SCAMPATROL

[Vitaliy]

Dear sir/mis, I am already a scam victim. I have lost 5750 euro which I have paid them. I can tell you chronologically everything that has happened and I have all the documents and corespondation saved. I do not know what to do to return them. By the legend I am 1 of 4 winners. Please, if you can help me in some way, give me to know. I am trying to stretch time with my "bank" now. They ask for 7500 euro now to pay tax.

[Former Member2]

Hello Vitali and I'm sorry to hear you have lost money. Unfortunately there is no chance of getting the money back, it is gone. However you should break off all contact with the scammers and do not send them any more money.

Is the bank you speak of your real bank or one that the scammers suggested to you.

[meyer]

Can you please post all the email addresses you have been in contact with here? I would also like to have a look at the website of this "bank".

Thanks.

[Guest]

meyer,
I am also a victim. Could you help to trace the bank (banker), chambers (lawyer), princess (inheritance owner), courier service company (diplomat). I have all the email addresses telephone/mobile/fax contacts. But when you start to ask me about their email address header or IP, I am stucked. I have no idea.

It's easy to say, please stop in contact with the scammers with out any concrete help or means to trace them. Any body could that. Why I came here is because some one introduced me. But it seem just a normal forum. I have informed the police locally and I have also in contact with International Police via internet. But they seem to be of no concrete help as well.

What about you? I hope you could do something more practical (more than words).

I am still talking to them on the phone and email communication. These people are from Burkina Faso, West Africa. And I am from South East Asia. Scampatrol always talk about 419 Nigerian Scam or Fee Advance Fraud. The tow main countries scam patrol talk about are NIGERIA and South Africa. Nigeria is oil riched producing country. South Africa is riched GOLD producing country. I cannot believe these two countries are poor and involved in criminal scam fraud activities. These two countires are members of British Commonwealth countries.

I am talking about BURKINA FASO, West Africa. Based on report Burkina Faso is among the poorest country in the world. Yet they claimed they have King and royalty. They cliamed that there are petroleum operations in their villages (Chevrion Oil Company and Shell Developement Petroleum Company).

If you can help by tracing their contacts, I would be most grateful.

Thanks.

[belawan]

[Old Coaster]

The idea that tracing the scammers will get you your money back is a commonly held misbelief. Most scammers cover their tracks well and it needs careful criminal investigation over a period to have any chance of identifying them. In most developed countries, the police do not have the resources and in many (but not all) African countries, the police are so corrupt that they may well be scammers themselves.

Finally, even if a scammer is identified and arrested - this quite often happens in South Africa - there is no money left to return to his victims since the scammer has spent it onfast living.

[mirakl]

In any case of theft I have ever heard of I have never, ever heard of cash being returned to the victim. This is not only in internet scams but ANYWHERE! It's completely unfair, it's unfortunate, but it's true.

[kwae]

If I may, I would also like to add an important footnote here. Many, many people who have been scammed out of money often get another communication, allegedly originating from some organization or another (even many law enforcement services have been impersonated regularly) who will make absurd claims that they are able to track and even return all money that has been handed over. This is always (read every time) another scam, to follow up on the ones that have previously met with such apparent success. This will entail further payment of administrative fees and so forth, resulting in the victim being further defrauded.

Money that has been handed to the scammers will never be returned for all the reasons stated above. It is also highly unlikely (read virtually never) that scammers are actually caught unless an arrest strategy was deployed during the scam itself.

Everyone who has lost money to these criminals must be on their guard for any kind of 'recovery' offers they receive as following up on these will only result in more loss and pain for the victim.
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Fraudwatchers - Monitoring for Fraud
Baiting - the new Internet Blood Sport

[Q]

Good advice kwae.

Some of the letters that kwae mentioned actually direct you to this site and 419legal.org. I would like to point out however that we will NEVER EVER ask you for money, donations or otherwise. WE CAN'T GET YOUR MONEY BACK. All we can offer is advice and how to avoid scams in the future.

[frazzle]

[Q]

Yeah but the difference frazzle is that the majority of these scammers are operating from countries like Nigeria which turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. Nigeria convicts very few 419 scammers and those which are convicted serve short jail sentences and aren't made to pay any money back to their victims.

While it might be possible if the scammer is convicted in the US, EU, Australia or NZ; that the victim may be able to get some of their money back but this would be the exception rather than the rule.

Therefore we have to advise victims of 419 and other related fraud that they stand little or no chance of getting any of the money they wired back from the scammer in question.

Scampatrol is not going to attempt to try and get money back from scammers, so please don't ask us to try. Its beyond our means. If any victim wants to persude methods of retrieving their money they are welcome to try but I should warn them to look out for the scams which kwae mentioned that are just scammers (possibly the orginal scammer who stole the money in the first place) trying to extract further fees on the false pretense that they can retreive the money lost by the victim.

[mirakl]

[belawan]

mirak1, if you have encountered real life experienced yourself with the scams, frauds, criminals etc I have some respect for you for sharing and giving concrete advises to others. If you based on others datas for feed backs, any body could do that. My experience is real life drama.
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belawan

[Old Coaster]

Well! There you go.
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la terre n'est qu'un seul pays

[mirakl]

I have to say I do not hold people who have been scammed in higher regard than those who have not. I once accepted a fake cheque (not in quite the same circumstances as often seen here) I have to respect those who were not stupid enough to make the same mistake.

You cannot resent people who are taking time out of their lives to warn people they are being scammed.

You cannot complain they are not doing enough.

You cannot expect them to fix your mistakes.

[Karynsolo]

Mirakl I agree whole hearted with you. As a Fraud Victim Advocate we can only do so much we are not miracle workers. We cannot get the victim's money back, the most that we can hope to do is to help the victim realize what happened, help with the initial shock of the ordeal and help where we can with information. In the case of Victims who have been arrested we do our best to get informaiton that can be used on their behalf to the victim and attorney but we cannot be the attorney.

People have to realize that fighting fraud happens on many different levels, groups and people pool talents and efforts to get the job done. As fast as there seems to be headway the crooks change tune and direction and the nightmare continues.

On a good note I personally have had several people in the past weeks email me BEFORE they sent any money to the scammers asking if the letter they received was part of a scam or if it was real. What we ALL are doing is helping to get people to question things a little more and for that KUDOS to all who are working so hard to fight these crimes.