by hamako
Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:44 am
This warning is against a 419 Nigeria scam of a Person, calling herself "Pamela Newhall." She has a profile on LinkedIn and advertises as a wealthy angel investor. In reality it is a "multi-talent" scammer in El Dorado, KS, scamming everything from ATM fraud, to identity theft and dating scams using the IP address 205.188.59.194
“She” is a very smart fraudster!
Normally such deals fall under the category “If it sounds to good to be true, it most probably is.” However, in “her” case, the conditions are very believable – “I do only investments and loans that carry and ROI of 10-12% for me.” So the relatively high interest rates and claiming to have closed “many deals”, naming even companies did not let red warning lights flashing.
I am a very cautios person and do not fall easily for a scam. I do an intensive due diligence, before I give out my data. In her case she was so convincing that we drafted even a Term Sheet, Loan agreement and promissory note and had them notarized (In Europe $500 fees!).
I became suspicious, when I routinely checked out her address with Google Maps. If someone is claiming to fund multi-million dollar projects, he/she is not living in a rabbit hutch. The street in Chico is in a high-end residential area, but the house, she claims to live in, does not exist, no such house number. To be sure, I checked also on the official city website for real estate and called a real estate agent. I should have done that as a first step – you never stop learning….
The phone number in Chico exists and is live, but line has a strange calling sound (probably call forwarding) and when "she" answers, it sounds as if she is in a U-boat, conversation is sluggish and "she" seems to have a British accent. Could be also a voice scrambler. Very difficult to communicate.
After we had everything ready to go, she introduced us to her “fund manager” and broker, Peter Snaith in London, who was supposed to have been working for her for 7 years. However, his name appeared in connection with a 419 Nigeria scam. When I asked her, if there is any connection, she became defensive (“very disappointed”).
The money was supposed to come from bonds, for which we were to be named as beneficiaries. We were supposed to pay a “token fee” for the conversion process of the bonds and transfer of funds. And there it became clear - her target is that “token fee” – in our case a mere $6000 to her London broker.
After telling her that we do not make any advance payments and that we could do it the regular way, adding the closing costs to the loan proper to be deducted at closing, or put it into escrow, she did not answer anymore.
As "she" has 211 connections, I am wondering if somebody else had similar experience.
“She” is a very smart fraudster!
Normally such deals fall under the category “If it sounds to good to be true, it most probably is.” However, in “her” case, the conditions are very believable – “I do only investments and loans that carry and ROI of 10-12% for me.” So the relatively high interest rates and claiming to have closed “many deals”, naming even companies did not let red warning lights flashing.
I am a very cautios person and do not fall easily for a scam. I do an intensive due diligence, before I give out my data. In her case she was so convincing that we drafted even a Term Sheet, Loan agreement and promissory note and had them notarized (In Europe $500 fees!).
I became suspicious, when I routinely checked out her address with Google Maps. If someone is claiming to fund multi-million dollar projects, he/she is not living in a rabbit hutch. The street in Chico is in a high-end residential area, but the house, she claims to live in, does not exist, no such house number. To be sure, I checked also on the official city website for real estate and called a real estate agent. I should have done that as a first step – you never stop learning….
The phone number in Chico exists and is live, but line has a strange calling sound (probably call forwarding) and when "she" answers, it sounds as if she is in a U-boat, conversation is sluggish and "she" seems to have a British accent. Could be also a voice scrambler. Very difficult to communicate.
After we had everything ready to go, she introduced us to her “fund manager” and broker, Peter Snaith in London, who was supposed to have been working for her for 7 years. However, his name appeared in connection with a 419 Nigeria scam. When I asked her, if there is any connection, she became defensive (“very disappointed”).
The money was supposed to come from bonds, for which we were to be named as beneficiaries. We were supposed to pay a “token fee” for the conversion process of the bonds and transfer of funds. And there it became clear - her target is that “token fee” – in our case a mere $6000 to her London broker.
After telling her that we do not make any advance payments and that we could do it the regular way, adding the closing costs to the loan proper to be deducted at closing, or put it into escrow, she did not answer anymore.
As "she" has 211 connections, I am wondering if somebody else had similar experience.