Am I being targeted for a scam attack?

[Pete67]

Hi there, I got an email from my friend in Davao City asking sheepishly if I could help her with a small loan, to provide capital for a small business venture. She was looking for paid employment and when I suggested agencies she told me that she was offered some jobs but they weren't a good fit because she was at University, but I thought she said earlier she had left for a while to earn some money....
Alarm bells are ringing now, I am very tempted to disconnect from her, but concerned about maybe losing a friend in genuine need, but maybe she is not in so much need that she turned down some jobs.
Difficult to see things from an outsider's point of view, what do other people think? loneliness can make one a bit vulnerable, and I would consider myself to have a bit of street smarts, sometimes learned through experience, perhaps like this one....

[bob2009]

How long you known her for ?

Have you met her in real life ?

How much she asking for ?

You got to give us some more details.

[South-east boy]

How long have you known her? Have you met her?

edit: (sorry for repeat questions, but the above post wasn't there when I started typing!)

[Pete67]

I've only been in email contact, never met either here or in Philipines, she is asking for 100 euros (ie 99.99 pounds...) and I have only known her for about a month...

[triple5]

Most will tell you on here to never send money before you've met a girl. It may not be a scam, who knows with that 100 quid she may create a successful business and pay you back. Doubtful though. A month isn't very long, if I were you I'd keep searching, keep your options open.

[Pete67]

Good advice, thanks, I think I will definitely not send any money but will keep emails open and see what response there is, 100 is a lot of money to me at the moment anyway..

[lavander]

I've only been in email contact, never met either here or in Philipines, she is asking for 100 euros (ie 99.99 pounds...) and I have only known her for about a month...

if possible,try not to indulge any monetary in the builds up of friendship that you intent to...specially in the early stage as you mentioned..

but then again, if you feel the need is real and the person intentions is sincere then go ahead...i do believed a good karma is always waiting somewhere around. good luck!

irene

[IainBusby]

I've only been in email contact, never met either here or in Philipines, she is asking for 100 euros (ie 99.99 pounds...) and I have only known her for about a month...

The usual advice is never send money to a girl you have never actually met. In this case you've only known her by email for a month and already she is asking you for money. They say that there is one born every minute and I really hope your not one of them.

[aromulus]

I've only been in email contact, never met either here or in Philipines, she is asking for 100 euros (ie 99.99 pounds...) and I have only known her for about a month...

This is definitively the start of a beautiful and meaningful scam.....

[Sophie]

I've only been in email contact, never met either here or in Philipines, she is asking for 100 euros (ie 99.99 pounds...) and I have only known her for about a month...

You've only known her online for a month, never met her in person and she's already asking for money? not a good sign pete....
As what triple5 just said, keep your options open, i'm sure you'll find someone better and with good intentions....

[IanB]

Inconsistencies in her background may be a big warning sign. Also the small sum involved sounds odd for starting a business - are you sure there aren't some noughts missing? :-)

Having said that, people distort their stories for good reason sometimes. And she may need the money for some more serious purpose such as to pay off a debt that is putting her in danger.

Others will say that if she is lying you should run a mile. But it is a sad fact for Philippine women, and indeed women generally, that experience tells them that men are looking for "the perfect woman" and we live in a very imperfect world. Many, many, men dump their girlfriends even after many years if they feel their girlfriends life doesn't meet their expectations.

Having said all of that, refusing now, and providing a good and polite reason, will flush out an interesting reaction that will help you to find out a lot more about her. Better still, of course, to meet her face to face asap.

[Dedworth]

A polite refusal and add her address to the Junk eMail filter

[Tawi2]

approx 7500 pesos to start a biz stranger things have happened I suppose if she really is down on her luck its only a hundred quid,I have never asked anyone for a loan of money in my life except a mortgage,never even had an overdraft facility,but I have seen desperation in peoples eyes and realise that we are never going to starve in this country,and I have been abroad with no return ticket and £20 quid in my pocket so I can always empathise,if it was the difference between hunger and a fully stomach I would give it Ask her whats the business

[bornatbirth]

Hi there, I got an email from my friend in Davao City asking sheepishly if I could help her with a small loan, to provide capital for a small business venture. She was looking for paid employment and when I suggested agencies she told me that she was offered some jobs but they weren't a good fit because she was at University, but I thought she said earlier she had left for a while to earn some money....
Alarm bells are ringing now, I am very tempted to disconnect from her, but concerned about maybe losing a friend in genuine need, but maybe she is not in so much need that she turned down some jobs.
Difficult to see things from an outsider's point of view, what do other people think? loneliness can make one a bit vulnerable, and I would consider myself to have a bit of street smarts, sometimes learned through experience, perhaps like this one....

oh its you i have been emailing

now im busted

btw i wouldnt bother keeping contact

[Dedworth]

oh its you i have been emailing

now im busted

btw i wouldnt bother keeping contact

[Pete67]

approx 7500 pesos to start a biz stranger things have happened I suppose if she really is down on her luck its only a hundred quid,I have never asked anyone for a loan of money in my life except a mortgage,never even had an overdraft facility,but I have seen desperation in peoples eyes and realise that we are never going to starve in this country,and I have been abroad with no return ticket and £20 quid in my pocket so I can always empathise,if it was the difference between hunger and a fully stomach I would give it Ask her whats the business

El Coolio, she actually said 30,000 peso/100 euros so if I sign off 30,000 pesos it's going to actually be about, 'old on a min, something like 350gbp? When she said about 100 euro?
I have not got a problem about being a tourist in a poor country being lifted for a bit of cash, not much to me and if it means a difference between a full stomach and actually starving then good luck. I have been to rural Mexico and got stylishly "ripped off" for a quite a few USD dollars that meant not very much to me, and I still can't u nderstand how they did it, but but no resentment at all.

