It Ain't Easy...

(With a tip of a hat to the late Long John Baldry as I borrow the title...)

 What I have learned and read about scamming over the last four years has been a real education.  Not that I wasn't cynical enough after decades of working in community services and being an aware world citizen, but it has made me acutely sensitive to the idea that this planet is a buffet set out for the larcenous to

Variations on a theme...

At times the happy little campers at Kamp Scammer latch on to a particular name and beat it into the ground by devising as many contorted variations as their febrile wee brains deem possible.  (And then likely sell it off to another group to see what a hash they can make of it...)

If looking in one only one country or town, you'd  likely miss the most of them.  For me, they are a bit of a happy

Giving credit where credit is NOT due...

While I was rummaging around some of the sites I read looking for some information tonight, I ran across this post (http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=18070) left earlier today.

I thought it was all very interesting and I don't think I'd heard of *that* variation before.  Now if I haven't heard of it, I'm sure a lot of other people haven't heard of it either so I think

I've got your number...

If you browse through the lists, especially the bios and Questionable Businesses, you've likely noticed that along with a lot of their phone numbers starting with 234 (the country phone code for Nigeria) that there are an awful lot of numbers starting with +4470.  I've been meaning for a while to write a bit about this number combo and tonight is as good a time as any.

This is one of the

Suspension of belief...

Anyone believing that they can find a place this glam for such picayune amount in Vancouver (or anywhere else for that matter) has a *much* better fantasy life than I ever will. Think ~ really think...  Do your homework on where you want to live and what the real costs are before you venture into scam-ridden 'free ad' sites.$400 / 1br - FULLY FURNISHED 1 BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT` (vancouver, BC

And the light >clicks< on...

This is a slightly different response to the ones I receive when I send out a request for information about an ad. Click on the link that they provide to send in the information and I'm willing to bet that you will give some happy camper far more of your personal information than you should share.  Identity theft is the issue here.

If you require your credit score, deal directly (in Canada

People are the same all over...

For example, all these kind, hardworking, not very available, busy busy landlords want one simple thing ~ namely '...just need someone (Students or Anybody working in a reputable organization to rent the bedroom) with an open heart, love and clean to occupy it and put all my worries off concerning the maintenance of the house.'

Copenhagen:  Andre John (‘I am into Real Estate and Civil

Blunder Down Under

As I mentioned off and on in the earlier part of the blog, the Australian ads are just crawling with scammers. In fact, at one point, it was safe to estimate that over 95% of the ads being posted in Craiglist listings there were bogus. It may well be time for me to sit down and have a serious going over of that part of the world again.Anyway, thanks to a new Faker Street Irregular, we have a

A Rozario is a Rozario is a Rozario.... Unless it's not.

(Profound apologies to the shade of Gertrude Stein!)I thought the case of the mysterious Rozario Lorenzo had been laid to rest with my previous encounters but, lo and behold, a few days later I received another missive ~March 29, 2010Dear Quirked Eyebrow,I'm very glad I found your blog. The only record online that the person I'm dealing with is a scam is the email address s/he used that is listed

They're pushing it to the max...

Thanks to Avanti for sending this yesterday."Another one to add to your list:Samantha Marshsamymarsh@gmail.comShe has posts for 2/2 condos all over Craigslist, including Seattle, Miami, Virginia, etc."My name is Samantha, I'm 52 years old, I'm a retired teacher and I'm the owner of this condo . I lived in this beautiful condo for over 5 years and loved every day of it. The condo is fully

At least one perspective....

While googling a scam phone number, I ran across this blog entry (http://maria-perspective.blogspot.com/2009/07/if-it-seems-too-good-to-be-true.html) from a writer who was living in Benin at the time, another West African country linked to the internet scam industry. Tuesday, July 14, 2009 If it seems too good to be true... The internet has been down at work over the last few weeks, so

Further adventures of Sheer-Luck Homes and Dr. What's Up...

There I was, muddling about, when I ran across these ads today in London's Craiglist (since I started writing this, they've popped up at http://property.vivastreet.co.uk/holiday+london-sw1e/two-bedroom-suite-apartment-for-stay-in-london/21437645 as well):£550 / 3br - three bedroom suite apartment in london (Kensington Square Kensington, London)Date: 2010-01-17, 7:01PM GMT Reply to: mailto:

It's elementary....

I guess I have been running a bit amok the last few days posting scam warnings on Craigslist because, when I went to post one in Calgary listings, I was asked to provide a confirmation phone number.Not being quite as dense as I look, I surmised that perhaps it was time for me to lay low and let the heat die down. Unlike our scammers, I'm not gifted in using multiples IP's or fogging my trail so I

Scammails A - E 2010

075010marquis@gmail.com (Marquis Granny)




A
a3a1273lam@yahoo.com
aaaarron009@ymail.com
aaaayyy97@yahoo.com
aadbiel@gmail.com (Adrina)  
aakellyswuw@rocketmail.com (Aaron Lam; ph: +447045730253,+447011173785)
aanunimofe@gmail.com
aanuowotopo@yahoo.com
aanuirede@yahoo.com
aanuireoluwa@yahoo.com
aanunimofeoluwa@yahoo.com
aanuoluwamaaabo@yahoo.com
aanuoluwanimofe@yahoo.com
aanutotayo@

Welcome to 2010...

Hi all ~ welcome to a brand new year and the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Some kinda ride, eh?This January is also the start of the third year of this blog. Who knew that chemotherapy induced insomnia would have turned out to be so useful? (I'm much better now, thanks.) Sometimes friends ask me why I still do it and, I suppose, it's because I can. It may sometimes be a bit

If you see something like this...

....be prepared to keep looking.Like a previous post on 'lists', certain phrases or ads are liberally scattered about by our happy scamophiles and it seems inevitable that I'll run into them. So, when they really start to stick out, I'll print examples of them here.Mind you, I've noticed lately that once I bitch about something they're doing to make their ads stick out like sore thumbs, they

Charmed I'm sure....

Once they get a word they like, they just don't let go ~ guess which one is showing up everywhere....EUR550 / 1br - Charming clean come with fully furnished in the very tasteful (Vienna, Ferchergasse) - 2009-12-03EUR450 / 1br - CHARMING one(1) bedroom fully furnished apartment (Brussel) - 2009-12-01EUR400 / 2br - TWO CHARMING BEDOOM APARTMENT (Brussels) - 2009-11-30EUR350 / 2br - Well Charming

You're trying to tell me something, aren't you?

EUR530 / 1br - EXTREAMLY BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT IN GREECE (Greece City) - 2009-11-30EUR1120 / 1br - EXRTREAMLY FURNISHED BIG BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT (Paris) 2009-12-10EUR550 / 1br - Charming clean come with fully furnished in the very tasteful (Vienna, Ferchergasse) - 2009-12-03EUR500 / 1br - Set in the boost of the city with fully furnished (Berlin, Martin Luther Strasse) - 2009-12-

He's making a list and checking it twice...

I suppose if you're writing the same scamvert over and over again, creativity takes a bit of a beating so I'm chucking in examples of ads/lists that are repeated ad nauseum. If you see any of 'em in the ad you're considering, keep looking....This is also to remind you to be a little picky about doing your homework while home hunting ~ if I can find scamverts like these without even really trying,

I've gone blank! Just fill me in....

Intrepid Renter has run amok again (which seems to be his favourite exercise at times *g*) and the following is one of the examples he has sent in. I suppose the scammer's coach kinda forgot to mention to tidy up the blanks he was filling in ~ or do they really think no one is going to notice?From: breden steme Date: Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 4:52 PMSubject: Re: apartment