ScamCity

from peter, posted at his request:

---

Ever tried advertising at Craigslist? We tried it recently. With fascinating consequences.

Rosevelt Wagner seemed nice enough. Fairly decent grammar, too, considering foreign extraction:

Dear Peter,Thanks for the e-mail. I'll really love to rent the apartment but I'll also need your assistance to make things work.I'm coming over for a program, i would be sponsored for my pro grammes in Jan., Ideally our protocol agent handle everything that's got to do with travel, accommodation but since I'm staying for a longer period (12months), I've requested that they allow me look for a suitable accommodation for myself and they've accepted, they'll need review,confirm, approve and release payment…

Ok, fair enough. Seemed strange and unrelated, though, when the mailman arrived at our door with a bank draft for $4500.00. We had no clue who from. So we called the issuing bank. And it turned out the draft was the wrong colour. And the police came and got it – forgery is pretty serious.

Then, we found out the forgery was from Rosevelt:

Dear Peter,Thanks for your mail.I was informed that the payment sent to you was for travel logistics expenses and accommodation.I'll call a travel agent to confirm my bookings. So you can assist me make alternate arrangement for tickets.Let me know when u got it.Happy New year.Rosevelt

Aha! Well, we didn’t let on what we knew. And that the police already had the forgery. Nope.

Hi Roosevelt,
Ok, so what you want me to do is cash the bank draft
and send part of the amount to your travel agent?
If that's right, please be clear. How much should I
send to your travel agent? And who/where should I
send the amount to?
Best,
Peter

Rosevelt’s same-day reply:

Dear Peter,
Thanks for your mail.I've confirm that the payment sent to you was to cover first and last month rent and my travel logistics cost.
I called a travel agent here in the UK and they've confirmed my booking's. however they'll need funds to precure my ticket and Luggage shipment.
Pls,you should send the stated amount directly them. via western union money transfer, so as to avoid any delay. Once I present my travel ticket to our human resource dept. they'll process and issue a travellers check that would take care of my entire stay in Toronto, Ontario on my arrival i intend to pay more rent in advance.
You should make the payment to: Greg Andrew 528, Lea Bridge Rd, London, E10 7DT UK Amount: $2,800Kindly Send all transaction details to my email,(MTCN no.(usually 10digits on transaction reciept). Sender and reciever names, amount sent) so i can present it for travel agent pickup.Thanks,
Rosevelt.

Yeah. Sure.

Rosevelt,
I'll put it in -- but I'm not wiring money until it
clears at my bank. Not sure how long it takes.. maybe
only 5 business days.. but maybe more....
If that's alright, let me know and I'll put it in.
You know, much time would be saved if your school sent
me right amount for first/last (2X$385) and paid your
travel agent separately.. sending everything to me and
then back to your travel agent is going around the
world too many times....
Best,
Peter

And,

First we have to talk. Is there a phone number I can
reach you at?
Peter

So, Rosevelt decided to call me – pre-emptively. Except I didn’t know it was Rosevelt. The voice on the phone was incoherent – in English, anyway. But it turned out to be Rosevelt:

Hello Peter ,
It is unfortunate that you could not hear me clearly
on phone , so i decide to get to the computer to send
you mail,i was calling from a public phone booth as i
have to sell off my NOKIA N91 phone in order to have
some more fund to keep the body and soul toghether
here .
Since you said you wuld like to talk to me on phone so
i decide to get your number and ring you……..

, Alright fine. Time to try getting some hard evidence (like a listed phone number) another way:

Hey Rosevelt,
That was you on the phone? Wow -- very bad line. I
could barely hear your voice.
Too bad you had to sell your phone. It means I can't
call you. But no worries, you don't have to call me.
Just email me the telephone number for Greg Andrew.
I'll call and confirm with him.
Peter

Immediate reply:

Hello Peter,
Greg Andrew number +447011150869
Rosevelt.

