 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-01-04 16:14
This is from a facebook chat which the scammer made the mistake of using a very respected clarinetist as the stolen page: It just happened minutes ago: I immediately suspected it was a scam, and when I asked about dinner in 3 weeks that 100% confirmed it - 3000 miles away, and we've never met in person!! (and uh, I'll be in recovery)
11:49amJames
are you there?
11:49amDavid
yup
hi James!
11:50amJames
how are you doing?
am in a mess at the moment...
11:50amDavid
Doing really well - staying calm which is the main thing as this is a waiting game till surgery
what's your mess?
I wrote Michele yesterday to tell her
11:51amJames
am stranded in London at the moment..
11:52amDavid
I dodged basically a 50 caliber bullet with the health thing, so I'm grateful for that one
flight stranded you?
11:52amJames
no
I got mugged at gun point last night,
11:52amDavid
wow!
11:52amJames
all cash,credit cards,and cellphone got stolen.
11:53amDavid
man, that's horrible
what are you doing about that?
11:53amJames
reported to the police,and canceled all cards.
it looked so scary
11:54amDavid
Are we still on for Dinner in 3 weeks?
11:54amJames
yeah
am just left with my passport,and return ticket.
I need your help!
11:54amDavid
cool, where do you want to go? Do you need money?
11:55amJames
yes
11:55amDavid
How can I get it to you?
11:55amJames
western union.
you just have to send it on my name,and location.
11:56amDavid
how much do you need?
11:56amJames
1300
11:56amDavid
I did really well in the stock market last month, that's no problem
I know you are good for it.
so what's the pin for western union?
11:57amJames
thanks
do you have a nearby outlet?
11:58amDavid
Yup, very close at the supermarket. I'm in Los Angeles right now.
11:58amJames
ok
11:58amDavid
what to do?
11:58amJames
all you need is have the money sent on my name,and present location.
11:59amDavid
which is??
11:59amJames
Location:30 Leicester Square.
City, London
United Kingdom. WC2H 7LA
Name:James D Lytthans
that's all info you need to get the money to me.
12:00pmDavid
It will take about 2 hours before I can get to the western union. I'm working right now. Is that ok?
12:03pmDavid
hello??
12:03pmJames
ok
12:03pmDavid
Can I send you more?
I want you to be ok
12:04pmJames
ok
no problem
12:04pmDavid
how much?
12:05pmJames
2500 will do.
12:05pmDavid
Ok, I just asked my boss and she said that I need to leave in 3 hours. So you will get the money in 3 hours from now. Is that allright? It won't be too late for you will it?
Love you man!
12:06pmJames
ok
12:06pmDavid
what time is it?
12:07pmJames
you can email me the western union info when you are done.(jamesdlytthans@yahoo.com)
got it?
12:07pmDavid
I won't have email for a while, it's down currently
just be at the western union office in 3 hours
-----------------------------------------
My question to you all is how can I get this bast*rd arrested? Is that even possible? Who to call? (I've got till 3 pm eastern time)
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2010-01-04 16:27)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-01-04 16:16
I called Michele Zukovsky right away to tell her and she called James (close friend) to get him to change his password. I also wrote facebook with their report a scam link, and realized that this dude must have stolen his Yahoo account as that's james real account.
James is in Vegas getting probably ripped off legally by the casinos 
What else to do??
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2010-01-04 16:25)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2010-01-04 16:26
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> What else to do??
Nothing. No one will take this on ... it's not 100% untraceable, but nearly so, so the return on investment is nil.
Essentially - never deal w/ Western Union or any other cash transfer enterprise unless you can positively identify the party you're sending money to (like a telephone call).
But I thought that everyone knew that already ... if someone can get online to do some chat, they sure as hell can call. Personally. Not a supposed "health worker" or "policeman".
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Author: Mark Wing
Date: 2010-01-04 16:30
From the Western Union web site:
Fraud Contact
* If you think you've been a victim of fraud, contact us at 1-800-448-1492.
