Education

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Sep 2011 Posts: 19

I was reading this thread: http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=205081&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 about Western Union's responsibility with regard to 419 scams. I guess there is only so much that they can do as a business. However, people here keep saying that education is the key to preventing people falling victim to scams. I'm sure you will all tell me if this a ridiculous idea, but would it be possible for us to come up with a little leaflet directing people to scamwarners to check if the people they are dealing with are legitimate? Then do you think that Western Union branches might allow members to place a few of these in a noticable location in their shops? It wouldn't have to be anything fancy or expensive. Just something that those of us here who wanted to could print off a few of and drop at a WU when we are nearby.

We spend so much time creating forms and writing emails, I can't see this being a difficult endeavour for someone creative and if it saves one person from ending up in a bad situation then I think it would be worthwhile.

Ok I've put it out there, pick apart at your leisure. Smile

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:22 am

That would need more activity than we have resources, regarding how many Western Union offices there are all over the world. Fortunately, as far as I know, Western Union already has some warnings in their forms but when someone is convinced he/she should send money to a scammer, nothing may not stop the victim. Besides, people send money not only through Western Union or Money Gram but directly to scammers' bank accounts.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Sep 2011 Posts: 19

Thanks for your reply. Good points, we'd never get all the WUs covered, never mind anywhere else. It would be too huge to co-ordinate, I accept that. But I figured it could be an optional thing for people if they want. For example I quite often pass a WU shop in town, so it would be no great hardship to print off a few leaflets now and again and drop them in. But if anyone spots any glaring holes in this idea I'm open to listening. Smile

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:07 pm

I suppose you are free to ask but as I said, Western Union already has warnings on their forms which is a very good thing. You can also tell all your friends and relatives how scammers operate. I, for example, sometimes write on forums and give a link to Scamwarners.

A problem is that there isn't so much information on scams in my language (or other languages but English) anywhere on the Net. It would help a lot if someone could translate some basic information and publish it.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Sep 2011 Posts: 19

Thanks Nora. I tend to assume that my friends and family are as internet savvy as I am, but really I don't know for sure if they are aware of how convincing these scams can be sometimes. Friends and family sounds like a good place to start. Playing with the lads is fun and wasting their time is good, but I really want to feel like I am helping on the other side too somehow. I'm just gonna start pimping scamwarners at every opportunity I think Cool

There are so many people on this forum and over at scamwarners, there must be some who could translate articles etc? Or you could have a go yourself Very Happy

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:33 pm

Thank you for encouraging me, Milkmaidofdoom. I've been thinking if I could create a website in my language but I haven't had enough of time and energy. My baits take lots of time especially when I safari my Lads and I still have some RL in addition to baiting. Smile

Anyway, spreading awareness is always useful. I just met a lady on a forum who had met an African man on a dating site. She had even travelled to West Africa to be with her "love". As a result, she didn't lose only her savings but she had taken a loan to help the man. Now the "relationship" is over and she has to work hard to pay the loan back. I wish I had met her earlier.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:03 pm

@milkmaidofdoom Perhaps you could do something locally for your community. Irishimmigrant does presentations at his local senior centre community. If you are interested you might PM him about doing presentations in your community. He sent me some of the materials he uses and I have signed up at a couple local libraries to do presentations and at a senior centre in our area.

Even if we can reach seniors who are just trying to figure out how to turn on that shiny new computer then we can do a presentation about internet fraud, which would include not using WU or MG.

Another possibility would be doing something through the school systems about safe computing and sticking in information about the downfalls of using WU/MG and also sending money to bank accounts.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Sep 2011 Posts: 19

Thanks guys Very Happy

I hope Nora that at some point you are able to do that, it would be great. I know what you mean about time and energy though. Sometimes it is in short supply!

Morgain Le Fay, that is a fantastic thing to do. I shall definitely look into it!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 28 Aug 2011 Posts: 37

Excellent idea Morgan, they do something similar near me so i'll talk it over with the centre near me. Thank you

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18312

@NORA: ScamWarners does have a thread with links to some resources around the world. http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19
One of the links included on that thread is for http://www.vaonline.org/vsu.html , which is not specific to AFF, but has info and links for victims of crimes in many countries.

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:39 pm

Thank you, Ima. There are quite a few useful links that many baiters can give in different situations.

When browsing some forums in my language, I see more and more posts from people who have met a love lad/ladette online. Typically these people have no idea what is going on. They may have some questions as for marrying a foreigner or sending money abroad. It would be handy to refer to a site with information on romance scams - if there only was one. That's why I've been thinking about creating a site and maybe there could be information on AFF in general too. Unfortunately, as I said, I don't feel resourceful enough.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:26 am

Im sure WU has a poster in the office warning of potential scams but 2 things come to mind... 1st WU gets paid to send money and 2nd youd think the teller would question or at least give a little advise when they see a potential victim sending money to Nigeria or other high known scam areas.
I mean if a 65 yr old caucasian woman wants to send $300 to Lagos, chances are its a big red flag to the teller.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:31 am

mrbigtime wrote:

.....youd think the teller would question or at least give a little advise when they see a potential victim sending money to Nigeria or other high known scam areas.
I mean if a 65 yr old caucasian woman wants to send $300 to Lagos, chances are its a big red flag to the teller.

Customer Service and attention to detail is not something found nowadays in business.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:38 am

Quote:

Customer Service and attention to detail is not something found nowadays in business.

I know what you mean... i went into a radio shack the other day for a fuse for a child toy car that my granddaughter rides. a 20 amp fuse for a 6 volt battery. the clerk had no idea what i was asking for. I just assumed that a store that sells electronic parts would have a basic understanding of their product.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:10 am

mr bigtime, careful with the quote button. It grates on some users... and Mods.

Was the person behind the counter able to count change?

Sadly, customer service is something that went away with Service Stations and black and white TV.

Most merchants are lucky to get help that is not under the influence of some drug or glued to their cell phone. Having a craft or a trade is almost lost. [/rant]

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:23 am

yeah im not sure what happened there with the quote... looks like it quoted the whole thing instead of just the top line

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:04 am

Hi Milkmaidofdoom, Smile

Your intentions are good. I went to our local WU office in my travels.
I asked a few questions. There is a warning on the forms regarding scams and fraud. The general consensus is that people are just too lazy to read the warning. Posters are the same. The type of person that is likely to be a victim often will not heed or read the warnings.
There is just so much advertised and visual pollution that contributes to the apathy. People simply assume its a waste of time reading rules/warnings

Cheers

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:58 pm

Entomologist wrote:

people are just too lazy to read the warning.

Not only that but in some cases, they cannot read PERIOD.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:47 pm

Morgain Le Fay wrote:

Not only that but in some cases, they cannot read PERIOD.

Granted, lots of people all over the world can't read, but I doubt they fall victims to email scams very much.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:49 pm

^^^ I was meaning (and did not articulate it correctly) that people standing in lines at our local wire transfer place cannot read English but it doesn't stop them from sending money because the clerks help them complete the form.