Don't fall for it

Life can be a real grind, can't it?  Get to work 10 hour days, get to pay taxes to work, get to work overtime (whether you get paid for it, is another story), get to pay a mortgage (or rent, as the case may be).  It wears on you.

Have you ever, while you're grinding away, thought how nice it would be to win the lottery?  A life of luxury.  Just image all the cheese you could buy?  And that mortgage?  All would be taken care of.  A pipe dream, to be sure, but just imagine if you had all that cash?

Then there are those who get too greedy for their own good.  Take, for instance the guy we had in here a while back.  He got an email from someone in Nigeria. 

Seems Nigerian is looking for a kind soul who will help him funnel  $10,000,000 out of the country so he can start his own shoe factory.  All they need is $100 to open a checking account so they can start the process.

Now, I can hear you snickering.  I mean, who in blazes would fall for a Nigerian scam?  Oh, I don't know - maybe someone who works 10 hour days, gets to pay a mortgage or child support and is tired of the grind?  So, just about anyone, I guess.

Anyway, the $100 turned into $1,000 the next week, then $10,000 the month after that, followed by $100,000 the year after that.  By the time he had mortgaged his house, cashed out his retirement, sold his car (because why have an old car when the Nigerian is going to buy you a brand new one when they get all $10,000,000 out of the country?), guy had nothing left.  

The (or a) problem was his wife was all in it too.  Normally, it's the women who are the straight thinkers and can smell a scam a mile away.  But not this couple - they were tired of the 10 hour days and just wanted a life of luxury.  Now, I suspect, they're working as Walmart greeters.

It's about this time that Guy realized the had been taken to the cleaners and he and wife are standing in front of me wondering if there is anything they can to do recoup their losses.

First, I suggested they take a look at the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Nigeria's website.  A useful site, it suggests that if you suspect you have been scammed,

1. Do not send more money. Unfortunately, any money that you might already have sent is probably not recoverable.
2. End all communication with the scammer immediately, rather than attempt resolution directly. If you feel threatened, contact your local police at once. Do not attempt to personally recover the funds lost.
3. Report the matter immediately to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BIA), at www.ic3.gov.
4. If the scam originated through a particular website, notify the administrators of that website.

Since the transactions were electronic, the guy wonders out loud if he can sue the company they sent the money through.  Now that you mention it, I seem to recall a lawsuit where the employees of Western Union knew that transactions were scams but didn't do anything to stop them (because they were making money so why stop a good thing, right?).

Anyway, if they could show that the electronic transfer company had a hand in the scam, then they might want to look at:

• California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis; Vol. 23, Chp. 269 (Fraud & Deceit))
• California Civil Practice: Torts (TR)
• Civil RICO (Lexis)

and off couple slunked to try to recoup their lost retirement

You know, it's like my daddy used to say - if it looks too good to be true, it is.  No probably about it - it's a trap!  So, when that pit in your stomach starts to feel like a black hole, probably a good time to stop and re-evaluate what it is you're doing and stop doing it.

Just maybe.