Easy Ways of Identifying Scammer Scamming People Online And Offline

Scamming simply means to cheat or defraud people of their hard earned money either online or offline. Most fraudsters use a simple gimmick to get their victim's cash without any voodoo or spiritual science. Most Scam victims are greedy and impatient. This is one of the reasons fraudsters blame their victims of greediness. Anybody can fall into the scam triangle without seeing the end until it happens. 

Different methods of scamming abound, but there is always some roles to play either to be the victim or the scammer. It is valuable that you learn these steps and watch out to avoid stories that touch, or to swindle people of their money. Scamming people will require simple to advanced techniques after all. This post is for educational purpose only. 

General Methods Used in Scamming People 

Step 1: Appear as a Big Man/Boy/Woman/Girl and offer genuine friendship to your victim. The victim will be amazed at how the "big" scammer is offering genuine friendship to him/her. The victim will never suspect the scammer's evil intentions; sometimes we expect successful people to be hardworking individuals. This is the selling point of the Scammer.

Step 2: Offer to help the victim in the best way possible. Offering mouth-watering deals to your "New friend" (Victim) will blow him/her away. He/She may feel special to have met a "good friend" (Evil person) and will hit jackpot soon. The greediness of your victim will espouse him/her to fall quickly to your scamming technique. An offer that will catapult him/her to greater heights or lose it forever. [Who wants to lose an incredible offer? Definitely not your victim.] Just go with the flow of scamming.

Step 3: Act your Scamming script. As a scammer, you must have a plan detailing how to defraud your victim. Offering steps 1 & 2 will make your victim believe your story. Act your script and your victim will obediently follow you to his/her fall.

Step 4: Act like you are trying to fulfil your offer. This is important in order to keep the work in progress. Any digression from the main plan can backfire, except you have to re-convince the individual of your mistakes.

Step 5: Be persistent and Offer deadline to your victim. This will put your victim in panic mode and makes him/her act fast in order not to lose the offer.

Step 6: If your victim gets smart and try to bail out, offer more great deals to him/her. This time, listing more benefits he/she will enjoy in future.

Step 7: Disappear... Hahahaha

Scamming Story One -- Scammer's Encounter With A Smart Priest

This is a true life story shared by a Priest, but the names have been changed for no reasons at all. We will take a look at the steps the smart scammer tried to defraud the Priest. Let us call the scammer, Scumbad.

Step One and Two: Appear as a Big Man, Offer Friendship and Try to Help your victim. After Sunday mass, Scumbad boldly went up to the Parish priest to pray for him (Scumbad) for a successful trip to London. Scumbad claimed that he is a very successful business entrepreneur and will like to get acquainted with the Priest. Scumbad went on to rant on how he has successful businesses worldwide. He pledged a mouth-watering offer of $200,000 [Two hundred thousand dollars] to the Priest if he [Scumbad] becomes successful in his trip to claim a huge amount of money - Two million dollars ($2,000,000) - in London, and other contracts in America [Five hundred thousand dollars($500,000)]. Also, the Priest will receive a Free car of his choice. Whoa! What a tempting promises for a few minutes of prayers.

Step Three: Pretend/Act your scamming script. Scumbad maintained communication with the Priest. He lauded the Priest's prayers and confessed to him on how everything is moving successfully - the flights, the contracts, etc. - all came without any problems. Scumbad was excessively nice in praises, thanking the Priest for praying consistently for his business; acknowledging the Priest's powers.

Step Four: Act like you are trying to fulfil your offer. When a few weeks have passed, Scumbad asked the Priest to send pictures of any car he [the Priest] would like to drive. The Priest acted along and sent a picture of an SUV car. Scumbad went to a car dealer, snapped the exact type of the car and sent the pictures to the Priest. Scumbad in his text claimed to have purchased the car for the priest. Good scamming strategy.

Scumbad also claimed to have put a staggering $200,000 hidden beside the door of the driver's seat. This is to fulfil the promises he made to the Priest. He advised the Priest to claim the car and the money once the car arrives in Nigeria. Scumbad sent an unknown number to the Priest, whom he claimed is a car Agent in Nigeria. This car Agent will receive the car and clear the custom duties on its arrival.

Step Five: The unknown Agent called the Priest claiming to have received the car. This Agent billed the Priest N50,000 [Fifty thousand Naira, only] in order to settle Customs officials. The Agent sent his bank account's details and gave the Priest two days deadline or lose the car forever. The Agent persistently called the Priest to pay up before the stipulated deadline, or else he loses the car forever. Panic mode program!

