View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > September > 12
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
I do not like you, Scam I Am
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve been getting calls on the Canadian Lotto Scam again. The scam goes like this: Someone calls to say that you have won a cash prize and then the caller lets another person, someone who claims to be a lawyer or a Canadian customs official, on the phone to explain how you have won the money in a special lottery.
All that you have to do is send a cashier’s check to pay for Canadian customs. The caller will warn you if your banker asks why you need the money, tell them it is for personal business.
Usually the callers are relentless. They will call and be friendly, call the person by their first name and ask for the person to do the same. They will continue to call until the person sends the money. Sometimes they send a check to the victim who then sends the cashier’s check to the address only to find out later their check is no good.
It sounds like this scam wouldn’t fool anyone, but the primary targets are seniors.
Use the Web to find these scams and information about them. Scamdex is a site I was on recently. They serve as a database for scam information. Snopes is a good one for urban legends.
Names in the News
A Chinese couple in Beijing, China tried to name their baby “@,” claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child. The name has not been approved yet but the idea has set off a number of name frenzies all over the world. I like the name-and-who’s-your-daddy era. “I am Turok—Son of Stone.” What a great introduction. It speaks of your family history.
Hopefully your family wasn’t a bunch of goobers. “I am Meetor—Son of Dum-Dum who walks the earth with sticks in his nose.” Or “ Heinz—Son of many fathers who occasionally come around after drinking heavily on payday.”
Maybe we should give them names to represent them in that part of their lives. Teenagers would take the name: ? for a few years.
