ANOTHER GADDAFI SCAM

The Gaddafi Scammers Never Give Up

In May 2019, a post on The Hot Wire Times, Gaddafi's Millions, exposed a long-running scam to trick people of their savings. It’s a re-invented chain letter type scam that has had many variations over the years, but unfortunately people still fall for it.

In a nutshell, the scam offers a percentage of some locked up funds that can only be obtained by the scammer, if the unsuspecting victim agrees to launder the funds through a foreign bank account. The catch is that there are ‘expenses’ or ‘fees’ that must first be paid by the victim before the transfer can take place. Initially, the expenses are quite moderate, but demands for additional expenses soon follow. Some victims lose thousands of dollars before facing the embarrassing fact that they have been duped. Many are left penniless.

The scam raises an obvious question for many readers; are people really that gullible? For a few people, the answer is yes. But if only a few people fall for it, why do the scammers stay in the ‘business’? Because the scammers use middlemen who don’t get paid and are themselves victims of the scammers and will be replaced by others as they quit.

Social media is never short of posts offering lucrative employment, working from home with a computer. A typical post will claim, ‘Jane Smith makes $6,000 a day, you can too!’ But the truth is that Jane Smith will be a victim too who will in all probability not be paid a single cent, because 100% of the revenue will go directly to the criminals at the top of the pyramid.

 Some of the Jane Smiths are less than bright. They have yet to learn that there is no free lunch when it comes to getting rich quick on the internet. But the pits of intellectual dimness were reached by the Jane Smith who attempted to post a comment on a blog post that warned readers about the Jane Smiths and their masters. That’s right, her comment was an almost identical repeat of the main body of the post. How dumb was she, or he! Here it is, exactly as it was written:

How is your day? i hope you are fine? i really appreciate your return mail,like a told you in my previous mail that I was born and brought up in Libya
Right now, as i am writing to you, i am the only person alive in my family, and I managed to make my way to this country (Senegal) where i am leaving now as a refugee under the care of a Rev. Father, Peter Vim who is the priest of the ( Saint-Louis Roman Catholic Church (Senegal) here in the camp, he has been very nice to me since I came here but i am not living with him rather i live in the female's hostel because the camp have two hostels one for men the other for women.

Please do not be offended for this message that comes from me please, its just that i don't know what else to do, because my situation here as a refugee is giving me a great concern, therefore, i will like you to consider my situation as an orphan, and be kind with me, as i am putting the whole of my trust on you without fear, though i don't know who you are before, but i believe that with God all things are possible and you can not betray me at the end.

I have pass this information to you because of my difficult situation here in this refugee camp, Its just like one staying in the prison and i hope by Gods grace i will come out here soon.

I don't have any relatives now whom i can go to, all my relatives ran away in the middle of the war the only person i have now is the Rev Fr. Peter vim , who is our guardian.
The Rev father Tel number is (+221 784727863) I will like you call, please tell him that you wants to speak with me Miss. Helena Abdel from Libya he will send for me in the hostel to come and talk with you. Here in this camp I am sending you email through the church office computer at the Rev Farther office. Because As a refugee here we don't have any right or privilege to any thing be it money, phone, computer, or whatever because it is against the law of this country. I want to go back to my studies because I only attended my first year before the tragic incident that lead to me being in this bad situation. I was present when i saw my mother killed with six months pregnant.

Please listen to this --( because it's a secret, even no one knows about it except you and i knows about this),

I have my late father's death certificate here with me, which i will send to you later, because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in one of the leading banks in Europe which he used my name as the next of kin, the total amount, is $4.9M(Four Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars) United States Dollars). So I will like you to help me to transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet you in your country. I kept this secret to people in the camp here the only person that knows about it is you and me.

For your own information, i want you to view this news information about killing of my late Father, story through BBC WORLD NEWS ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14336122 ) So i will like you to keep it to yourself as secret and don't tell it to anyone because i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it. Meanwhile i want to return to my religion Islam, because here i am taken care by catholic church refugee.

Remember i am giving you all this information due to the trust i deposed on you. I like honest and understanding people,truthful and people that have vision, hardworking and GOD fearing person. My favorite language is English and i speak English very fluently.

can i trust you as a genuine friend ?

Meanwhile i will like you to call me like i said, i have a lot to tell you..
Have a nice day and think about my condition here

Awaiting to hear from you soonest
Thanks and remain blessed.
Yours.Helena

Here is another plea, with some confusion about the money:

Dearest One,

I am writing this mail with tears and sorrow to seek for your assistance regarding my situation since the death of my parents. My name is Mimi Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi, 22 years old Female, originated from Benghazi-Libya , North Africa. .My late Father General Abdel Fattah Younes who was shot death by Islamist-linked militia within the anti-Gaddafi forces on 28th July, 2011, the brutal killing of my mother and my only kid sister took place a week after the dead of my father.

I am now writing to seek for your assistance from Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso where I managed to escaped through the help of the United Nation, and now seeking asylum in Refugee Camp here in Ouagadougou,Burkina-Faso,

Meanwhile, the main reason why I am seeking for your assistance is because of some money my late parent deposited in one of the banks here in Burkina Faso which I am the next of kin. My Father made a fixed deposit of Six Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollar ($6.8M). I need you to stand as my trustee so that the money will be transferred to you. You will get 30% of the money for your help. more details will be sent to you as soon as i receive your response..

Yours Faithfully,
Ms. Mimi Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi,

Meanwhile, the assassination victim at the centre of the scam was a real Libyan general who was shot and killed in 2011. Everything else in the scam is pure fiction.