Originally posted by rickoff
View Post
some red flags that made me suspicious:
1. Asking for money.
2. Very lofty, too-good-to-be-true claims. (1. great device. 2. nobody has funded it yet, through normal channels, and so on)
3. Referring to someone (or some technology) that is well-known: Tesla (ad also implying reference to his technology/ies). Many scammers use this to imply legitimacy through association (even though no association may exist), especially to those unfamiliar with the subject or the technology. This is compounded by the fact that the reference is very vague. (Tesla and his "power").
4. (a little more complicated) He refers to someone ("Mr Dick Korff") who is (presumably) successful in a related field (investing in technology). He seems to be trying to add impetus to the transfer of funds. (such and such is successful, now you have a chance to invest before he gets to me! hurry!) this can be important (for a scam) for a number of reasons. Scammers use this tactic trying to get funds faster: A. before they are caught B. to make sure the victim doesn't think it through C. to imply that the rewards will be high, further speeding up money transfer and attractiveness of the offer. and so on and so forth. Once the money is transferred (in any way), it is gone.
5. The name "Engin." I've never heard of this surname, and it is directly related to the subject. Scammers use mnemonic devices like that for 3 main reasons: 1. To identify their own work, as they try to delete their traces. 2. To remember what the offer was when doing multiple scams (ohh, this guy is asking about the engine scam! Then they look up their txt file with the offers and correspondence thus far). The last thing they want to do is forget, and have to find ways of asking which scam it was they're asking about, without drawing attention. And 3. They believe that it makes them anonymous... which is completely false.
6. Claiming not to be the person. In this case, claiming to be his son. This is used for a few reasons. 1. The person could be a newbie at scamming, and someone has told them that it is a legal defense to prosecution if they word it like that in the posts. Get on google (or, preferably, WestLaw or LexisNexis, for those who have access) and search for a min and anyone can see how effective that is. This is probably the least likely, but it does happen. 2. For people thrown off by red flags, this tactic leads them to think that "Ohh, it isn't the genius inventor that is stupid, it is his son! No wonder they are asking for legitimate funding in stupid places!" 3. The scammer is foreign (typically from some country in Africa). They often use this tactic if they aren't proficient in the English language, as it gives them several advantages, most importantly "outs" if cornered on anything.
7. The patent claims and vagueness strongly implies that the person has no idea wtf he is talking about, and hopes that the victim doesn't either (he only needs one person...). His vagueness and unwillingness to post patent numbers, or any details whatsoever about anything (including his device) strongly supports this. He seems to be trying to hide his ignorance by claiming that he doesn't want to give out detail, lest others will scam him. Which brings me to number 8...
8. The person clearly has very little knowledge of the patent process, even though he claims to have at least one US patent (US is implied in a few ways in the post) on this "device" alone. Despite his attempts to hide his ignorance, he fell flat on his face with that one. But again, all he needs is one person who also has no idea about the patent process to be successful.
9. "Dear User." This strongly implies poor knowledge of the English language. I see this often with foreigners. They don't know how to address people in certain settings properly, so they directly translate words from their native language (sometimes using a thesaurus) and use the word(s) in ways that native speakers would not.
There are some more little things in there that are more vague, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, he does seem to be foreign (probably African), which means that, even if identified, there is a very low chance he would be prosecuted or punished in any way. The governments in many of these countries have enough trouble staying in power, and simply don't have the means to enforce laws like these. The only thing the general public can do is become educated, and educate others so that there are fewer victims.
All that being said... the only way to prove that the person is a scammer is for someone to be scammed, or for the person to admit that it is a scam. The person might be legitimate. I highly doubt it, but it cannot be ruled out. But I have a hunch that we won't be hearing anything else from Mr. "Engin" or his "son." Kudos for everyone immediately being suspicious.
Comment