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301 votes
Accepted

Sugar daddy wants my online banking login info to make deposits — is it a scam?

they're asking me for my online banking username and password. is that information alone enough for them to be able to take my money out of my account, or am i safe? They don't need that ...
Charles E. Grant's user avatar
280 votes

Lost $10K to scammers, found out their home address and want to take action

There is a real chance that you haven't found the scammer. You may have just found another victim. The risk to you is that you decide to try and scam the scammer, or you try to physically strike the ...
mhoran_psprep's user avatar
274 votes

Why do Nigerian email scammers openly say they are from Nigeria?

They say "Nigerian" because the savvy ones ignore it. So any answers must be from lower risk victims who are more likely to send the money.
David Woodroof's user avatar
242 votes

A man on a work project in West Africa asks me for 2000 - is this a scam?

Nobody with 40 million in the bank needs a random stranger to help them out with a few thousands. No matter which problem he has, with the liquidity available to him, he can access funds and his bank ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 2,402
219 votes

Why is a friend asking me to make multiple Money Gram transfers in my name using his money?

Stop doing this. If your friend contacts you, don't answer until you've followed through on step 2. Go get a lawyer. They might advise you to contact the police and tell the police what's been going ...
Glen Pierce's user avatar
  • 2,603
211 votes
Accepted

Someone wants me to use my credit card at a card-only gas/petrol pump in return for cash

Plenty of people don't have credit/debit cards, if they had cash in hand they were probably just one of those people. Cash first, fuel 2nd with you pumping, not much risk to you in that scenario. ...
Hart CO's user avatar
  • 71.2k
206 votes

Is this work legal? Someone promises payment for converting money transfers to Bitcoin

It's a scam. It's called a money mule. Typically the way this will work is that the scammers will make a fraudulent money transfer into your friend's account. Your friend will convert the funds into ...
Charles E. Grant's user avatar
206 votes

Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee

I was contacted by a woman on Instagram we told me I could make a $50,000 profit after sending in $500 Yes, you're being scammed. Didn't even read the rest. As long as you keep sending them money ...
littleadv's user avatar
  • 184k
194 votes
Accepted

I'm supposedly eligible for an inheritance from a distant relative. Offer appears to be legitimate

In any instance where your hackles are raised about a possible scam, but you have reason to move forward regardless, approach with caution, and complete whatever due diligence you can, without direct ...
Grade 'Eh' Bacon's user avatar
187 votes

I'm supposedly eligible for an inheritance from a distant relative. Offer appears to be legitimate

To close this out, in fact it wasn't a scam, despite the third letter. The contact details in the second letter checked out against the Law Society website, so I gave them a ring on their general ...
alephzero's user avatar
  • 4,473
184 votes

Is this person wanting to pay my credit card trying to defraud me?

This is no friend. The clue is that your user name and password aren't required. I've made payments for my mother in law, and the card number, just the 16 digits on front, were enough to send a ...
JTP - Apologise to Monica's user avatar
178 votes

I won $9500 in a game. Now they're asking me to send it back via different means, promising me more money if I do so

It sounds like a new variant of an age-old scam. The way they want you to return the money will be non-reversible. But in a few days, you will find that the $9500 payment into your account is ...
Simon B's user avatar
  • 11k
176 votes

I am an EU resident being contacted about stock I own in a defunct company by a supposedly US based lawyer, is this a scam?

A bit of detective work. The website lists no names for the firm. Any business, doctor, lawyer, etc, is at least going to tell you who the main partners are. The site itself looks like a generic ...
JTP - Apologise to Monica's user avatar
175 votes
Accepted

Is this $200 "welcome money" (from a major bank) some sort of scam?

