In these hard economic times, some people - whether on the Internet or Offline - resort to all sorts of deceptive tricks, impersonation and manipulation in order to lay their hands on other people's hard earned money through trickery and outright lies!
What really am I talking about exactly here?
Well, dear blog reader and real estate investor, maybe the following real and actual life scenario which happened to me will help drive the whole point home. Continue reading below.
I happened to receive a certain email from a lady prospective real estate customer calling herself as a Mrs. MARIA KHUMALO interested in buying one of the houses I'd listed for sale through one of my advertising and marketing channels. The email she sent me read as follows:
"Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Mrs. Maria Khumalo and I want to buy your Property, and I will want you to furnish me with more details regarding your Property if possible more pictures and your last prize and you can reach me on my email address: ([email protected]). Waiting for your response.
Regards,
Mrs. Maria/Mr. Micheal Khumalo {For the Family}".
And as per good trade and business custom, I immediately responded to her request without wasting much time for I was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that she was a very serious customer. I responded:
"Hi Mrs. Maria Khumalo,
Thank you so much for showing interest in what we have to offer you in terms of your real estate and other property needs.
Concerning the house for sale you're interested in, you may view more pictures of the same house by visiting this website below ->
http://www.davikrealestate.com/houses-for-sale.html.
About the selling price, that can be discussed once you declare serious interest in the particular house for sale.
Thank you once more for your interest in what we have to offer you in terms of your real estate needs and looking forward to doing good, ethical and satisfactory real estate business with YOU!
Looking forward to hearing from you once more.
Sincerely,
David Kapalu- Property Consultant,
Creator & Founder of: www.davikrealestate.com".
However, the next response I received from her shocked me. Here it is for your perusal and scrutiny:
"Dear David Kapalu,
Thanks for your detailed information regarding your Property. I want to know if you are a sincere person and I would also like to inform you that I want to buy your property and also carry out a big transaction with you that will benefit both of us.
It is my desire to buy property, however, I would like you also to help me and my only son to move to your country this money US$18.7Million.
This money is currently deposited with a private security company, because our status here as asylum seeker forbids us from conducting any bank transaction.
The reason I contact you again is because of my belief that you are able to help recover the fund and to invest it.
My son and I have decided to give you 23% of the total 7% for reimbursement of incurred costs and 70% for our family investment under your guide and supervision. I wait for your mail to give you all the details of your role. Please inform me of your number to call you
Contact my only son for oral communication
My Best regards
Mrs.Maria/Mr. Micheal Khumalo
{For the Family}
Telephone +0027727051898".
Immediately after finishing reading the above email she sent me, it then dawned on me that I was dealing with an Internet Fraud-Star bent on conning and tricking me in buying into her well planned money trickery schemes. I then decided to write her a STINKER as follows:
"Please whatever you call yourself, I'm NOT interested in your Money!!! Please find a very good charitable organization like a church or orphanage and donate your Money to them. If you want to buy property, just buy property and STOP dangling carrots in front of unsuspecting hungry people! Take your Money to the people who need it the most and not me of course. I have more than enough please".
And after sending her this STINKER, I never heard from her again. That was the end of her dreams of allegedly wanting to buy real property from me and/or swindling me out of my own little hard earned money!
So, what is the key lesson to learn out of this very real life encounter of mine with this so called Mrs. KHUMALO and her suspicious family label?
Well, the key lesson to take out of this real life experience of mine is that their will ALWAYS be some people in every walk of life - whether in the real estate industry or otherwise - who'll be there to try and con you out of your own hard earned money if you're not shrewd enough as an individual or corporate entity in detecting and knowing their crooked ways.
What really am I talking about exactly here?
Well, dear blog reader and real estate investor, maybe the following real and actual life scenario which happened to me will help drive the whole point home. Continue reading below.
I happened to receive a certain email from a lady prospective real estate customer calling herself as a Mrs. MARIA KHUMALO interested in buying one of the houses I'd listed for sale through one of my advertising and marketing channels. The email she sent me read as follows:
"Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Mrs. Maria Khumalo and I want to buy your Property, and I will want you to furnish me with more details regarding your Property if possible more pictures and your last prize and you can reach me on my email address: ([email protected]). Waiting for your response.
Regards,
Mrs. Maria/Mr. Micheal Khumalo {For the Family}".
And as per good trade and business custom, I immediately responded to her request without wasting much time for I was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that she was a very serious customer. I responded:
"Hi Mrs. Maria Khumalo,
Thank you so much for showing interest in what we have to offer you in terms of your real estate and other property needs.
Concerning the house for sale you're interested in, you may view more pictures of the same house by visiting this website below ->
http://www.davikrealestate.com/houses-for-sale.html.
About the selling price, that can be discussed once you declare serious interest in the particular house for sale.
Thank you once more for your interest in what we have to offer you in terms of your real estate needs and looking forward to doing good, ethical and satisfactory real estate business with YOU!
Looking forward to hearing from you once more.
Sincerely,
David Kapalu- Property Consultant,
Creator & Founder of: www.davikrealestate.com".
