Stealing from Ethiopia? That's classy.

This was not one of "those Nigerian scam e-mails" any more than the last headline we had about how somebody was dumb enough to fall for one. Bank got documents with apparently valid signatures and acted on them. The signatures were false -- either forgeries or copies of legitimate signatures. The bank ate the loss the same as if it had paid a forged check.

ZAZ: This was not one of "those Nigerian scam e-mails" any more than the last headline we had about how somebody was dumb enough to fall for one. Bank got documents with apparently valid signatures and acted on them. The signatures were false -- either forgeries or copies of legitimate signatures. The bank ate the loss the same as if it had paid a forged check.

Yeah, except for the fact that the package of instructions was postmarked Nigeria instead of Ethiopia. And none of the phone numbers listed for verification even had a Ethiopian country code.

NewportBarGuy: Stealing from Ethiopia? That's classy.

I came here to say the same.

I am surprised that Ethiopia has that much money. Couldn't they feed everyone in the entire country for years with that kind of money? What is it like 50 cents a day to sponsor someone over there?

I'll tell you what I would do. I would have one of my associates, let's just call him "Mr. Johnson" for short, arrange a meeting with some local toughs to recover the money for me. This run would have to be highly secretive (i.e., in "the shadows"), but I may actually provide them access to a small expense account for equipment purchases. I probably wouldn't double-cross them when the job was done. Probably.

But they guy said he was a prince and he would pay them back ten times as much!

ZAZ: The bank ate the loss the same as if it had paid a forged check.

It's unclear how much was lost, but it seems that the answer is little if any:

"The fraud was uncovered after several banks where the conspirators held accounts returned money to Citibank, saying they had been unable to process the transactions"

I'd guess that most if not all remaining transactions would have been canceled at this point, the countries where these banks are located are industrialized enough and are not the militant banking rights type (Cayman Islands, Switzerland).

This wasnt your ordinary Nigerian bank scam.

They used a whole bunch of counterfeit documents, etc to pull it off.

I just got a new Nigerian scam email the other day. I kept it in case I feel like totally farking with him for weeks on end and then posting the results for the world to see.

They also got tricked into paying a lot of money to put their name on a ballpark that serves as the home of the New York Mets.

Damn, Citibank's gullible.

Did anyone see that sidebar on the left of TFA? This is quite cool (and a little scary). You can watch fakers click the link in real time.

Citibank get scammed a lot just look at those burger flippers, mommies who eat Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Octomon.

I'm about sick of the stupid fail tag already.

This is actually a much more complex and well-thought out scam than the typical "Nigerian e-mail scam". But wtf was this guy thinking travelling to the USA after pulling it off?

Unavailable for comment

Ethiopia has $27 million?

FTA: The judge, Andrew J. Peck, ordered him detained pending a further hearing.

-The money came from a Citibank account in New York held by the National Bank of Ethiopia-

BS Flag is raise. Sounds like they duped on purpose to fund some terrorists, knowing ObombUS will bail them out.

THAT was the true scam imho.

I hate citi. My mortgage is thru them and the local branch calls me three times a month to ask if I want to pay my bill early. No thanks, jackholes. I'll pay it when it is due.

/dnrtfa
//felt like ranting

Somewhere, Darwin is laughing

They're so paranoid in this part of the planet (SE Asia) they won't even accept my shiatibank credit card (issued in Jakarta) in Singapore.

Bad_Seed: Did anyone see that sidebar on the left of TFA? This is quite cool (and a little scary). You can watch fakers click the link in real time.

That is incredible... I've been watching the clicks from around the world, behold the power of Fark!

So, all I have to do is put my money into your bank where financial industry banking pros will keep it safe and out of the way of thieves and scammers and pay you 3.00 a pop to use your ATM?


I'm thinking floor safe in the basement.

You would think that most people who want a career in banking could avoid doing crack.

Well why not? They seem to be using every other means to piss money away. Some guy wants $2.7e7? Sure, let's give it to him, he's probably legit.

CitiBank has horrible business practices with Americans.

Unfortunately for us, our mortgage was sold to Citi. Within 6 months we started receiving dunning calls, stating that the payments had not been made.

No matter that on 4 separate occasions over the past 18 months we have provided them with every canceled check (front and back) for the appropriate, on time payments, we are now "in default".

A week ago Tuesday I got a call that we were behind December and January. (Oddly, February was current.) Mr. Baker_Street promptly faxed the canceled check and the next day I got a call that we are delinquent for March, 2009. That was 10 February.

I didn't RTFA. Just wanted to comment on Citi. Cretins, all of them.

Well, nice to see Nigerians learning from American businessmen.

If you are going to steal money, steal a lot of money. If you steal enough you might be able to higher the kind of attorneys that will let you keep it. This means you can't waste your time on a few people's $10k in life savings, you'd have to do lots of them to rack up $27 million.

I received an email from a Johnny Poon with the Nigerian bank scam. For s&g's I replied back with my contact information consisting of fark you's. Mr. Poon still replied back.

Why yes, I do have a lot of time on my hands.

Came for Murray, did not leave disappointed.

Baker_Street_Irregular: CitiBank has horrible business practices with Americans.

Unfortunately for us, our mortgage was sold to Citi. Within 6 months we started receiving dunning calls, stating that the payments had not been made.

No matter that on 4 separate occasions over the past 18 months we have provided them with every canceled check (front and back) for the appropriate, on time payments, we are now "in default".

A week ago Tuesday I got a call that we were behind December and January. (Oddly, February was current.) Mr. Baker_Street promptly faxed the canceled check and the next day I got a call that we are delinquent for March, 2009. That was 10 February.

I didn't RTFA. Just wanted to comment on Citi. Cretins, all of them.

