by Dotti
Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:11 am
The scenario you describe is something we see all the time. There are four typical scenarios.
The scammer is very possibly running additional types of scams at the same time.
1) The scammer, who is in Ghana, has an inside contact at WU, and is able to change the pickup location so he can collect the money in Ghana.
2) The scammer has a paid accomplice in the pickup country. The accomplice picks up the money, then keeps his cut and forwards the rest to the scammer. In this case, the name and location of the accomplice will invariably be fake, and he will be using fake ID to pick up the money (if he uses ID at all.) He can pick up the money at any of hundreds of WU offices. The accomplice will likely change names and information fairly often.
3) The scammer is using a job scam victim as a mule. In this case, the receiver's information is likely accurate, but the receiver doesn't understand what he/she is doing. The receiver has been told he/she has a job collecting legitimate payments for a legitimate international company, or that he/she is a mystery shopper, evaluating the performance of money transfer services. He/she is being paid a small part of the transfer fee, and legitimately believes it is a salary. The mule is unlikely to know the scammer's real identity--he has been given fake names, company names, and only untraceable cellphone or redirect phone numbers as part of the scam.
4) The scammer is using a romance victim as a mule. Again, the receiver's information is likely to be accurate unless the scammer has given the victim a story for why he/she needs to change it. The romance victim often isn't being paid at all. He/she is typically genuinely convinced that he/she is in a real relationship and is going to be married to the scammer's fake character. The scammer may claim to be a US soldier who doesn't have access to his money, or a traveling businessman in an emergency situation whose accounts are frozen for some reason. Whatever the background story is, the victim has fallen completely for the story, and usually believes the transaction is legitimate. He/she also does not know the scammer's real identity, as the scammer has been using stolen photos and fake names in the romance scam.
Unfortunately, due to the range of possibilities, cost, and international connections leading to all kinds of jurisdiction issues, many police departments can't or won't start an investigation. Getting the attention of national authorities usually requires a pretty strong trail and a very large amount of money, as well as evidence of a local connection that can be prosecuted. It does happen--unfortunately, not very often though.
