How can I tell if this is a scam?

[barking_iguana]

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

Comments

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

Hah, very sloppy of them to refer to the Republic instead of the present-day Empire. A kid could see through this.

Obvious perhaps.

[stormlorde.livejournal.com]

The underlying problem is extroadinarily complex, the lack of credit worthiness of the borrowers is always stressed over looking the regulatory changes that diminished the stability of the borrowers. The new bankruptcy law, the changes in both how credit cards are regulated and how the banks did business in those arenas were all major players in the problem, underscored by about a decade of continuous regulatory retreat in general. I honestly am not sure what the US should do, other than imposing swift regulations to curb predatory credit card and mortgage lending, not the least of which should include an iron clad usury law, that sets an absolute cieling on what you can be charged for a debt inclusive of all fees that also covers payday loans. Most likely it will all be blamed on speculation, and the bank lobbyists will earn their pay by preventing real credit reform.

I sure hope they figure it out.

Be well.