teacher has to look good and pass all the students and help the students save face by erm not failing them!

[TheSpade]

It's not just Thai women it happens to there was a news feature on recently in the UK where women all over Europe had fell for similar scams. They meet a guy on a dating site, he says he's from the UK or USA, and they talk on the phone and email each other.

Eventually after some time he asks for money for whatever reason and tons of these women send him large sums of it only never to hear from him again.

Turns out he's actually Nigerian and just scamming them.

Some women had fallen for the same scam over and over again with different people. Some had sent money multiple times even after sending the first one and the guy not keeping his end of the bargain.

They talked to some of the women afterwards and they even said "I knew his accent wasn't American and his photos didn't look like he was in the USA" and other stuff that made it really obvious it was a scam yet they still fell for it anyway.

[MAJIC]

So it's not just the "Farang males" that are easily taken in by these scams,so no don't bother to help,there is no refund or special circumstances available,there is nothing like a first hand Con,to sharpen up one's future judgment,so that you are not as naive as you were before the rip off! and the crux of a con is basically greed!

[MAJIC]

I was thinking of writing a letter to the police in Scotland, explaining the situation and providing them with the name and address...............if I find the address of the police department, I should write to.

Would it be Scotland Yard or the Scotish have a different authority?

Is this really so hard to look up?

http://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/contact-us-form

Yes, you should use the above form to report the guy to the police. Yes, you should contact the website and inform them of the scam. You dont need to spend a month doing either. 5 minutes should suffice for both.

Some people will probably be feeling quite satisfied to hear that a farang has defrauded a Thai woman as it usually seems to happen the other way around.

Thank you, that was great help.

Already drafted the letter, and the wife will give it to her tomorrow to copy and send with her details.

She has been advised already to contact the website.

Better still than contacting the website,you should run a "whoisverify" check so that you know who owns the website, and where it is registered,and where the website operates from,and if they are dealing in scams,it would be handy to know they operate from say......Chicago! or london! or whatever registered address!

To get started just type in "whoisverify" "enter" and follow the on screen websites!

Edited October 17, 2014 by MAJIC

[sipi]

"I have got his name and address".

Sorry Costas, but no you haven't.

She has lost her money. Western Union can trace where it was cashed, and I am guessing neither Scotland or Nigeria, but for sure "he" used a fake ID to collect it.

Yes, report it to the Police. There is a (small) chance it was cashed in Thailand.

Most importantly, she must cancel her passport immediately. I'd be more worried about the passport that the money.

And let the "website" know immediately. If they are a legitimate site they often employ their own investigators and will certainly help out.

Cancel her Passport immediately, and tell the cops!!

[MobileContent]

Sounds like a Nigerian scam to be honest, and these have been widely reported previously. Although all countries have them. It's unlikely the details tat you have are real, but still worth making a report.

Sadly, I think she has to accept the money and the scammer have long gone

I agree, unfortunately for her, I bet she doesn't the the guys details.....

The name should be correct, otherwise how did he get the money from Western Union.

Thought you have to present a passport or driving license to get the money.

As about the address, shouldn't the letter been returned to her as address Unknown?

It's been 3 months now.

They use collectors. Some desperate people get 10% for collecting the money from Western Union but the real guys are often not traceable. This seems to be a Nigerian scam.

[MobileContent]

I wouldnt even question writing to the website or trying to help in some way, i would just do it.

Even if logic dictates that chances of anything coming of it, doesnt matter.

What matters is showing you wife and her sister support in what has obviously been a distressing situation for your sister in law.

Obviously i think she was foolish to fall for this, but sadly she did.

When the situation and money is long forgotten..how YOU responded to their requests will not be.

Id say choose carefully how you wish your wife and sister in law to remember you in this..the cost or reward could be huge (in terms of long term memory and harboring resentment..or, the better scenario, placing you on a heroic pedastle).

Lara, if it was my sister in law, I would have kicked her arse.

That is a colleague of my wife, not even a friend, that I met her once or twice.

She is asking my wife to help her, and by default I get the request.

As I said before, she is a qualified nurse, and she was able to correspond in English on the website.

Now, because of her naivety, she wants the others to deal with her dirty laundry.

Don't give a damn about the heroic pedestal.......but I will still write for her a letter on her behalf, addressed to the Scottish police.

As about the Thai police and the dating website, she can do it herself........she is supposed to have a bachelor degree in nursing.

How do you know he is in Scotland and not in an internet cafe in Pattaya?

You need ID to receive money at Western Union, but that Western Union branch can be anywhere. Otherwise what would be the point in using it for the scammers?

https://wumt.westernunion.com/info/howToPickUpMT.asp?country=global

If you have A Western Union Debit card you can actually enter the MTCN control number and credit your debit card with the amount that was send. No need to go to WU to collect the money, As far as I know the debit card can only be applied in Europe and North America. I use that card sometimes as the card give me better protections then a Thai debit card plus I hold the funds in Euros.

[laobali]

Whist i admit this is the behaviour,of an utter cad,maybe in the past he has been scammed the other way and wanted a measure of revenge ,i do not condone action's of con artist's,but i would suggest it has been done far more by Thai lady's to falang's than the other way around,if i were you Costas my involvement would be to let the website know,and leave it at that,there is no use crying over spilt milk,any the lady has learned a lesson,anyway who on Earth would want to live in Glasgow.

Possibly at least one Nigerian scammer by the sound of it!

[laobali]

It's not just Thai women it happens to there was a news feature on recently in the UK where women all over Europe had fell for similar scams. They meet a guy on a dating site, he says he's from the UK or USA, and they talk on the phone and email each other.

Eventually after some time he asks for money for whatever reason and tons of these women send him large sums of it only never to hear from him again.

Turns out he's actually Nigerian and just scamming them.

Although they are still called Nigerian 419 scams from their origin 30 years ago, the perpetrators now come from all over the world.

Some women had fallen for the same scam over and over again with different people. Some had sent money multiple times even after sending the first one and the guy not keeping his end of the bargain.

They talked to some of the women afterwards and they even said "I knew his accent wasn't American and his photos didn't look like he was in the USA" and other stuff that made it really obvious it was a scam yet they still fell for it anyway.

[laobali]

To keep you updated on the situation, I passed the Scottish link to her, and I wrote a letter for her to attach.

Also wrote a letter in English, for her to send to the dating website.

My wife gave her both, on Monday, and she is refusing to do anything.

Can't understand why she asked my wife's help in the first place.

Anyway, I would like to Thank everybody for your time to answer my thread.

Probably too much loss of face already.

Regards

Costas

[laobali]

Sorry, my comment got embedded in your post. Tablet issues.

[binjalin]

a friend of mine knows someone who they met in a bar and their advice is

"don't try and break the British law with fake visa's because that's what she thought she was getting for her 36,000"

[ResandePohm]

Just what do you suppose the website or even the police can do about this now ? You need to tell her to accept she has lost her money and to never send money ever again. Sorry but that is the harsh reality of this situation unfortunately.

I agree with you, but can you please convince my wife that this is the situation, because she thinks I am a lazy so and so and don't want to help!

Costas the police you need to inform are the Fraud Squad at New Scotland Yard in London and/or the local Glasgow constabulary. I know that the Fraud Squad looks into all these international scams. I had dealings with them when i was conned by a boiler room scam. I do not believe that the Thai Police can do anything. The Crook is in the Uk not Thailand

.