Well now. Searching revealed this number as unlisted and non-landline. Did it say "Cretan" on my forehead? Did it say "I accept unlisted cell numbers for international confirmation"? Just in case, I went and washed my face. Then, I responded:

Rosevelt,
I try to confirm what you want. Confirm means make
real. With real person with real landline telephone.
Not payphone. Not cellphone/mobile/etc.
Just email telephone number for Greg Andrew's office.
Or for your protocol agent at University. Your
department secretary at University. Anyone you want.
But keep it real.
Help confirm what you want.
Peter

And this is when Rosevelt started flipping. Cartwheels. Right off the edge of reality. Some excerpts:

Hello ,
Thanks for your carefullness as a matter of fact you
are a very nice man and i really apprecaite that you
have indeed consider my sitaution and you do not want
me to be cheated as a matter of urgency i could not
wait anylonger as time is running out of me and i do
not have funds on me anylonger so with the little fund
on me i have left through tube (train) to london so
that could help instead of sending to greg andrew name
send it to my name i will use my id to get it and take
care of my reservation myself as quick as possible i
am not a kid and that will be no problem for me at
all, i am very tight now , It is 4.30 now in london.i
need to make the reservation ontime before night.
send to my name urgently .
rosevelt wagner.
ADDRESS - i am hanging out in Bayswater london Inn
Hotel but not lodging because i have no fund for that
just hanging arround need to fly tonight
use this address in the western union form = 8-16
Princes Square - W2 4NT London
i will get the cash with the MTCN . it is simple .
I CAN WALK TO ANY WESTERN UNION LOCATION HERE IN
LONDON AND COLLECT IT AND GET MY RESERVATION DONE
IMMEDIATELLY TO CANADA
WHY YOU HAVE REFUSE TO ANSWER ME I ASK WHAT AIRPORT IS
NEARER TO YOU OUT OF ALL THESE.
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Ottawa International Airport
Ontario International Airport
ALSO WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO COME TO THE AIRPORT TO PICK
ME WAITING URGENTLY
PLS THERE IS NO TIME I WANT TO LEAVE TONIGHT FROM
GATWICK AIRPORT I HAVE NO TIME LONDON IS EXPENSIVE I
HAVE NO FUND TO SPEND HERE.
JUST DO IT QIUCK AND EMAIL ME.
THANKS.

Yeah. Right. For sure. Would you care for some thumb-screws with that heart attack, dear?

Dear Rosevelt,
That sounds terrible. Please, don't waste any more
time.
Email telephone number of any person with landline
telephone who knows and can confirm you. Do it now.
Don't waste more time. Any person in the world with
landline telephone is OK.
Confirm what you want, Rosevelt. Do it right away --
before it is too late for you.
Peter

Massive coronary. Not just Rosevelt, either – whole family. Maybe entire village. Excerpts:

I dont really know what you are driving at , i have
never had such a frustrating experience like this in
my life why have you decided to do this to me for God
sake i contacted you and no one else , you have asked
for so much , my dad died of hypertension just a year
ago much worries , much thinking and frustration made
him to develop that and now he his gone my heart is
getting close to that because it is becoming
unbearable for me ………… i had to use the last fund on
me to get to london myself so you could send it to my
name thinking that might solve the problem yet you ask
me to start looking for a land line number of anyone
in the world this is very terrible , you already have
the cash i dont really know what you want mr peter ,
dont you wants me to say with you in the apartment?
what is important for me is to come over to canada ,
fly tonight and come down and you ask for all these
why why why why why.
crying right now.

And shortly after this email, the phone rang. On answering, I concluded it was Rosevelt. Not sure why. The screaming? The retching? The machine-gun in the background? Time to ratchet thumbscrews:

Dear Rosevelt,
If you are honest person then the last thing I want to
do is cause distress and hardship.
But I don't know if you are honest person. Someone
warned me maybe you are not honest:
"Someone (usually claiming to be from another country)
offers to pay for multiple months rent before seeing
the dwelling. They (or a third party) will send you a
cashiers check or money order for well over the total
rent, on the condition that you wire the difference
back to them so they can pay for their travel
expenses. This is a variation of the distant buyer
scam. The cashier's check is fraudulent, and in
addition to you losing the money you sent to the
buyer, your financial institution will hold you
accountable for the fraudulent check."
Do you understand, Rosevelt? I don't know if you are
honest person. And all I ask is to find out -- for
you to show you are honest by providing landline
telephone number of anyone I can call who will confirm
what you say.
But you don't provide landline telephone number. And
I don't understand why not.
And then a few hours ago you call me -- and your voice
sounds very clear. Not like the first time. So I
think, maybe this is landline you call from. Maybe I
can call back and confirm after all. So I check for
the telephone number. And the telephone number is
(555) 555-2984.
But this is a local Toronto telephone number! How can
you call from a Toronto telephone number if you are
not in Toronto? How is this possible? Maybe there is
a way to do this???
Rosevelt, I don't want to make life hard if you are
honest person. But after you don't help to confirm
what you want -- and then call me from Toronto! how
can I believe you are honest person?
Peter

