But not all are there for the same reasons. Some are there because they are scamming foxes and they see a religious group as like a church - a place filled with nice, fat and dumb chickens, just waiting to be ate!
Who are these some?
Well, they are the ones who inhabit the net cafes of Nigeria and Benin and Liberia and Ghana and Sierra Leone and other West African nations. Or for that matter, the net cafes of India and the Philippines. Why those nations? Because they are the poor nations in which English is spoke rather widely, and so it is possible for them to do all the various scams you are no doubt aware of.
They are the ones who want you to aid their Uncle in moving a large amount of money out of the country - and you may have 10% of that $100,000,000 (ONe HUndreD MILION DOLAR) fortune! (Their spelling errors, not mine!) Or they'll do the investment scam or the business opportunity scam or the lonely hearts scam or any other scam you can think of.
Including, for the purposes of this article, the "Church Brother Scam".
I'll tell you what happened this morning - though it is hardly unusual and not the first time I've had it tried on me - and you can then see how it works.
First, I get a friend request from a person I do not know. An American name, but I notice the profile has him down as in the Philippines. Bear in mind that friend requests from foreign names you do not know should usually be turned down, and in fact, you should mostly turn down any friend request if you don't know them, even if it is an American name, like he went to the trouble of pretending.
Me, I often do accept such requests, mainly as I run an inordinate number of facebook groups so I know that often people in those groups will send friend requests meaning no harm. And I don't want to get facebook upset with them by denying the request.
I accepted his then, and looked over the profile and saw his nation of origin, but no real indicator of who he was. No religious posts, no professions of faith, and no political postings either such as would indicate that he followed me in any of those groups. But over 2,500 friends, and that's a red flag.
Second, he messaged me right out of the gate. Thereby letting me know that the only point of the friend request was to message me.
Marc: "Hello sir" Note the heightened level of respect towards a person (me) who is in theory just a friend. Another red flag, of the "you're about to be asked for money" sort.
Me: Hello
Marc: Can I ask a favor please sir? *crying emoticon*
Note the 100% chance of being asked for money has shot up to a 1,000,000% now!
Me: Asking is free.
Marc: Please sir I very need money sir *crying emoticon* *crying emoticon* *crying emoticon* please sir help me... or if you can help me then just pray for me sir
Marc: *thumbs up emoticon*
Marc: please sir *crying emoticon*
Marc: GodBless you
Marc: Im an Seventh Day Adventist sir
Marc: You there sir?
Now understand I was there the whole time, but busy looking at his profile. My first inclination was that he was a kid, probably heard the bigger kids (the 16 to 22 crowd) bragging about making "phat" cash off of dumb Westerners.
His poor English tells me that he's not operating off of a cut and paste script like the older ones would be, and also he's not engaging in even the minimal finesse that is typical of the more mature scammer.
For instance, a seasoned scammer would have tried to engage me a bit first - not much, they've no time to waste, but a bit. The old, "How are you doing? I hope your family is well! Did you enjoy church last Sunday?" (Most scammers are used to Sunday worship schedules, though don't go to any church at all.)
Then they'll ask for money, but only with a story. The "I am the only support for my seven brothers and need to work to care for them and so cannot to go to school but if I had money to I could go and take the better care of them." ruse.
In their case, the illiteracy could still be poor English skills, or it could be an affectation so as to make the gullible Westerner feel superior. If you think someone is your inferior, you pity them a bit, and so are more inclined to aid them - or so Scammer 101 teaches.
Often I mess about with scammers, just to keep them on their toes. Most of them are using fake nics, but I'll google the local police of their town, find out who the head guy there is, then tell the scammer that I turned his IP over to Mbwami Smith or whichever name it was. That always gives them a fright, as often the local law over there is far more strict on this stuff then we are.
Not that I'll actually bother doing that, just telling them generates the desired effect.
Now this kid seemed a kid, for reasons I've said, and I was inclined to just block and leave it at that. But then, impatient for me to say "yes" to sending him money, or for me to at least ask why, he trotted out the "Im an Seventh Day Adventist sir" bit.
Granted, I hate all scammers, as for all that the movies depict them as "clever" and "savvy" they're really almost always bottom feeding low IQ scum preying off the uneducated, the gullible, and yes, sad to say, sometimes the not so honest "victim" who is a bit dishonest, or he or she would not be falling for it.
But the uneducated and gullible don't deserve what they get, which is heart ache and sometimes grave financial disaster.
This kid was playing the church card. I've seen it before. In Methodist groups the guy will be a fellow Methodist. Mormon groups get them, too. As do Lutheran and Baptist and Catholic groups.
Often times they'll know a bit about the faith, too. For having read the stuff posted in the group they are fishing in, or from just googling it. Or even having been drug to whichever church in their local village. Most American churches are expansionist, so it's not hard to find one, especially in the capitols.
Back to the kid. He's making the appeal based upon a shared faith, and that can't be ignored now. I click back over to his profile for a second look, and at the same time answered:
"Why haven't you asked the brothers in your church for help?"
Long pause. I suspect that he's flagged one of the older kids as what he probably started as idle fun has now turned into a "possible". Any time you don't say "no" at once, that's a "possible", they take it as a fisherman takes the bob bobbing.