Banks in the US frequently offer these kinds of promotions, and this particular one is not out of line with similar offers. Chase frequently does $300 for a new checking account. As usual some ...
Pete B.'s user avatar
  • 79.6k
175 votes

Someone stated that my uncle died in Canada and there is money for me

If I had a legitimate reason to give to you $100,000 with a $500 fee, I would ask you if it is okay to take the $500 out of the $100,000, and if you agree, I'd pay you $99,500 without any cost for you....
gnasher729's user avatar
  • 23.9k
171 votes

20% monthly mining vs 5% monthly trading

Anybody that guarantees a monthly (for example 5%,11%,16%, 20%) return that would be great if that was a annual return, is running a scam. If they guarantee they could take your 20K euros and make ...
mhoran_psprep's user avatar
169 votes
Accepted

Dissuading my girlfriend from a scam

What's Wrong With Being a Turkey? One of our dear friends comes to us to seek advice, since we seem to know a thing or two about money. Our friend just so happens to be a turkey - a particularly ...
BrianH's user avatar
  • 11.7k
168 votes

A newer friend of my brother's gave him a load of baseball cards that are supposedly extremely valuable. Is this a scam?

TLDR: This is 100% a scam. My brother is working in a union and has met a bunch of people and started making good money lately Let me rephrase: "my brother is 'fresh meat' -- he is new to this ...
Eric Lippert's user avatar
  • 5,016
159 votes

Potential scammer pushing me to click a link and threatens to send the police

Please, take a deep breath and realize that empty threats are typical scammer behavior. He is behind a keyboard far away. He does not actually want police involved (and he can't simply have them ...
nanoman's user avatar
  • 30.3k
158 votes

I was contacted by a private bank overseas to get my inheritance

Nobody legit will ever ask you for money to give you money. If there is a million dollar inheritance and it costs $1,000 to get the money to you, someone legit will take $1,000 from the inheritance ...
gnasher729's user avatar
  • 23.9k
149 votes
Accepted

Scam caller asked for last 4 digits of card. Fake number doesn't fool him, does he have my full number?

He was probably trying to impersonate you on a site that legitimately knows your card number, perhaps your card issuer itself. Such a site would challenge your identity by asking for your last four ...
erickson's user avatar
  • 848
145 votes
Accepted

What would prevent me from taking advantage of scammers?

The scammers not giving your money back would prevent you from pulling out of the "investment" (scam). They may pay out the claimed returns for a month or a few months in order to build credibility to ...
yoozer8's user avatar
  • 9,553
143 votes

I believe this to be fraud — hired, then asked to cash check and send cash as Bitcoin

Absolutely a scam 100% chance. This is one of the most common scams out there. Here's how you will get ripped off. They send you a check which will deposit in your account Seeing the deposit went ...
JohnFx's user avatar
  • 53.5k
143 votes
Accepted

Is it legal to photograph and test ATMs?

Legal? Maybe. Legitimate? Absolutely Not. I'm not qualified to guess whether documenting the make, model and location of ATMs is technically legal in your jurisdiction. A list like that isn't ...
linksassin's user avatar
143 votes

Stranger sent me $12,100

This is certainly some variation of the overpayment scam There are many variants, but they usually start with a fraudulent payment of some type into your account. They payment may be a bad check, a ...
Charles E. Grant's user avatar
141 votes
Accepted

Scamming an investor by offering a quick sale of a property at her named price

It is not always easy to tell how a given scam will end up making money for the scammer. This is due to a lot of things, such as intricacies of paper trails, or story details that get passed on / ...
Grade 'Eh' Bacon's user avatar
141 votes

Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector

This sounds like a scam. The debt itself may be legitimate but the debt collector doesn’t sound legitimate. Legitimate businesses would never need access to your bank account. If you have the funds ...
Lawrence's user avatar
  • 9,392
134 votes
Accepted

50k job is offering 90k worth of shares. Scam?

That would likely be a startup. So they need a developer who can ask for a good salary, but they don't have that much money. So instead they offer shares. If the company is successful, due (in part)...
gnasher729's user avatar
  • 23.9k
130 votes
Accepted

Where is the scam in a "giveaway" in Oxford Circus, London?

It sounds like a mock auction. The sale starts with the auctioneer selling genuinely high value goods at knock-down prices to "customers" who are really staff working for the auctioneer. This gives ...
Simon B's user avatar
  • 11k
125 votes

A man wants to send me money

This is 200% a scam Here are some of the red flags, and I've reported the site to its registrar (whatever good that does): You just met him, and are pretty much a stranger, but he wants to send you ...
Stilez's user avatar
  • 2,606

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