The funniest scam

 Block Ghana

A World of Scam

I have had some strange scams, most are see-through, some contain basic errors even a person with no online profile can spot.

I have contacted by people "claiming" to be either Jennifer Anniston, Emma Watson, Emily Fox, and even Sophia Loren. The thing to remember is that unless you know the person, the information is mostly online, so anybody could use it.

The funniest scam I was asked for was from a young lady in Ghana. We wrote letters, that shows how long ago this was, I've been online for almost 20 years. Her letters were long, and flowery, but said little. One day, she asked could I pay to have her car transported, and docked at Southampton, until she could claim it?

I almost fell of the bed, I was bedridden at the time, when I read that.

Ghana is the SCAM Capital

 Block Ghana

A World of Scam

If China is acepted as the capital of cybercime, Ghana is the capital of the SCAM.

The most known is the Lagos Scam. In this case, someone will message you saying "Send me £1,000, and next month I will send you £7,000." It sounds too good to be true, and as Rule 101 quotes, "If something sounds too god to be true, it usually is."

I was contacted via Twitter, last week, by a young lady from Portland, Oregon, that raised no alarms as I get contacted by people in the USA often. However, when we changed to WhatsApp, things changed rapidily.

It turned out she was staying in Ghana with her father, RED FLAG.

Her opening comments raised so many more danger signs it was hard not to see the SCAM coming. Her opening question was did I own a house, followed by did I own a car, both questions designed to find out if I was rich. She followed by a repeated request that she would like to meet me, I took this to mean she wanted me to pay her for a trip to the UK.

While this is easy to think as ridiculous, I have had worse

Twitter Hacks

A World of Scam 

                                                                      Better safe than Sorry

The rate of people hacking accounts on Twitter, and claiming to be bestselling writers offering me help to get my writing promoted is rising by the day.

There is a slight, very slight, possibility I am missing out on a genuine offer of help, I think it is better to be safe than sorry, especially as I was the victim of a scam a few months ago.

If I get approached online, as these people also work on LinkedIn, by a well-known writer I had no prior contact with, I regard all contact with suspicion.

In short, in my 15 years as a writer, few people, if any, have offered me any genuine help.

Hackers

 Nigeria

                                                   A World of Scam

Several times on Twitter I have received a message from people in Nigeria asking to contact me; I block them without blinking. The country is known for being the capital of the SCAM world, and I have been hacked by people from there several times.

One writer I had contact with, Linda Lael Miller, used to say "Not everyone there is a scammer," she may be correct, but I am taking no chances.

I am still unsure how genuine her offer of help was, as it cost me my savings, and I doubt I will see any return for my money.

I know I am a cynic, but at the back of my mind is thought, what was her cut of the takings? Why would a bestselling writer contact me out-of-the-blue?