Step Six: This smart Priest forwarded an unknown policeman's number to the Agent. The Priest claimed that the policeman who is unknown to the Agent and the Scumbad is a Major General in the Nigerian Army. This Major General will come to claim the car the in few hours.

Step Seven: Scumbad and the Agent on hearing that an Army is coming for the car switched off their phones for the rest of the month. They disappeared!

Scamming Story Two -- Lies From Shevvy

As an Agent who scouts for properties for rent or sells, I normally go around new buildings trying to get contacts of Landlords or lawyers. I will negotiate with them and find people who will come and occupy these places. I also use some helpful applications that maximize my output in my businesses. Barely a few weeks after I laughed at Scumbad, I met a shallow scammer. Let us call this scammer Shevvy. He is young and I think he tried to apply the basic scamming rules on me. Yes, it didn't work out and he fled too.

Ist Step: He acted like a big boy by boasting on how he wants to rent the biggest space(Shop) for a boutique business. He told me he wants the shop before the year (November 2018) runs out. And he will immediately furnish the shop with his wares. In my mind, I concluded that he has nothing less than two million Naira as he tried to convince me. I told him of my meagre income for a small start-up business, and he laughed at me. Whoa!

2nd Step: Offer friendship, discourage the victim and offer great help. Shevvy bluntly told me that my meagre money cannot start any tangible business anywhere in Nigeria, but he is willing to partner with me. Shevvy boasted of how he sold more than three thousand gallons within three months. And he made three hundred Naira profit per gallon, damn! That's a whopping Nine hundred thousand Naira profit in three months. He also claimed to have great stocks of products in his shop (somewhere very unpopular). He claims to be making it big and very good in the business sense.

3rd Step: Act the scamming script. The first mistake he made was taking me to his house. I was a bit disappointed with his condition of living. Maybe he was trying to make it "genuine" by showing me where he lives. He entertained me with drinks and food, I didn't eat. I played along. He became "my friend" at that moment. He constantly told me of great business plans and shared stories of how successful businessmen made it in their lives. They were interesting.

4th Step: Praise your victim, lift his/her spirit high psychologically. He told me to lend him my whole money for an awesome business idea that will get me 100% ROI within two months. I was shocked! Even Buffet advised never to put all your eggs in testing waters. He assured me that I don't have anything to worry about that he will take the money and work hard with it, while I relax and receive the profits from the hustle. This simply means that I will be the Boss while he [Shevvy] will work with the money. What a great scamming offer. I blatantly refused this offer, and he invited me for a drink, which I paid.

He said "I don't have any dime on me now, all my money have been used to pay upfront for all my goods. I made huge sales and had to order for goods to stock my shop." Also, he said, "I got information that the Landlord of the building has given out all the shops to his relatives and you should not bother about the building again." What a fool! Which sane businessman gives his/her building to relatives? I wondered. The worst thing that pained me most was that I had to pay for his transportation back to his house. I played along, I assured him that I will give him feedback the next day.

5th Step: He called me after two days and gave me two days ultimatum to bring the money or lose the wonderful business forever. He is a big Goat! I was enraged, but I played along. He assured me that if I don't act, I will lose a business that will double my investment in two months. MMM!!!

6th Step: He called me before the 'ultimatum day' ran out and said, "If we start this, I will make you the sole Engineer of my brother's house. You'll have more contracts from me." What did I hear? This scammer is good and very stupid! Shevvy told me his brother is an Abuja big boy who pays over 500,000 Naira rent in his business outlet where he does website design. And yet, he is interested in my money... Hahaha.

7th Step: He disappeared... I saw Shevvy eating Fufu in an open store on a faithful day, then I wondered where my money could have gone if not for my small knowledge of the scamming network. One day I will say hi to Shevvy and update his reaction, maybe he'll pretend, maybe not.

Watch out for Scammers!

Online Scammers

They also follow the same basic rules of scamming. Online scamming can be from dating sites (where the scammer will claim to offer big money or sex), sales letters, and Email messages. Take a look at these two images below. They are screenshots from my Email inbox. I have received countless of these types of email messages disguised under "help" matters.

Step One: The messenger claims to have a highly esteemed position in the corporate office. He/She portrays himself as very wealthy and highly connected. Amazing!

Step Two: He wants to help me claim a huge sum of money. And my wealth will be in tune of million dollars. What a good wonderful fellow!

Step Three: The messenger wants me to continue in his scamming script. I declined. You can follow up this messenger to see how it goes.

Summary

What we have learnt today can be used by anybody to defraud and cause harm at certain times. We should be careful about how we throw our trusts around. People always look out for free money and the easiest means of getting things done in a freeway is to manipulate people's feelings. Beware of Scammers!