However, the next response I received from her shocked me. Here it is for your perusal and scrutiny:
"Dear David Kapalu,
Thanks for your detailed information regarding your Property. I want to know if you are a sincere person and I would also like to inform you that I want to buy your property and also carry out a big transaction with you that will benefit both of us.
It is my desire to buy property, however, I would like you also to help me and my only son to move to your country this money US$18.7Million.
This money is currently deposited with a private security company, because our status here as asylum seeker forbids us from conducting any bank transaction.
The reason I contact you again is because of my belief that you are able to help recover the fund and to invest it.
My son and I have decided to give you 23% of the total 7% for reimbursement of incurred costs and 70% for our family investment under your guide and supervision. I wait for your mail to give you all the details of your role. Please inform me of your number to call you
Contact my only son for oral communication
My Best regards
Mrs.Maria/Mr. Micheal Khumalo
{For the Family}
Telephone +0027727051898".
Immediately after finishing reading the above email she sent me, it then dawned on me that I was dealing with an Internet Fraud-Star bent on conning and tricking me in buying into her well planned money trickery schemes. I then decided to write her a STINKER as follows:
"Please whatever you call yourself, I'm NOT interested in your Money!!! Please find a very good charitable organization like a church or orphanage and donate your Money to them. If you want to buy property, just buy property and STOP dangling carrots in front of unsuspecting hungry people! Take your Money to the people who need it the most and not me of course. I have more than enough please".
And after sending her this STINKER, I never heard from her again. That was the end of her dreams of allegedly wanting to buy real property from me and/or swindling me out of my own little hard earned money!
So, what is the key lesson to learn out of this very real life encounter of mine with this so called Mrs. KHUMALO and her suspicious family label?
Well, the key lesson to take out of this real life experience of mine is that their will ALWAYS be some people in every walk of life - whether in the real estate industry or otherwise - who'll be there to try and con you out of your own hard earned money if you're not shrewd enough as an individual or corporate entity in detecting and knowing their crooked ways.
Similarly, this same scenario also applies in the Offline-Line World or Real World side of our life where you and I live and interact with each other on a daily basis. There are some certain highly crooked people who are in the habit of placing small classified adverts in the various daily newspapers and other distinct forms of advertising media and advertise real properties for sale like houses for instance. And when you happen to respond to their adverts, they'll take you around to see some supposedly houses for sale without the actual owners of the said houses knowing that their houses are being used as bait by these property fraud-stars in order to trick and swindle people out of their hard earned money.
What normally happens is that once you respond to their advert concerning the house/s they have listed for sale in the daily newspapers or anywhere else, they'll then set up an appointment with you to physically view the said house you're interested in as per normal business practice. And on the material day in question of viewing the said house for sale, they'll take you almost near a certain particular house and then show you the house at a distance. These fraud-stars normally work in a group of say three to four people. Each one of them has a role to play in the scheme. Their chief aim being to convince you in buying into their pre-planned operation whether for selling real property or otherwise. But they normally use real estate as a basis for conning people. And they usually do this without the legal owner of the house knowing what is going on as earlier on alluded to.
So, what happens is that when you reach closer but not necessarily at the subject house in question they've earmarked for using to con you, another member of the group who knows the whole operation will normally come and join them in your presence. This person sometimes comes in and introduces a totally different story unrelated to the sale of real property and brings in the business of precious stones such as diamonds or emeralds. And together they try to involve you in the said business of precious stones by asking if you could be interested in the same. And if you seem gullible, one of them will suggest that you contribute a little something towards the same business. And if you do, that will be the end of your hard earned money never to recover it unless assisted by the police of course! Why? Because if you do give them that money, that will be the last time you'll ever see and hear from them.
Therefore, if you happen to respond to a real property advert in the newspaper or indeed anywhere else where real properties are being advertised and on the material day of viewing the said house for sale you find yourself discussing issues unrelated to your main objective, then PLEASE KNOW that you're dealing with Conmen! Find a way to get away from them or simply drive off to the nearest police station and report such characters! Otherwise you run the risk of being swindled out of your own hard earned cash!
So, be careful and exercise maximum restraint when dealing with people on the Internet as well as those that advertise their real properties for sale in the print media. You'll never know when you're dealing with fraud-Stars until you take the time to study and comprehend their characteristics and habits. Try to find out who they really are, what exactly they do for their living if they profess to be owners of the subject property you're interested in, why they are selling the said piece of property and if their are any valid documents such as title deeds and verify these things by visiting the concerned land authorities such as the Ministry of Lands or the Local Council in your area before you produce any monies to such individuals. Take that extra caution to make sure you're NOT dealing with a conspiracy of some sort.
If you wish to know how to spot Internet Fraud-Stars and their characteristics, here are just a few pointers to help you identify them before you get swindled. These were adopted from one of Google's Help or Support Pages. Check them below:
What You Need To Know:
It's important to be on the ALERT for Phishing Scams, that is to say, messages that try to trick you into sharing your personal information like your passwords or credit card details. Deal ONLY with people you know and trust and have had some personal and business relationship with for sometime. And for any such suspicious messages you receive, its highly recommended that you avoid clicking links or any attachments in these messages and do not reply to them if possible! Moreover, these Fraud-Stars can hack into the email accounts of people you may be having a relationship with and send email messages from that account to appear as though it were the person you know and trust who sent that particular email message when infact not!