Rosevelt’s death-rattling reply was long – but here are some excerpts:

Now i know that the whole thing is to make me sad ,
make me get sick make me get hypertension so that it
affect my heart and finnally taken to the hospital and
die so that you can take the money all for yourself
anyway ………… Do you think that BANK are very foolish to
have given you money without having check the Authenticity
of the check , why why why Mr peter YOU HAVE HOLD UNTO THIS
MONEY FOR LONG DELAYING ME MAKING ME SAD AND YOU
ENJOYING OVERTHERE ………… If people cheat this way it is strange but how on earth will i take all this long to cheat
i am cming to canada and that s it i am dying here i have
no fund on me anymore nothingggggggggggggg , if you have
send me the money would have made my trip yesterday and
been in canada by now
i wonder what you will gain if i finnally die of
heart cardiac arrest .
you are so cruel that you cannot even release just
some part of the money to me at least 800 us dollars
so i can afford to take care of my self and buy drugs
, i am hypertensive i am dying here.

Well, now. Better be careful. Better be gentle. Hypertension has been known to cause lying.

I don't want to make you sad or sick, Rosevelt. But
too much strange has happened. I just don't believe
you.
All I ask is to confirm. To make me believe you.
It is easy to confirm. Just give real landline
telephone number anyone in the world I can call who
will say "Yes, I know Rosevelt. Yes, Rosevelt says
what is true."
Anyone in the world. It can be landline number for
Greg travel agent office. Or your protocol agent. Or
your department secretary. Or your mother. Or your
cousin. Or your friend. Anybody in your family.
Anybody anywhere -- Europe, America, Asia, Africa,
Australia, anywhere -- who has landline telephone and
who knows you. So easy.
But not cellphone/mobile/pager number like you say you
give for Greg. There is no way for me to see this is
number for Greg. Number like this does not confirm.
Number like this means nothing. I waste no more
time/money calling number meaning nothing.
So easy to confirm what you want Rosevelt. Easy if
you are honest person. But if you are not honest
person then too hard for you.

Rosevelt:

…………Here is a JAMES GRANT land line number you can call
+442078701639 he his a friend to my juniour sister
ANGELA and we both attend the same church before in
AMSTERDAM , HOLLAND…………

Nice try, eh? It was landline, alright – but not listed. Better put out some lights at the end of this tunnel.

Send LISTED landline number. Anywhere in the world. Like
I have in my home. Like everyone has. Like any
office has.
But no. You give cellphone. You give unlisted.
Confirm too hard for you. You refuse to confirm what
you want too long now. You are not honest person.
Confirm with LISTED landline number immediately. Next
time not confirm will be too late for you.
Rosevelt – feeling increasingly victimized, picked on and defrauded at this point:
I t is glaring that you are a fraud,
you are using so many ways and you playing so many
games to make sure you take all the money i will sue
you for this and report to the police for you holding
unto money that does not belong to you i have all my
evidence , what the hell you trying to do ,
the money does not belongs to you what right have you
got to hold unto money that does not belong to you.
that is scamm , that is fraud.
the bank has realesed money to you and you are spending
it , you have a fake telephone directory to check,
rent your room to another person and return the check
, go back to your bank and return the DRAFT if you are
sincere go back to your bank and tell them to return
the money into the HSBC bank from where the money is
taken from ,i will make sure the money is return back
you will never be allowed to spend the money .
i will report it to the FBI the london metropolitan
police , and the canadian police of your scam

Shortly after this, the phone rang. Couldn’t tell who it was – the screaming was too incoherent. Something about me killing Rosevelt, about someone else killing me, about police killing. Then, a couple hours later, the phone rang again. Ranting rather than screaming this time – but just as incoherent. Claiming to be London Police. Demanding why I killed Rosevelt. Saying they knew my address and promising to get me. Went on for at least 5 minutes – but the rest was too incoherent to make out. Maybe it was the foreign office – otherwise, London Police desperately needs to enrol in some English as second language courses. Finally, this arrived:

Hello Peter Fruchter,
Telephone: 555.555.2235
Full Name: Peter Fruchter
Mailing Address: 555 Gilmour Ave., Toronto, Ontario Canada M5P 5B5

