Other LanguagesYesterday I received the following email from daidou@tora-rd.com:
PLEASE BE OF GREAT HELP !!!
My Name is KENNEDY LABIB and my sister is SA'SMA LABIB,We are from SUDAN My consignment contains $15 million United States dollars.The consignments is presently in your Country.
Please, Contact Diplomat Edward Mantey on (916-222-8393) time and get back to me through mail.
Thanks and God bless you
KENNEDY LABIB
Note that this came to my official Washington State Attorney General’s Office email address. One meaning of “consignment,” says the dictionary, is “to hand over or deliver.” Wait – does that mean Kennedy is charged with delivering $15 million to some lucky American? Might that American be me? I called the “Diplomat” immediately. Alas, he was not immediately available. His message informed me that, “The Magic Jack Customer you have called is unavailable.” I was, however, allowed to leave a message. For laughs, I asked him to call me. I haven’t heard back yet.
Magic Jack, by the way, is a product – which we do not endorse nor condemn – that allows users to receive calls and voice messages without an actual phone line. Apparently the “diplomat” likes to save money by not having a secretary or even a phone line. Very frugal --- especially for someone charged with quickly unloading several million smackers.
In all seriousness, here’s my question: what is this scam and how would it play out if I actually fell for it? After reading a few of your answers I’ll post a few words of advice.
Dan Sytman