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Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

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Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#101

Post by keutoi »

_zagj wrote: post #49
keutoi wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

_Allowing scam call centers to flourish_. How much control does an average citizen have over these criminal enterprises? Does an average US citizen know/care/take-action when mercenaries from their country topple governments of other countries? As long as the crime is not visible, they just enjoy fruits of their crimes.

> How much control does an average citizen have over these criminal enterprises? My point was about the government. This phenomenon is large enough that I'm shocked it hasn't openly caused a diplomatic rift between the US and India, and New Delhi should have a vested interested in combating it. > when mercenaries from their country topple governments of other countries What "mercenaries" are you referring to?

Why would any country be proactive in combating this? Do you think US will be fair in return? US protects it's people even from International war crimes.

Mercenaries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#102

Post by mschuster91 »

throwaway_434 wrote: post #57
mschuster91 wrote: post #6

I've said it before here, I'll say it again: it is high time that our governments follow the money and the scammers. Sanction the source countries of these scams to hell and beyond until they clean up their act and pray in front of us on their knees for forgiveness. And yes, I'd like particularly Narendra Modi to kneel - it's hard to wish anything else after watching more than two Scammer Payback videos. Obviously In…

> And yes, I'd like particularly Narendra Modi to kneel Umm you are targeting the wrong person here. Majority of the scam call centers come from West Bengal, particularly Kolkata. Which is headed by Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. India has a federal structure, with cooperation between Center and States. Similar to USA. Modi just can't invade Kolkata using Indian Armed Forces and dismantle the operations without facin…

First of all, I didn't downvote you, and you provide valuable context, so if the downvoters would care to explain why I would be very happy.

> India has a federal structure, with cooperation between Center and States. Similar to USA. Modi just can't invade Kolkata using Indian Armed Forces and dismantle the operations without facing significant legal challenges in the Supreme Court of India.

There are ways in any federal system to force the cooperation of unwilling states. The US, infamously, threatened to withhold federal highway funding unless states raised the minimum drinking age to 21.

The federal government could also be transparent about hints of scammers they get and explain why the scammers are not being targeted. Particularly when the state in question is run by the opposition, I would expect the federal government party to use this as political ammunition.

The fact that there is zero such efforts visible leads me to the conclusion that Modi just doesn't give a fuck.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Minimum_Drinking_Age_...

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#103

Post by mschuster91 »

commandlinefan wrote: post #53
mschuster91 wrote: post #6

I've said it before here, I'll say it again: it is high time that our governments follow the money and the scammers. Sanction the source countries of these scams to hell and beyond until they clean up their act and pray in front of us on their knees for forgiveness. And yes, I'd like particularly Narendra Modi to kneel - it's hard to wish anything else after watching more than two Scammer Payback videos. Obviously In…

> Sanction the source countries According to the article, this is originating in China - we're sanctioning them pretty hard as it is, and they don't seem to care that much.

There's more scammers than just Myanmar, North Korea and China, that's why I explicitly mentioned Scammer Payback - he almost exclusively targets Indian scammers and even learned Hindi to understand the background talks of scammers.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#104

Post by schmookeeg »

saltcured wrote: post #43
schmookeeg wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Economist has an interesting podcast about this phenomenon called Scam Inc. You need to be a subscriber to hear more than the first few eps, but they were interesting and went into this situation in detail. Worth a listen to understand this crime and its nuance a little better.

Hah, this is too close to the joke that popped into my head: Sure, we can explain how this works, you just need to subscribe to our educational series on the topic... It's all about framing the con in a way that gets past the defense mechanisms the OP assumes. Whether this is done with synthetic intimacy, urgency, exclusivity, high-mindedness, etc. depends on the target victim profile. But, it's always social enginee…

haha, it's getting dystopian isn't it? At some point you end up letting your guard down just to be a human again -- it's all so exhausting.

While I've been an Econ subscriber in the past when magazines were a thing, the podcast didn't con me into subscribing. _this time_ But I enjoyed their free eps all the same.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#105

Post by Whoppertime »

downrightmike wrote: post #60
mouse_ wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gotta love anarcho tyranny

I had to look it up: The term "anarcho-tyranny" was coined by writer Sam Francis to describe a situation where a state oppresses citizens' lives but is unable or unwilling to enforce laws that protect them. Francis believed that anarcho-tyranny is built into the managerial system and cannot be solved by voting out incumbents or fighting corruption. He argued that the political left has dominated politics because of a…

https://www.cato.org/blog/new-k-12-productivity-chart It's hard to believe that education is getting less funding. There seems to be a perception that spending more money on education will result in smarter students or higher test scores but that doesn't seem to be the case. There is more money spent on educating children through K-12. Also Richard Nixon was president before Ronald Reagan so Nixon wouldn't be able to double down on his successors policies. Unless you mean Governor Ronald Reagan who started his leadership in 1967 with Nixon's presidency starting in 1969

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#106

Post by supportengineer »

coderatlarge wrote: post #5
supportengineer wrote: post #2

I thought that US banks had to know their customers

US banks are too busy delaying their customers’ ach transfers for days so they can profit from the float to actually solve customer problems and take responsibility for the many societal benefits they enjoy.

