SCAMPATROL

[Mysti]

Some time ago, an old friend approached me to borrow money. They had 5 escrow accounts totaling many millions and it was for making movies. They were tapped out of cash and needed just $8000 or 4700 pounds for a certificate of deposit in London. One of the accounts was in the UK and a judge was going to release the escrow money once he had a number from the certificate of deposit. This in turn would give them money to finish all the other escrow accounts. I in turn, for "saving the day", would receive half a million dollars. The loan was for thirty days, no matter what happened to the escrow accounts.

Needless to say I never got my money. But what bugged was the terminology used as excuses for the money holdup. I made this loan in 2002 and by 2003 they were telling me they needed more money for things like "Clearance and Validation Exercise" or CVE and "anti-terrorist certificates", costing $19,600. I was not asked for this money (it was clear I wanted my loan back) but was told others were being approached for it.

The thing that gets me, I did web searches on these terms back in 2003 and nothing would come up. Now of course, "anti-terrorist certificate" is commonly used in the Nigerian scam and lotto scams. But this person was using it before I could find it anywhere. I was emailing banks and asking if they had heard of either term before which at that time no one had.

I turned it over to the police and of course they didn't even pick up the phone to question this person. Finally I sued. That's a story unto itself and I am still trying to find this person whose company is also involved.

Has anyone had this happen? Where it is someone you know and for movie investments?

[Former Member]

Mysti,

Welcome to ScamPatrol. First, I'm very sorry for the loss of your cash... seriously, I'm not just saying it to be polite... it really eff's me off when the scammers win.

There are literally hundreds of different scenarios that the 'Lads' use to dupe the unsuspecting. They are very good at what they do, and are very quick to copy or use terms and conditions to make themselves look more legitimate.

The recent tsunami saw a huge rise in scam emails being circulated within 24 hours of the disaster... each one begging for donations, and in the aftermath we are seeing the standard mail which says "this person died in the tsunami, has millions of dollars, help me and you get a cut".

Unfortuantely the terms you have used in your message Mysti reek of scam. The police generally won't assist because of the boundries that exist between nations. I am curious to hear about you sueing over the scam... gnerally the scammers just dissapear without a trace.

As for the phrases being used at the time (and not showing up in google), well back then the technology was not very hot, and to be honest it does take time for technology to search the internet and index all the words.

Don't forget that the phrases you Google now, had to be written and published by people who knew about the scammers at the time.

As for the particular scam you wound up in [movie investment] ... it's just another pretty standard angle to that side of 419 fraud.

[Mysti]

Thanks for your reply. Having researched this for years now, I was just hoping someone knew of others involved in same scenerio since I believe other people are involved. I think my "friend" is smart...not that smart.

As far as the lawsuit, even though this person and their family are in hiding, they do have a private mail drop and they were served there. This is in the US. I couldn't believe it but they did respond! That is the last I've heard from them though. They have disobeyed court orders and refused to particpate in discovery procedures. So now I have a hearing coming up charging them with contempt. Don't know if they will show or get an attorney or what. I hope to get a bench warrant and let the sheriff find them. I'll eventually move for a summary judgement but for now I want documents an info I have requested from them. I have to wait and see what happens next.