Request for Question Clarification by
scriptor-ga
on
21 Dec 2005 17:05 PST
Dear smaov,
You are the victim of a scam. But you are not the only one, as I found
out. You should inform the police so they can find out who uses that
toll-free number and track down the fraudsters. Since I don't know if
this alone is helpful information for you, I have decided not to make
it an answer yet, so you can let me know what you think.
The texts quoted below will show you why I am certain that you have been scammed.
Regards,
Scriptor
Text 1: Michael Tanczos Blog, 25 November 2005
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?user=tanczos
So today I got a random phone call.. It was from a phone scammer.
"ooooooooh, my first real phone scam!", I thought. This was not an
opportunity I would pass up.
For the next few minutes I was fed a story about this company called
"Grant Procurement Corporation" based out of Champlain, New York that
would help me to get $5,000 of grant money from the government for the
low cost of $345.
(okay, time for me to sound really enthusiastic)
"Oh man, I can get $5,000 for only $345?!?? How could you possibly go
wrong with that?"
They asked me what I would do with the money.. trying to get me
excited and feeling good about actually having the money. Would I use
it for business.. for travel.. for personal reasons?
"Business.. for sure. I've been wanting to start up my own little scam
hotline for a while now and I figure the startup costs have to be
pretty low. This is a pretty exciting opportunity!"
You would have thought these guys would have caught on.. but the thick
chinese accent lead me to believe they weren't understanding
everything I was saying anyway.
"Do you guys have a website?", I ask. They respond with: "Yes, just
look up 'Grant Procurement Corporation' in Google." okay....
First they needed to verify my personal information.. I just said yes
to whatever they said. Then if they needed information, I made it up
and repeated it back to them if need be.
They said:
"Okay, now we have to verify that you are who you say you are. Do you
have a blank check handy?" (yes! of course!)
"First, what bank are you?"
I answer, "Wachovia bank, W-A-C-H-O-V-I-A".. (a bullshit answer)
"Could you please read the numbers in the bottom left corner?"
I go and get a real check.. open up notepad.
"Ready?" (they say yes)
I proceed to say numbers into the phone as I pound them out in the
keyboard. I gave just the right amount of numbers for the routing
number.
They then passed me on to another person to continue my verification
process. That person asked me for the account number portion in a less
thick chinese accent. I proceed to pound out another set of fake
numbers for them to chew on.
... a pause from the other end ... I hear voices of frustration .. they come back:
"Sir, are you sure that is the correct number?"
I answer, "Oh YES, absolutely! Want me to read them back to you?" (hehe)
I sound out each number, identical to the last number.. they try it
again and I hear more voices of frustration. A guy with an indian
accent comes on who can understand me much better.
"Sir, do you have a bank statement handy?," they ask.
"Oh sure, sure.. quick question, do you guys have a website?"
They respond, "Yes. Just go on the net to www.grantpro.com"
"Okay, awesome! One sec.. let me get my bank statement." I do a whois
lookup on grantpro.com and quick ask the person if I can speak to
Gregg Ostrick.
"Oh, this is a branch office. He's not available from here right now."
I quickly retort, "Oh, damn.. okay then.. can I talk to Joe
Schumaker?" (He's not available, this is a branch office, blah blah)
"COME ON! You know.. JOE SCHUMAKER! He's listed as the president of
your company on your website."
They reply, "I know! I know! But I can't forward your call at this
time.. he's not available."
"Can I have his phone number at least?," I ask.
They reply, "I don't have that information handy at the moment.."
I then propose an idea.. what if they give me *THEIR* bank account
number and I wire the $345 into their account. I promise that I won't
take any money from their account. They can trust me.. I just want my
$5,000 like the next guy. No bites.. they're not seeing things from my
perspective.
I then do a 180 and proceed to take them on a small tirade about not
trusting techonology and preferring good old horse and buggy drawn
postal service using paper, envelopes, and stamps. I insist that I'd
mail them a check but they don't give up their address because that's
not how they do business.
"Ahh damn.. okay, ok.. I have my bank statement. Ready?"
"Yup," they respond eagerly.
(this is going to be funny, let's fuck with them first)
I fire a quick battery of questions:
"Do you want the second part first or the first part second?" ...
"There are symbols here I don't understand.. one looks like some sort
of egyption hierglyphics. What should I say there?" "Should I also be
reading the zeros, or are those not important?" .. "Do you want me to
read the numbers front to back or back to front with the first part
first and the second part after the first part is done?"
"Okay, routing number first then. 536694395" ...
"Got it, the next part sir"
I reply slowly, "okay.. here is the account number: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3-4-5"
"What?? How is that possible?"
Okay, time to let the cat out of the bag.. my fun is done and it's
time to give up the ghost.
"BWAHAHA! You know, you got me! It's NOT possible.. Do you honestly
think I'd fall for something that is so CLEARLY as SCAM?? Actually,
I've been making up everything I've been telling you and wasting your
time for the past 15 minutes.. I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU. Man, are you
guys gullible.. I really had you going. You know what's funny?? JOE
SCHUMAKER doesn't even exist! I made that shit up.. oh man. You would
think scam artists like yourself wouldn't be so stupid as to fall for
this sort of thing. I can't believe how you really thought I was
excited about the prospect of getting $5,000. I really sounded genuine
didn't I? Man, first thing I do after we're done here is call the
cops.. we've been on the line long enough that this call will
definitely be easy to pick out."
For the next 30 seconds the guy yelled a bit.. sounded very pissed off
and said, "Just forget about this call and hang up." He hung up.. I
did the same.
I hope I don't get shot.
Text 2: The Pueblo Chieftain, 25 November 2005
http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1132902000/11
A local woman spent $349 for an application for a "grant" to help her
pay off bills, but now has nothing to show for the money.
The woman told Juno that she was called by a man saying he was with
"Grant Procurement Corporation". He said she could get a grant to pay
off her bills if she sent him the application fee of $349.
She did and now she hasn't received anything, she said.
The officer said he doesn't think the company exists, having searched
unsuccessfully for it on the Internet. Juno also called the phone
number given to the woman, but found that it led only to the voice
mail of another woman.