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Legacies for
NGOs
Herbal Remedies
in Hills
50 crore grant
if you have 35AC...
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You receive a letter, fax or
e-mail from a lawyer in West Africa (e.g. Nigeria). The message says that a
rich client has died and left a large legacy (donation) for your NGO. To
get the money, you may be asked to pay a small handling fees, send your
bank account information or just a couple of letterheads.
You jump with joy and
send the money / information. In the time it takes for you to come down to
earth, you may find that a crime syndicate has gobbled up the handling fees
or siphoned off money from your account.
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This works mostly in hill-stations. You will be
approached by a simple persons selling shilajit or kesar. If
you show interest, this chap will drag you deeper and deeper into the world
of herbal remedies. You will be mesmerized by his simplicity and deep
knowledge. He will grind a herbal concoction for you, in front of your
eyes. You will happily pay between Rs.1,000 to Rs.30,000 for something,
which is doubtful at best. If you don’t have ready money, he will give you
credit – send the money later by draft.
If
he can’t make a sale finally, he may ask you for a visiting card, or sign
his book of remedies or allow a photograph with him. This will be useful
for gypping others later.
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A
person approaches you over the phone, asking if you have 35AC approval. If
so, he or she can get you a grant running into several crores. If you show
interest, he or she will set up a meeting, where you will be asked to show
some documents. The person will also give more details about the source of
funds and how you will get the money.
Once
you get hooked on to the idea, the person will start bleeding you gradually
of small amounts of money for 'processing expenses' etc. Unless you back
out, the game may proceed to a stage where you will get a cheque, after
paying a handsome 'commission'. However, the cheque will bounce.
And
your contact person would be untraceable.
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Fraud teaches that it’s easier to make money than
to keep it. It is likely that at some time or other, fraud will touch your
life. You may later laugh at your naiveté or cry at losing all.
Why
do so many people get tricked? There are different reasons. But if you do a
clinical analysis, a desire for easy money is mostly the trigger.
A
fish being hooked is a beautiful lesson: the fish thinks that the worm is stupid
or slow. This is going to be an easy catch. Result: the fish gets
hooked.
This
is a ‘personal’ collection – based on real stories experienced or heard
during travels. All alerts have one thing in common: they are being worked on
a large scale.
If you
have a real story, do send us an e-mail. Click on: accountaid@vsnl.com
See
also
AccountAble
(on Netscape)
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