[Tawi2]

She could actually start a small biz in dabaw with 30,000

[keithAngel]

You said ubove that 100 was a lot to you right now..................


believe me its gonna get costlier

[bornatbirth]

approx 7500 pesos to start a biz stranger things have happened I suppose if she really is down on her luck its only a hundred quid,I have never asked anyone for a loan of money in my life except a mortgage,never even had an overdraft facility,but I have seen desperation in peoples eyes and realise that we are never going to starve in this country,and I have been abroad with no return ticket and £20 quid in my pocket so I can always empathise,if it was the difference between hunger and a fully stomach I would give it Ask her whats the business *

why dont you let tawi exchange emails with her

*scamming by asking for money

[Tawi2]

Because I have never exchanged e-mails with random or strange ladies online,not my style,just saying if a friend asked for £100 thats cool with me,I have given much more,but my defenition of a friend might differ from some Nothing wrong with giving a hand to someone who is hungry or genuinely down on their luck

[Northerner]

Pete,

The fact that you feel it important enough to raise it on this forum tells me you sense a scam.. Therefore, trust your instincts and keep away from western union..

[South-east boy]

I'm a bit confused as 30,000 Pesos is a totally different amount to 100 Euros as 30,000 pesos is £428-£483 depending on the current exchange rate.

I had someone I chatted with at the beginning of the year ask for money in our first chat. She said it was for her mobile phone bill and what she asked for wasn't much, but it was the fact that she had asked for money in our first ever chat and that she wasn't working, but hadn't done anything about it. She said she wanted to work in restaurant or hotel management (or something similar) but hadn't done anything about enquiring if any local places had any vacancies or not. Surely if you were out of work and needing money that would be the first thing that you would do? I guess some of these scammers can make enough to live on just by scamming a few guys for small amounts.

[bob2009]

My advice, is go out there and get entangled.

Then don't worry you ll be kept plenty busy enough for requests of money from all quarters.

[bornatbirth]

I'm a bit confused as 30,000 Pesos is a totally different amount to 100 Euros as 30,000 pesos is £428-£483 depending on the current exchange rate.

I had someone I chatted with at the beginning of the year ask for money in our first chat. She said it was for her mobile phone bill and what she asked for wasn't much, but it was the fact that she had asked for money in our first ever chat and that she wasn't working, but hadn't done anything about it. She said she wanted to work in restaurant or hotel management (or something similar) but hadn't done anything about enquiring if any local places had any vacancies or not. Surely if you were out of work and needing money that would be the first thing that you would do? I guess some of these scammers can make enough to live on just by scamming a few guys for small amounts.

exactly,and they chat on ym with you and all the other suckers in the internet cafe

[Bluebirdjones]

Do I believe that you’re being scammed ? …… no, not really

Do I believe that you’d be naive and foolish to give her the money ? …. Yes.

The basic definition of a scammer is: obtaining money by means of deception including fake personalities, fake photos, non-existent addresses and phone numbers, forged documents etc etc.

She has essentially offered you a business opportunity, ie a loan against setting up a business. Will she use the money for that ? … will you eventually get a return on/of your money ? …. who knows.

But at least she is being upfront about it.
At least she didn’t trot out the … “my sister is ill in hospital and I need to buy medicine”… “I got robbed on the way to the mall”…stories.

You’ve “known” her (by e-mail, txt, cam etc) for about a month.
If someone you met a month ago in a pub in the UK had asked for a loan to set up a business, I already know your response/reply.
So why treat this differently ?

Scam ? …. No.
Praying on your potential foolishness……….. yes.

[Arthur Little]

You’ve “known” her (by e-mail, txt, cam etc) for about a month.
If someone you met a month ago in a pub in the UK had asked for a loan to set up a business, I already know your response/reply.
So why treat this differently ?

Scam ? …. No.
Praying on your potential foolishness……….. yes.

Pete ... there's plenty of 'food for thought' here. Put in perspective, it seems highly probable that such requests will continue; therefore, I hope and pray you will not fall victim to a "bird of prey"!

[Pete67]

Hi Guys, it's really great to such honest guidance, naive/foolish enough to send something? yes, I agree but don't realistically expect to get any return, and she never gave me any hard luck stories as such, I have told her some hardship stuff myself.
Ok - what do people think of this approach -
I send 20 as a xmas present, that way I can avoid getting entangled. She has said a lot of stuff that has helped me get in touch with some feelings long forgotten, which would probably cost 100s in counselling, even if it did work, so from that perspective it's quite cheap..
And as a gift I won't have any worries about not being paid back.
And if her birthday turns out to be mid january I'll think again
Thanks again,

[Tawi2]

Thats cool Pete,as Bluebird said she hasnt tried to scam you,didnt fabricate some sort of complex hard-luck story that snowballs and needs more and more cash,she was honest with you,you enjoyed chatting,its symbiotic,you both got something so no harm done and you know something?Sometimes it really is better to give than receive,I dont want to say this in case BAB asks for some cashbut I always feel good helping someone out,it boomerangs back in the form of karma somewhere along the line

[bob2009]

Hang on she s saved you 100s in counselling fees ?

Sounds like she s putting a lot of work into this.

[fred]

And as a gift I won't have any worries about not being paid back.

Thats how you should view any money that you part with here in the P.I....
Loan usually means gift..... in disguise!
Lots of ever decreasing business opportunities here with 100 Pounds though...