I recently tried to write a check from Mom & Pop's Yeehaw Bank to a major name bank. They put a FIVE DAY hold on it.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#107

Post by quesera »

Tadpole9181 wrote: post #72
dgfitz wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't know if this is true, but I read this a few years ago, top answer: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/se51wb/e...

I've seen a "pay me a few bucks and I'll do it instantly", so pretty sure it's not a technical issue. It's a "we can charge a few bucks if we don't fix it" issue.

Definitely not a technical limitation.

ACH clearing (transaction information) happens multiple times per day. Originating bank sends a list of transactions to the clearing house, Receiving bank is notified of transaction pending.

ACH settlement (bank-bank funds transfer) happens overnight. Funds from the Originating bank are "rehomed" to the Federal Reserve, and then again to the Receiving bank. This is, obviously, a database update.

ACH posting (funds available to customer) happens whenever the Receiving bank feels it's appropriate. Generally, by local close of business on the settlement lot schedule (same day or next day). The receiver may choose to delay posting to customer account if they don't trust the Originator, or the customer, or just for fun.

ACH transactions are reversible. This is the reason posting happens as quickly as it does (!), but also the reason posting takes as long as it does.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#108

Post by busterarm »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #96
danielodievich wrote: post #76

The Economist's Scam Inc podcast (mentioned elsewhere in this discussion too) has fascinating (and very troubling) insights into this. I have sons heading to college this and next year and I have tried to prepare them for the world of scamming that exists out there. I sure hope I've done enough. Just a few minutes ago I had a scam text that pig butchering begins. I typically delete them immediately but this time just…

Your kids are far more likely to fall for dumb shit their friends talk them into than random texts. They will be, or already have been, exposed to people telling them that crypto/leveraged day trading/AI/whatever is the shortcut to wealth. That will likely be their peers, or the people (podcasters) that have high status amongst their peers, and is a much more insidious problem. That's what will get them into trouble.

I hate online scammers to my core -- weird reason too.

A guy I knew back in high school was notorious for falling for 419 type scams all the time. His brothers would constantly dunk on him for being scammed online. It was like 7, 8, 9 times...

Years later he was caught on TV by Chris Hansen and charged. Went to prison. That recontextualized everything. He wasn't falling for scams -- that was a fiction to cover the fact that he was being repeatedly blackmailed by people who caught on to his activities online.

It makes me extremely angry to think that people knew what he was up to and let him continue just so they could keep getting evidence against him to blackmail him again and again. Fucking furious, honestly.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#109

Post by busterarm »

bag_boy wrote: post #51
os2warpman wrote: post #23

This is an earnest request. Please help me understand the mindset of people who fall for pig butchering scams. The thought of giving money to a stranger who I met via a dating app or other social media platform who shifted the conversation to WeChat and asked me to wire money to a bank account is so incomprehensible to me that the mind of someone who would do that is entirely different to how mine is constructed phys…

I am happy to share my mom's story, as tragic as it is. My stepfather passed away just before Covid. After he passed away, my mom was isolated and started spending time on Match.com. Eventually she found her match - a total scamming operation. She proceeded to liquidate my deceased step father's retirement savings and also took out high interest loans to send her match money. She wired the scammer well over $100k. Th…

You don't even have to be tech illiterate.

A former roommate of mine who is extremely tech-savvy but just fat and lonely was constantly wiring women he'd never met money.

He was constantly getting catfished on dating apps and talking all day to fake facebook profiles 2-3 hours away and they'd always have an excuse to not meet him and have their hand out for escalating amounts of money until reality hit him and he'd start over and do it again with another catfish. I moved out partly because he would miss his mortgage payments because he wired some scammer money.

Re: Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

#110

Post by downrightmike »

fallingknife wrote: post #87
downrightmike wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to look it up: The term "anarcho-tyranny" was coined by writer Sam Francis to describe a situation where a state oppresses citizens' lives but is unable or unwilling to enforce laws that protect them. Francis believed that anarcho-tyranny is built into the managerial system and cannot be solved by voting out incumbents or fighting corruption. He argued that the political left has dominated politics because of a…

The left has done more damage you our education system by removing standards and getting rid of separate schools for the smartest students than the right ever could by cutting funding. Most recently in California they got rid of calculus class in high school. Meanwhile we continue to increase spending and are near the highest in the world and our education system is trash https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cm…

Bush2 started no child left behind before that.
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