Types of Scam

Ok what follows is a list of the types of scam that I have come across on Instagram.  This is by no means an exhaustive list and it is a list that will keep on evolving because the scammer always changes his story.  If you think I have missed one out please email me at this address and give information and I will update the list  katyminskorner@gmail.com

1. They will ask for an iTunes/Google Play/Amazon card.  They may ask or a small amount eg $50, a medium amount eg $100 or $200 or they may ask for a huge amount eg $500 but as 5 x $100 cards.  The reason they do this is because they can sell the code on the back of the card for cash albeit substantially less than the face value of the card.  The scammer will usually say they need it to buy data, update their device, download apps or to keep on talking to you.
2. They will ask for money to fix a problem they have encountered at work.  I have been asked for money to help fix an oil drilling machine, to fix broken pipelines and to fix faulty engines.  The amount here is usually bigger - I have been asked for $500, $1000, $2000 and $5000. They usually say they will pay you back (plus whatever interest you want) when they get paid for their contract).
3. They will ask you to cash in their pension for them for when they get to live with you. They will often send you an email address and give you very non-specific instructions but tell you to write to the email address and mention the name they give you and say you are their spouse.
4. They will ask you to collect their savings in much the same way as number 3.  I had one send me full details of web address, username and password to use his life savings with Santander (a UK bank).  I of course would never follow a link given and on doing my research the web address was incorrect.  It was not the correct address for Santander's online banking system and the address itself was not secure; it started http not https.  Do your research before following any link.  This was probably to install some kind of phishing virus to get my banking details or I would have had to upload information to claim his cash.  So I didn't do it.
5. There may be a problem with their salary.  They may claim to have been underpaid, not been paid on time, or the cheque have a mistake on it.  No no no - please don't believe it or their claims to pay you back plus more.
6. They will ask you to send them an iPhone or iPad because theirs is broken in some way or old and they need something better to communicate with you.  They may say it is for their child too.
7. They may ask you to send them a birthday gift.  Just recently (May/June 2018) I am seeing a lot of birthdays occurring with the scammers within a couple of days or so of us starting to speak.  This gift may be as an iTunes card, a cash sum, a piece of technology.  They may say that it is their child's birthday gift.  
8. If the scammer is pretending to be a soldier they may send you a tariff that you can pay to buy out their leave from the military.  I have seen this a few times and from memory, different lengths of leave cost different amounts of money, all significant 4 figure sums of money.
9. You may be asked to pay taxes to release an inheritance.  One asked me to help find $2,500 in taxes to release his gold inheritance in Dubai.  Let's just say that the picture of the gold he sent had first been used in a newspaper article about Ghana's gold.
10. You may be asked to pay an export tax to help the scammer out with their job.  For example, one guy in his "car importation business" from Morocco to France had borrowed $20,000 but needed more from the lady to complete the transaction.
11. They may ask you to pay medical bills arising from the care of a loved one; often a child or a parent.  Be watchful with this one, this is where another person can email you pretending to be the doctor to verify that there are fees to be paid.  There are not.
12. You may be asked to donate to charity supported by stolen images from a genuine charity.  Before sending any money do your research on the charity, on the person asking on behalf of the charity, reverse image search the pictures sent to find their source and see if they are stolen from another place or even another charity.
13. You may be asked to help pay import duty on a parcel the scammer is going to send you.  I have been asked by several "soldiers" to accept parcels of all their worldly goods and then been asked to pay import duty because of the contents.  I have also supposedly been sent a gift  which required a rather large customs duty to be paid to receive the item.  If I had paid any of these I suspect no parcels would have arrived here with me (although I gave a false address anyway!)
14. I have been asked to give either £250 or £500 towards a son's financial reward for great examination results.
15. The age old scam of pretending to be a deceased relative (who is usually Nigerian) to claim an unclaimed estate.  You will then be offered to keep a percentage - yeah, sure.  This is the old scam we all used to get the spam emails from a few years ago just updated and used on Instagram and other social media platforms.
16. I have been asked for $750 to help out the son of the sister of the scammer.  This was to help her son pay bills because he couldn't afford his rent and bills and she couldn't help either because she doesn't earn money since she had a huge road accident.  She also told me not to tell her brother who had originally befriended me on Instagram and put me in touch with his sister who also wanted to get to know me.
17. A "soldier" based in Afghanistan or Syria asked for $150 to buy drugs in base as he couldn't access his bank account for security reasons.  This is a lie.  Soldiers and all military personnel when deployed anywhere can access their money to buy items they need.