419 is the loneliest number III

OK - so now the mark has taken the bait.  The mark paid the first fee, whether it was labeled a "transfer tax," "performance bond," whatever.  The key is that the scammer knows that the mark is now on the hook and complied with the demand of the scammer.

     Most of us know where this is going next.  If the mark pays the first fee, the scammer will come up with even more complications that will require more money.  The complications, which require the sending of more money, will continue until the mark quits, runs out of money, or in extreme cases, is actually killed.

    This is, of course, how the scammers make their money.  The scammers will continue to send letters or emails to the mark demanding more money for some complication or new transaction that must be paid before the "big payoff" can continue.

    Most of the time, the first fee that is requested by the scammers is relatively small - a few thousand dollars. The scammer relates to the mark that the deal has hit some sort of snag - some person or organization is holding up the transfer and these funds are needed to smooth things over.  The key element for which the scammer is looking is to see if the promise of the big payoff in the end (usually tens of millions of dollars) is enough to convince the mark that he should be liable for the "paltry" sum of a few thousand dollars.  Usually, with this kind of money dangling out in front of the mark, the money requested does not seem unreasonable and the scam can proceed.

   However, there are instances where the scammer will ask for enormous amounts of money because of a serious snag in the process - such as "government lawyers" wanting a percentage of the money, say $200,000.00.  Of course, most marks would balk at turning over this much money.  The scammer then goes on to say (in a series of emails) that he has negotiated the price down and down and now the fee is lower (i.e. goes from $200,000 to $25,000.00).  This is, of course, a test to see how much the mark can absorb.

   As can be seen, the inventiveness of these scammers is incredible.  Further, these scammers have an innate knowledge of human psychology.  They know that in these scams, the mark constantly faces the prospect of losing his initial payments or paying even more fees, hoping for the big payoff.

    We will, of course, continue this tommorrow.

  Sometimes, the victims of these scams will take revenge their own way.  This is an old new story, but worth reading:  http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2003/02/57760

   As always, the Firm of Tausk & Vega stands ready to assist with any fraud-related or white-collar crime matter.  www.tauskvega.com

   Have a great and fraud-free day.

---------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk