Based off the old 419 Scam, they are at it again, this time going after your money AND your heart!
Have you ever been curious? Have you ever wondered who your truck driving hubby talks to while he is out on the road? For those of you who have gotten bitten by that curiosity bug and taken a look at his list of FaceBook friends and have seen several really gorgeous hot looking model types, you might be surprised to learn a few things about those seemingly hot looking babes. (While I would post pictures from their pages, we have to remember that the photo is a real person with their image hijacked for despicable means.)
We have all seen the emails and scams come out of Nigeria wanting us to give them our bank information, but this scam, albeit having been around for a couple of years now is sweeping through the social media playgroud. Most of those hot looking babes are not real; they are Nigerians or Philippines putting on a front to scam you out of your hard earned dollars.
They start off as sweet and endearing young women who are truly interested in you and want to talk to you. They fish for information. Then will come a sob story about how they were with a college group and got left behind and they have no means of getting home, or they are on a mission with missionaries and their father has fallen ill and they need money to buy a plane ticket. They are full of promises of returning the money as soon as they get back to the states.
Beware! These are all lies! They are more likely to be cunning Nigerians wanting to take you for a ride. They never ask for a lot, maybe just $500. But when they have a string of guys with soft hearts who are willing to send them money, they come out with a treasure trove.
Having heard of this from a driver who is close to me, I decided to do a little searching of my own. Combing through Google, I came across several interesting stories, not all of them are recent but I believe you will find them to be beneficial.
Facebook Page exposing Nigerian Fraud
This one I found to be the best one I saw out there, Is Your Love Interest a Nigerian Scam Artist?
Indeed, pay attention to the grammar that people use when talking to you through messaging. If they say they are American, pay attention to their syntax. Americans, regardless of region, tend to talk in a particular way and this is translated through their typing. Don’t let your guard down just because it is a pretty face, be vigilant in protecting your pocketbook and never give out any information that will make it easier for these people to scam you.
Another giveaway is that when you visit this person’s profile, you will not see a whole lot of pictures and most of their friend list will consist of whom they deem to be vulnerable guys. Our drivers do indeed get lonely out there on the road, but they don’t need to fall for this old scam. If you are an average looking trucker and this hot model type starts telling you she loves you, think twice, it is probably a scam. Get your ego out of your pants and back into your head where it belongs; you do not need to have to explain to your wife how you got scammed out of $500 and where that money went.
While we all like to help those in need, it is best to make sure the person you are helping is indeed who they say they are. So, if you see those hot looking model types on your trucker’s friend’s list, inform him and tell him to beware of these crafty foreigners who want to take him for a ride. While we can report and block these pages, it is only a matter of time before there is a new one up and running to take its place. The best thing to do is to not fall for it. Just like with the emails that get sent to our spam box every day, just delete them.