how do email scams take your money?

Question

if you are asked via email to have 12500000US dollars deposited in your account and you agree and give them an account that you just opened with no money in it, how do they take your money?

Answer 1

They use the routing number to pull money out of your account.

This is mainly done from Nigeria, the kids who do it get to keep 10-20% of the money they con out of people and 80-90% of the money goes to the internet cafe owner.

I saw a documentary on it. All the kids come from poor families and this is the only way they can make money to make their lives better. The crazy part is that close to 90% of the money gets taken from them by the person who lets them use the computers.

I saw a bunch of fat bastards sitting behind desks at internet cafes wearing gold watches and driving German cars. This con business makes a few hundred millions a year, which is crazy considering how many times people are warned not to fall for the I want to deposite $10,000,000 in your account routine.

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Variations of the fraud:

The most visible form of advance fee fraud today is the Nigerian Letter or 419 fraud, named after the section of the Nigerian criminal code that it violates. These scams have come to be associated with Nigeria due to the massive proliferation of such confidence tricks from that country since the early 1990s, as well as the reputation of the country for corruption. Originally the schemers contacted mainly heads of companies and church officials, often by fax or postal mail. However, the use of e-mail spam and instant messaging for the initial contacts has led to many private citizens also being targeted, as the cost to the scammers to make contact is much lower. A typical letter claims to come from a person needing to transfer large sums of money out of the country or from a lottery company.

As the Nigerian letter has become well known to potential targets, the gangs operating the scams have developed other variations. The targets are often told that they are the beneficiaries of an inheritance or are invited to impersonate the beneficiary of an unclaimed estate.

In "The Spanish Prisoner" scam, one of the earliest forms of advance fee fraud, the target is told that a wealthy individual is being held hostage and will reward those who help to transfer the ransom money. Another common gambit is a fake lottery in which the targets are told that they have 'won' a large prize but must pay an 'administrative fee' before they can receive it. After the 'administrative fee' is paid, the scammer vanishes.

In one development of the scheme, the perpetrators use a counterfeit cashier's check to buy an expensive item such as a car or boat from people advertising goods in online classifieds. The target is given a fake check for an amount greater than the value of the item, and asked to return the difference.

Another recent variation involves the use of fake cashier's checks to pay for high-value items in Internet auctions. The scammer sends a check for more than the purchase price asking that part of the money be forwarded to a 'shipper' or 'freight forwarder' after the funds have cleared. This will usually happen quickly as banking practice assumes that banks are liquid at all times and that there is no credit risk. The vendor will only discover that the check was fraudulent and the transaction has been voided a few days later, by which time the intermediary will in most cases have been paid.

The most recent scheme is to ask individuals to deposit a check into their account then to forward a percentage (80%-90%) to a company that supposedly is owed the amount. Of course the check is counterfeit and by the time the depositor's bank finds that out, the funds have been transferred.

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History:

The 419 scam originated in the early 1990s as the oil-based economy of Nigeria went downhill. Several unemployed university students first used this scam as a means of manipulating business visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector before targeting businessmen in the west, and later the wider population. Early variants were often sent via letter, fax, or even Telex. The spread of email and easy access to email-harvesting software made the cost of sending scam letters through the internet extremely cheap. While various figures have wildly claimed that the 419 scam employs as many as 250,000 people in Nigeria, in reality it has often been linked to small organized gangs often working in concert in western cities and in Nigeria. In recent years, the 419 scam has spurred imitations from other locations in Africa and Eastern Europe.

In fact the advance fee fraud is a much older scam than that, dating back to 1588 where letters were written claiming to be from a prisoner trapped in a Spanish castle. The fictitious prisoner would promise to share a treasure with a person who would send them money to bribe their guards.

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How they Con you:

As well as the email subject or contents, there are often some clear signs that 419 scam emails contain which should alert a recipient to be suspicious:

"Name dropping" - the naming of a reputable business, government body, or bank, or the description of some event which is reported in a reputable online newspaper. Often a link will be provided to a newspaper report on the death of a supposed bank account holder, or the arrest of a supposed family member.

