One of my coworkers has told me that somebody from South Africa, who is a multimillionaire, is asking him and his wife to take care of his 9-year old niece from Congo.
The problem is that he doen't know anything about this "mulimillionaire" from south africa. The only thing he knows is that he is going to offer my friend $65K/year to care for her. He met the guy for dinner last night. The only information that he has is the guy's first name and that he supposedly has a house in Brentwood, CA. My friend is buying it hook, line and sinker and I am concerned he is getting scammed.
Please help
2007-08-03 10:42:59 · 5 answers · asked by Techguy2661 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
He was a friend of a friend.
2007-08-03 10:54:42 · update #1
My friend is telling me that he is going to try a three week trial visit with the child. He is also telling me that this south african guy sells merchandise for elections in his country.
2007-08-03 11:15:25 · update #2
It certainly sounds suspicious, to say the least. Ask him questions like: What kind of person would ask a total stranger to take care of their niece? How did he learn about your coworker, and what makes him think your coworker and his wife are qualified? Why can't this "multimillionaire" afford to send his niece to something like a good private boarding school? Why won't he be more open about giving information to the people he's going to trust with a CHILD? Why doesn't he want to get to know them better to make sure THEY'RE trustworthy before trusting them another human being's care? How much is his story like the well-known Nigerian scams (do a search for that if you're not familiar with them)? How good a "friend" is it who connected him to this guy?
If he insists on agreeing to this, tell him to at least protect himself. Insist on meeting the girl before agreeing to the arrangement, so he knows that she actually exists. Do NOT give him any information like social security numbers, bank account information, etc. Instead, insist on being paid with cashier's checks or other guaranteed forms of money. Ask for the first month's payment in advance, and make sure it actually clears. Get familiar with common excuses used by frauds. Like, that he's a multimillionaire but can't access the money right now because of the corrupt government, or a corrupt family member, or some other bogus reason. Look for any inconsistencies or implausibilities in his story, or attempts to use high pressure rather than honest, complete answers to close the deal.
An honest man would WANT the future care-givers of his niece to be cautious and thorough before agreeing to something that's such a big deal. A scammer wants to rush the process along so he can get the money and get away. Beware of excuses. If he's a multimillionaire, then your coworker is not his one and only last hope, and not the only lead he is pursuing. So above all, don't be suckered by high-pressure tactics to act without thinking.
2007-08-03 11:48:05 · answer #1 · answered by Jake 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Y!A Friends I have no personal friends at home since I got married. I only have 2 or 3 friends on here but I feel real close to them because I learned so much from them from their profile and their questions and answers. I could be friends in real life with them too if I would meet them. I am a good friend easy to get along with.
2016-05-17 10:38:10 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you know when they are meeting next, call the police and see if they will stop by and say hello to the South African guy.
Ask the police to contact your friend and explain to him what is about to happen.
Have your friend google 'scams' and I am betting whatever the scam is will show up....
2007-08-03 11:02:13 · answer #3 · answered by Michael H 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yep, he'll need your friend's personal info to deposit this alleged money into a bank account, and suddenly, your friend will have no money, compromised personal info, and certainly no non-existant neice from Africa.
Your friend should be smarter. How did this one-name-only guy contact him originally?
All I can say is, he can't be scammed unless he gives out personal info. As soon as this guy has a "need" for info like bank acct #'s, SSIN, etc,.......Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!
2007-08-03 10:49:06 · answer #4 · answered by Dj 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This person is a complete moron. It is a scam and anyone with a brain knows it.
2007-08-03 17:42:02 · answer #5 · answered by Dovahkiin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