Marc: They don't sir because it's a financial problem sir... i hope you can help me sir even if just a small amount sir it will be a big blessing for me sir...God bless you always sir.
Me: What's your minister's name? You talk to him yet? What did he say?
No response. A minute passes, still no response. More minutes pass. This means he's gave up and moved on to the next sucker. Or just regrets starting it without proper preparation. Obviously anyone experiencing an emergency would have been more than happy to answer those questions.
I also note that he leaped up to the level of using words like "financial" and also that unfamiliar with what came before is just going for any amount, instead of a specific amount for a specifically named crises.
Still. I am finding absolutely ZERO evidence of Adventism in his feed or profile or photos. And it's rare not to come across a gospel quote, church selfie, or some such. He has family listed in one section, which is why I suspect that he was a kid on a lark.
And still no reply to my inquiry as to what his minister said. No mention ever of what this was for. The desire for any amount of money. The change in wording as if another had come on. I decide that not only will this inspire an article, but I'll give him a shot across his bow to make him think about whether this is the "career" he wants.
So I message one of his cousins. A prosperous looking young woman who apparently lives in one of the big cities. I let her know that her cousin Marc is in dire trouble, as he has found it needful to contact strangers online for money, because his church wouldn't help. Since she's Catholic, I suspect this will greatly surprise her and not please her very much at all.
The beauty of this is that one, I know he was playing, and now he's going to get a bit of grief when she calls his mom to ask what's up. But two, if he was not playing - 1 in a 1,000,000 - then he can have that aid. But for those of you wondering, of course he was playing, do you imagine there is any world in which a church is going to turn down one of their own in need?
Only if they know you don't really "need" it. And who better to know then those closest to you?
Me: I just messaged your cousin **** so she can make sure you get help.
He instantly replied, he who had been so silent for so long. I mean those little three wavy dots started at once, and ended at once.
Marc: Stop, don't message anyone!
Ahh, the idiocy of using your real account for a scam, I thought. He is a child after all, probably 14, 15 tops.
Me: Oh, and I also just messaged your friend **** to let him know you're in trouble and needing to have strangers online send you money. He should be wishing to help, yes?
Marc: *profanity*, leave his friends alone.
Me: His friends? Who's this? You the ringmaster running the 419s today? Any old lady wired her pension fund to you yet?
"Marc": It's not his fault. He won't contact you again.
I've ran into that before. Where when you call one of them out and they know you know they'll post something like that. It's a concession, they're just hoping to have you let it go at that, and honestly, that's usually the best course. There's little else to do anyway, so why not?
Which is why I wrote "fair enough" so as to leave it at that. Kid learned his lesson and all that. But when I hit enter, his buddy had already blocked for him. Smart buddy.
But I nevertheless went over to the group that I suspected he had seen my name in and sure enough, there he was on the member list. Maybe he's an idle kid playing, maybe he's a beginner looking to learn. Who knows? So I blocked him. And the person who had admitted him. That person had never posted, so I went with my slash and burn policy on Group Safety.
Here's the deal, folks. People all around the world - but particularly in the poor English speaking parts - will join all manner of groups in order to go fishing. You wonder, "How profitable could it be?" Well, pretty darn profitable.
Say someone is playing at this for 4 hours. There's the initial day or two set up of nic creation and group joining. But after that, it's just try, try and try again. It may well cost them $5 for a day of playing at the net cafe. But I guarantee you that given how many folks they can message per day, they'll make that back no trouble.
They only need one person to send them $50. That would cover their net fees and meals for the week and still leave $10 leftover. In countries where the average monthly income can be only a few U.S. dollars. And here they are making - if it goes slow, very, very slow - $40 a month. But I guarantee they'll make more than that. I would say that anyone trying over there ought to be able to get half a dozen people to part with $50.
Each week. A five day week of only four hour days.
Most have their stories ready. Needing school is a current favorite, but sick relatives or even starving relatives is still used. So you know, there are very few people starving with access to facebook. Something about the whole - oh, yeah, they're starving so are scavenging for food, not playing on a laptop or iPhone that could feed their family for a month!
If you send them money, your heart may be in the right place, but you are being a fool. And encouraging them to keep doing this and so they'll eventually fleece someone who might not be able to afford it as much as you.
Remember that when it comes to charity, start with home first. Then community. Then your region. Then state. Then nation. Way towards the end, the world. The first level is safest. As you get further and further out, the odds of your aid being eaten up in administrative costs, re-directed aid, salaries, scams or other nonsense, grows and grows.
And yet if some enormous disaster occurs overseas, such as you are inclined to make an exception, or if you just enjoy helping overseas in general, then for heaven's sake, do so through your local church! In the case of Seventh-day Adventists, that is ADRA, and they've a world wide reach.
And impeccable integrity.
If there is some particular person overseas that you truly think needs aid, talk to that person's minister. Oh, they don't want to name their minister? Well, that kind of tells the tale, doesn't it?
I posted a nearly identical piece of advice like this in a Latter-day Saint group once, another group that is notoriously preyed upon. But I notice that all church groups of all faiths are preyed upon. Castigated by our own media, the rest of the world knows who is the most generously giving.
And being generously giving is fine, just make sure that you're giving to those who need it and won't abuse it. Not some kid trying to impress the big kids at the Freetown Net Cafe.