Someone's lying. Sounds like you don't have a job.

Baker_Street_Irregular: CitiBank has horrible business practices with Americans.

Unfortunately for us, our mortgage was sold to Citi. Within 6 months we started receiving dunning calls, stating that the payments had not been made.

No matter that on 4 separate occasions over the past 18 months we have provided them with every canceled check (front and back) for the appropriate, on time payments, we are now "in default".

A week ago Tuesday I got a call that we were behind December and January. (Oddly, February was current.) Mr. Baker_Street promptly faxed the canceled check and the next day I got a call that we are delinquent for March, 2009. That was 10 February.

I didn't RTFA. Just wanted to comment on Citi. Cretins, all of them.

Reference the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You may have grounds for legal action based on harassment. You do have recourse in this situation.

Isn't Citibank practically insolvent because of all the mortgage-backed securities they bought?

It's obvious that ivy-league-mba-grad = dumbass.

Personally, I'm glad that there are morans who still fall for the Nigerian Email Scam. And that is for two reasons. First, Any fool who falls for those deserve what happens to them. And second, it means that the scammers don't need to come up with a bigger, better, harder to detect scam. Basically, idiots falling for it are protecting everyone else. Why create a different scam when the one you're using is still working?

Funk Brothers: Someone's lying. Sounds like you don't have a job.

Someone's trolling. Sounds like you live in your mom's basement and high five your Jr. HS buddies when you fart. : )

Funk Brothers: Baker_Street_Irregular: CitiBank has horrible business practices with Americans.

Unfortunately for us, our mortgage was sold to Citi. Within 6 months we started receiving dunning calls, stating that the payments had not been made.

No matter that on 4 separate occasions over the past 18 months we have provided them with every canceled check (front and back) for the appropriate, on time payments, we are now "in default".

A week ago Tuesday I got a call that we were behind December and January. (Oddly, February was current.) Mr. Baker_Street promptly faxed the canceled check and the next day I got a call that we are delinquent for March, 2009. That was 10 February.

I didn't RTFA. Just wanted to comment on Citi. Cretins, all of them.

Someone's lying. Sounds like you don't have a job.

I don't have a paying job. My husband does. Please explain how canceled checks lie. I'd appreciate knowing the Citi mindset.

Now, someone pose the question again: we're in a financial and economic crisis why? I'd say purge Wall Street of the dumbasses, but the place would be empty.

Baker_Street_Irregular: I'd appreciate knowing the Citi mindset.

If Citi tells you something, it must be the truth.

bunner: Someone's trolling. Sounds like you live in your mom's basement and high five your Jr. HS buddies when you fart. : )

I'm in college at Ohio State.

theigorway: Isn't Citibank practically insolvent because of all the mortgage-backed securities they bought?

It's obvious that ivy-league-mba-grad = dumbass.

How when management has been walking away with mountains of money for years, now including bailout funds.

Only dumbasses are the tax-payers

Funk Brothers: I'm in college at Ohio State.

and trolling.

Go Bucks.

etc...

/Whoever made "Hang on Sloopy" the state song should be hit with a stick

bunner: Funk Brothers: Someone's lying. Sounds like you don't have a job.

Someone's trolling. Sounds like you live in your mom's basement and high five your Jr. HS buddies when you fart. : )

I'm 41 and all good farts must be recognized by a high five.

Good day to you, sir!

I have developed a new trick in dealing with 419 scammers:

I tell them I am on my way to fly over, then I email a second 419 scammer, and tell him to meet with the first, and he will be reimbursed at the rate of $500.00 per day for salary, plus $200.00 per day expenses.

They go crazy trying to swindle one another.

FTFA: Mr. Amos, who was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, told a federal magistrate judge, "I'm not guilty, sir." The judge, Andrew J. Peck, ordered him detained pending a further hearing. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said.

30 years? He should have run an 'investment fund' instead, and been white.

Wall St. wankers and Main St. bankers aren't dumb.

Some of them are just jive assed, if-I-didn't-have-a-degree-I'd-be-hustling-three-card-Monte, con artist motherfu*kers.

And for those people that think stealing from Ethiopia is wrong, how about government approved extortion from Zambia?

Greg Palast shows you how easy it is. (and part 2)

farkin_Gary:
Reference the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You may have grounds for legal action based on harassment. You do have recourse in this situation.

I certainly hope so, if the law means anything any more... that sounds like total bullshiat dickassery. I don't think I have ever heard good things about Citi.

Funk Brothers: I'm in college at Ohio State.

Please stop telling people this. You are making us look bad.

Bunner: /Whoever made "Hang on Sloopy" the state song should be hit with a stick
THIS!

olddinosaur: I have developed a new trick in dealing with 419 scammers:

I tell them I am on my way to fly over, then I email a second 419 scammer, and tell him to meet with the first, and he will be reimbursed at the rate of $500.00 per day for salary, plus $200.00 per day expenses.

They go crazy trying to swindle one another.

Does that work?

So no one at Citibak fell for a Nigerian e-mail scam. That pretty much makes the this whole mess one big fail, starting with subby.

farkin_Gary: Reference the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You may have grounds for legal action based on harassment. You do have recourse in this situation.

This. Also, Baker_Street_Irregular, www.ftc.gov is a good place to file complaints. It's probably a good idea to start checking your credit, and if they've jacked with your numbers, you should start the dispute process immediately. Unfortunately, it sounds like the bank's the one with the brain damage, so your fight exists entirely with them. The credit reporting agencies can only remove entries that are incorrectly reported from the banks, and since your bank thinks you're delinquent, the reporting agencies must reflect that. Sounds like you've got a new hobby of calling Citi every day and trying to get somebody with an IQ.