Therefore, apply due diligence and care when dealing with people of all kinds, whether on the Internet or in the real world. This way you insulate yourself against being defrauded out of your own hard earned money.
So, until next time, go well in your real estate purchasing and investment endeavors.
NOTE: Want To Buy, Sell, Rent, or Simply Rent Out A Piece Of Real Property? Then Click On The Highligted Words Right In This Very Sentence For Details.
I love to hear your comments. Both positive and negative ones are all welcome. So, go right ahead and drop a comment below.
What normally happens is that once you respond to their advert concerning the house/s they have listed for sale in the daily newspapers or anywhere else, they'll then set up an appointment with you to physically view the said house you're interested in as per normal business practice. And on the material day in question of viewing the said house for sale, they'll take you almost near a certain particular house and then show you the house at a distance. These fraud-stars normally work in a group of say three to four people. Each one of them has a role to play in the scheme. Their chief aim being to convince you in buying into their pre-planned operation whether for selling real property or otherwise. But they normally use real estate as a basis for conning people. And they usually do this without the legal owner of the house knowing what is going on as earlier on alluded to.
So, what happens is that when you reach closer but not necessarily at the subject house in question they've earmarked for using to con you, another member of the group who knows the whole operation will normally come and join them in your presence. This person sometimes comes in and introduces a totally different story unrelated to the sale of real property and brings in the business of precious stones such as diamonds or emeralds. And together they try to involve you in the said business of precious stones by asking if you could be interested in the same. And if you seem gullible, one of them will suggest that you contribute a little something towards the same business. And if you do, that will be the end of your hard earned money never to recover it unless assisted by the police of course! Why? Because if you do give them that money, that will be the last time you'll ever see and hear from them.
Therefore, if you happen to respond to a real property advert in the newspaper or indeed anywhere else where real properties are being advertised and on the material day of viewing the said house for sale you find yourself discussing issues unrelated to your main objective, then PLEASE KNOW that you're dealing with Conmen! Find a way to get away from them or simply drive off to the nearest police station and report such characters! Otherwise you run the risk of being swindled out of your own hard earned cash!
So, be careful and exercise maximum restraint when dealing with people on the Internet as well as those that advertise their real properties for sale in the print media. You'll never know when you're dealing with fraud-Stars until you take the time to study and comprehend their characteristics and habits. Try to find out who they really are, what exactly they do for their living if they profess to be owners of the subject property you're interested in, why they are selling the said piece of property and if their are any valid documents such as title deeds and verify these things by visiting the concerned land authorities such as the Ministry of Lands or the Local Council in your area before you produce any monies to such individuals. Take that extra caution to make sure you're NOT dealing with a conspiracy of some sort.
If you wish to know how to spot Internet Fraud-Stars and their characteristics, here are just a few pointers to help you identify them before you get swindled. These were adopted from one of Google's Help or Support Pages. Check them below:
- Content that's usually associated with spam such as Mature Content and "Get Rich Quick" Schemes,
- Messages that falsely appear to be a "bounced message" response (a system-generated email that you might automatically get after sending a message that can't be delivered such as a message sent to an invalid email address),
- Messages sent from accounts or IP addresses that have sent other spam messages,
- Behavior of other fellow email users, such as many people reporting spam from a particular sender or set of senders,
- Similarity to other spam or phishing messages based on a combination of things like subject matter, elements like spelling and formatting, and suspicious attachments
- A difference between your email service provider's language preference and the language used in the message,
- Someone sending you an unsolicited email wanting you to help them transfer some money from a foreign bank account into your local bank account and promising to pay you a cut or little percentage from the same for helping him or her do just that,
- Someone anonymously asking for your personally identifying information via email,
- etc.
What You Need To Know:
It's important to be on the ALERT for Phishing Scams, that is to say, messages that try to trick you into sharing your personal information like your passwords or credit card details. Deal ONLY with people you know and trust and have had some personal and business relationship with for sometime. And for any such suspicious messages you receive, its highly recommended that you avoid clicking links or any attachments in these messages and do not reply to them if possible! Moreover, these Fraud-Stars can hack into the email accounts of people you may be having a relationship with and send email messages from that account to appear as though it were the person you know and trust who sent that particular email message when infact not!
Therefore, apply due diligence and care when dealing with people of all kinds, whether on the Internet or in the real world. This way you insulate yourself against being defrauded out of your own hard earned money.
So, until next time, go well in your real estate purchasing and investment endeavors.
NOTE: Want To Buy, Sell, Rent, or Simply Rent Out A Piece Of Real Property? Then Click On The Highligted Words Right In This Very Sentence For Details.
I love to hear your comments. Both positive and negative ones are all welcome. So, go right ahead and drop a comment below.