I don't know what can be done, but maybe they can answer questions.
It wouldn't surprise me if the person intending to collect the money in London was another person being scammed.
Mark
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-01-04 16:42
Don't know if this is the latest "Nigerian Banker" scam, but my sister-in-law had the exact thing happen to her.
What happens is that the entire contact list of the ripped-off e-mail account is contacted at once.
I suppose some folks somewhere actually send in money to these guys if it's worth doing as much as it must be done.
Even though I'd think most of us and our friends are smarter than to fall for crap like that, you still lose ALL your contacts and have to start all over with a new account. BACK UP YOUR CONTACTS!!
...........Paul Aviles
P.S. Once the "hacker" changes your passwords, there IS NO getting back in.
Post Edited (2010-01-04 16:46)
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Author: David Niethamer
Date: 2010-01-04 16:43
Talked to James directly at home on the phone. He is **NOT** stranded in London! Got this same chat. Posted a warning to all of our mutual friends on Facebook. James has cancelled his Facebook account after hearing from Michele Zukovsky and from me. apparently this is a common scam on Facebook, because there is a FAQ about it!
David
niethamer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-01-04 16:45
I called Western Union. They need a call from Jim personally to block his name.
Thanks for the follow up David - I didn't have his number.
James was an accompaniment customer of mine, but we never chat online....
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2010-01-04 16:48)
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Author: lytthans
Date: 2010-01-04 17:43
Thanks to all on the BB for the suggestions. I'm the hackee, Jim. I closed both my Facebook and Yahoo accounts, blocked my name with Western Union and contacted the London Metropolitan Police. I hope they catch this guy and lock him up. WU even has a FAQ posting regarding this scam.
Jim Lytthans
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-01-05 12:49
David Blumberg, good job that you spotted this attempted scam so fast and kudos to you, Michele Zukovsky, David Niethamer and the others who set out to help Jim Lytthans do something about it. Wouldn't it be lovely if the Western Union people and the cops could lay in wait for the creep -- but at least your fast action reduced the damage.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-01-05 13:39
I had the exact same thing but via email from a oboist friend in the Zurich Opera. The email read exactly the same as David's conversation. I emailed her straight away.
Sadly there is not much that can be done unless you have concrete evidence such as a name and address. This is becoming, sadly, an all to common occurrence.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2010-01-05 16:41
The police don't seem to be very interested in these things. I offered to be the "bait" when the London person's contact would come to my home to pick up the change from his cheque, but the local police didn't show a bit of interest. That's why these guys get away with this stuff.
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2010-01-05 18:17
I worked for three years in North London.
I saw that Western Union in the UK is used mainly for transfers to Pakistan.
I guarantee that the average British person has never even heard of Western Union.
Among those who do deal internationally, Western Union is treated as the Monty Python version of Paypal.
Ask yourself... why do most transactions allow credit cards and Paypal.... but never Western Union!
Steve
PS Where IS Western Union???? Afghanistan, Iraq........?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2010-01-05 19:06
stevensfo wrote:
> Ask yourself... why do most transactions allow credit cards and
> Paypal.... but never Western Union!
Back in the bad ol' days - pre credit card & ATM - Western Union was a godsend when you needed bail money ...
Not that I ever used it for that purpose ...
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Author: soybean
Date: 2010-01-05 21:46
According to Wikipedia:
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Greenwood Village, Colorado, and its international marketing and commercial services headquarters are in Montvale, New Jersey. Until it discontinued the service, Western Union was the best known US company in the business of exchanging telegrams.
Western Union has a number of divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, and commercial services. As of September 9, 2008, the company has 350,000 Western Union agent locations in over 240 countries and territories. Reported revenues top $5 billion annually.
~Dan
(Leblanc Bliss, Buffet R13 key of A, Yamaha 250 Bb)
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