Inappropriate contact - for example, a lottery win may be emailed by a person claiming to work in a bank. Or, the sender claims to be a lawyer but the email address does not look like one written by a member of the legal establishment.

Mobile phone numbers - the contact numbers will be cell (mobile) phones, or fax, not landline. In the UK, such numbers start with +44-7, 07- or 7-, although with public VOIP services increasingly available in major financial centres, use of apparently land line numbers (+44-20 for London) is on the rise.
Free email accounts - the reply-to email address will often not match the company claimed. Thus a person may claim to be writing from HSBC (a major bank) but the email address used is a free Yahoo account. Scammers will sometimes attempt to forestall this criticism by saying they are using their "private" email address so their "bosses" won't catch on.

Unearned praise - the email, from a complete stranger, almost always speaks to your reputation for honesty, integrity, and above all else discretion. The praise would be strong even if it weren't coming from a complete stranger.

Also, common sense should prevail - one should ask themselves just how likely would some oppressed wealthy foreigner be to contact them through random e-mail offering a ludicrous sum of money?

Answer 2

The other answers are o.k., but there is one they overlooked. You may get an email from someone in Africa saying that they have a very large amount they want to give you to use in a humanitarian way. It could be from 2.4 million to 27 million. They want you to assist them in dispensing the said funds. If you agree to it, they will tell you the funds is in USD cash in a box or trunk. They will want you to pay for the transfer of the box or to get the box put into your name. If you send the money they will then want more money for other things to get the box ot you and it just keeps going and going and you never get the box.

If anybody sends you anything like that and in the message to box is empty, just delete it as it is not addressed to you and they want you to answer their scheme. Most of the scams are Nigerian 914 scams and you could be hurt big time if you fall for them.

Answer 3

This is 100% a SCAM If you pretend to be the relative of a deceased person and do not have birth certificates and marriage records PROVING you are a relative you will go to jail for fraud Google inheritance scam and cut off ALL contact with these criminals

Answer 4

They don't do it!

You ALLOW them to do it by failing to recognise the fake credentials, and falling for the sucker punch.

Banks DON'T send e-mails about customers' account details; this means they DON'T ask for PIN numbers in this way; they don't ask for sort/routing codes either.

In short (UK especially) this kind of behaviour is contrary to the Banking Code of Practice.

Other scams which involve money, such as the Nigerian who says you have inherited half a squillion pounds, usually involve divulging personal details and this leaves you vulnerable to attack on two fronts - 1 They can see your details, and 2 Other unscrupulous individuals can too! This leads down the "phishing" path.

If it sounds too good to be true, or not quite right, then follow your instincts and don't be driven by the promise of gain.

Answer 5

They do this by getting your account info, they either send you a check or try to wire money into your account and then cancel it in the process and it ends up messin your account up or they will take money from your account or charge things to your account. Never EVER give your information like that out to someone saying they will give you money, its a scam.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

How can you open a bank account without putting money into it? At every bank and credit union I've ever used, you have to deposit SOME money to open an account.

Answer 8

Because they ask you for your bank info and other personal info from you and so they can "make a deposit". Once they have your bank info and the other personal info they ask you for so they can do this (or so they say) they have acess to your account via you responding to their email. So if you see an email like that...do your self a favor and dont even open it. Delete it right away. or tell them to just send a check to your P.O. Box LOL it wont happen

Answer 9

it is true as the response so far says, but it is not done alone in Nigeria, and Nigeria has fought it, well just be carefull wereever u go

RITUAL SPACE
When a man ponder at something,
Images he or she is unaware of comes creeping
We see the pictures appearing in our mind,
Images thought fantasies, coming…

The soul takes action, and the man
Roam there with pad and pen
His cloth marks and culture
Will tells more about the ink
And the tongue science could seek authorship
Grasping what isn’t ours to claim
As the new “Soyinka” and “Achebe” seek rebirth
Through the gift given by ritual space

Answer 10

They could always hack your other account, but they could probably do that anyway.

Weisslenny0