We have been informed about a matter by a troubled and frustrated
lady by name ROSEVELT WAGNER she had said you scamm her of money .
Can you explain to us the reason why you have held unto her money
up to this time and trying to scam a poor and dying lady of money.
Metropolitan Police Service
New Scotland Yard
Broadway
London SW1H 0BG .
Telephone: 020 7230 1212
=
Call Center Monitoring
The SunDial Windows Predictive Dialer gives your new or existing call
center a state-of-the-art, reliable, flexible and user-friendly
predictive dialing solution.
http://a8-asy.a8ww.net/a8-ads/adftrclick?redirectid=891e82f17ba3afd114bb0b8c8cd17837

I couldn’t believe it. It was London Police after all. But hold on. Check out the electronic signature. Why was London Police using call centre software?

this confirm nothing. anyone can say londonpolice.
boyfriend not sound like londonpolice first time, when
he scream threats on telephone. not sound like
londonpolice second time, when say he is londonpolice.
even your english better than his.
email from londonpolice fake. Electronic signature of
email prove it fake:
http://a8-asy.a8ww.net/a8-ads/adftrclick?redirectid=891e82f17ba3afd114bb0b8c8cd17837
really working for call centre or bulk emailer, even?
no. even this too much real for you. just proxy.
all i ask from you was confirm. i give you so many
chance to confirm. just one real person with listed
number to confirm you. so simple. so easy for honest
person. but you not honest person. real too much for
you. confirm too hard for you.
told you: next time not confirm, too late. next time
is now. now too late for you.
understand? if you not real then draft not real. if
draft not real then not go in bank. not real draft
not belong in bank. not real draft go to police.
real police. toronto police.

And that was that. We didn’t manage getting any real information to speak of. Toronto police advised there’s a call tracking feature – *57, I think – but this advice came too late. There’s more to the story than forgery and scammery, though.

We feel we know our city. Toronto envelops us physically. We know approximately where it starts and where it ends. Not exactly, on any given day – but not that far north of Steeles. Some summer weekends maybe Highway 7.

And we know our neighbours. Not too intimately, of course. Toronto’s no small town or village for rummaging each other’s business. But still. We share Toronto in understanding and imagination. It’s more than landmarks, bus-routes, where to jaywalk – and where not.
We don’t get in each other’s business – but that’s actually one way we recognize and acknowledge each other in Toronto. We’re more aloof in Toronto than in Gananoque, for instance. Doesn’t mean we’re anonymous strangers, though. We’ve no intention being anonymous strangers. It’s just an agreement we share. Our notion of being civilized in the big city. A cultural agreement.

Not so when we get online. All too often, when we get online, we’ve every intention of becoming anonymous strangers. We totally do, online. Become anonymous strangers. Which, on second thinking, is kind’a surprising. Wasn’t the network of electronic networking anticipated to reduce the global to a village? Ayup. And in villages, unlike globe-class cities, doesn’t everyone know each other’s business? More’n likely. So – wasn’t the internet supposed to usher us into each other’s business? Each other’s back yards, even? Sure it was.

It was and it did. Via internet we found our way into each other’s computers, each other’s back yards, back pockets, wallets – and not always legitimately. Scary. Can’t have that. For protection, electronic security professionals tried selling us on (sometimes) false security. Since active measures such as electronic membranes remained necessarily permeable. So, we’ve (re)turned to anonymity. The primal yet most effective security. Since active measures may protect after we’ve been targeted – but anonymity protects us from getting particularly targeted in the first place.

This is our reaction and resistance to finding ourselves too intimately networked. Anonymity. It’s a problem. We’re not persons online. Online, we’re personas. Proxies. Sock-puppets. When we go online we don ski-masks. Which is not appropriate to any village – whether global, virtual or otherwise. Anonymous, masked, we wind up looking like scammers or muggers. Any of us might be. Increasingly more of us are.

Increasingly more of us behave illegally or just abominably online. Because anonymity erodes standards, identity and principles. Sure, anonymity protects. Just as sure, though, it insulates from consequence. It ferments a culture of irresponsibility. Not what we want for our global village.

Amy and I decided we’re against it. That’s why we continued efforts penetrating the scammers’ anonymity. Persisted despite police advice. Despite lacking secure anonymity. Yeah, they know where we live. But we felt like helping the police investigation. Felt like standing against anonymity. Felt good. It did. It does. Feel good standing up sometimes.

No such thing as standing one’s ground anonymously. And though there well nowmay be no option but going sneaking occasionally – as when mortally besieged – that’s not standing up. Regardless what one might succeed sneaking anonymously, standing up in principle is precisely not anonymous sneaking.

Original version this article @ http://www.readingt.readingcities.com/index.php/toronto/comments/5705