Melody Crowe returns

[DerekTrotter1981]

Once again, Melody Crowe returns and unlike Sheev and Derek who have become Cersei Lannister and Derek Grim respectively, she is the only one who hasn't got a makeover. She's also dealing with a scammer who calls himself a colour: Brown, in fact. Her new story begins with this email from Brown:

Dear Beneficiary

I am pleased to write you this letter for the following reasons:- One of
my clients who is now deceased, in His Will, left for someone who bears
your name his entire Cash deposit valued Fourty Five million
dollars (US$45,000,000.00). The truth is that, l do not
know if you are the beneficiary or not. For some years now, l have tried
effortlessly to locate the name on the will without success hence l have
contacted you.

Can you please get back to me urgently if you are capable of investing
this fund for any profitable business in your Country, contact me for
further explanation.

Regards,
Brown Williams.
EMAIL: [email protected]

Melody wrote back:

Hello Brown

So there's another Crowe out there, who isn't Russell? Sweet!

Give me more details!

Regards

Melody Crowe

After all, Melody is someone who loves danger, isn't she? I think she is; she got a reply:

Dear Crowe (no idea why he addressed Melody by her surname, but anyway moving on)

Thank you very much for your response. I am searching for a trusted partner that will be able to invest this fund into a profitable business.The question now is " CAN I TRUST YOU"?, If yes, please let me know the type of investment that is lucrative in your Country.

Meanwhile the fund is currently deposited with United Nations Security Vaults in Manila, Philippines. If you are interested in this project, kindly reconfirm your interest by providing the below information to enable me introduce you to Mr.Tony Douglas, the person in charge of the funds who will obtain change of ownership certificate and other necessary documents on your name as the new beneficiary.
Our sharing ratio will be 60% for me while 40% for you.

1 Your Full Name:
2 Your Home Address:
3 A Copy of your ID/ International Passport:
4 Your Phone number:
5 Your occupation:

I hope to hear from you for further steps.

Regards,
Brown Williams

Melody gave Brown one shout out, so she gave him another; can you spot the references? Let's find out...

With pleasure!

If you introduce me to your contact, I will honour you with mine. But with regards to the ID...I'm sorry Brown. But I'm afraid I can't do that. I had to forfeit my passport and my driving licence after a run in with the law, and since my arrest I can't have another passport. I also have to find my nearest motor vehicle place to get a new licence.

Anyway, as you know, my name is Melody Crowe and I am 17 years old. For the phone number, I suggest you use Lenny. A family friend.

Regards

Melody Crowe

This next part just gave Melody the perfect opportunity to act stupid; here's how that went:

Brown: You have to let him see my proposal and ask him to represent you and provide the information requested.

Melody: Him? Who's him?

Brown: I mean your family friend you suggested i should use Lenny

Melody: Ah!

Yes, you should use Lenny. Now...your next contact?

Now, you may presume that Brown would keep his word and give Melody his contact; no. He just sent the initial email again; fortunately, he sent the same message to all three expendable emails and Melody never needed to bring in a new contact; instead, her intended contact wrote to Brown! And that contact that Melody had in mind, was Cersei Lannister! Here's what she wrote:

Ser Brown

I believe you have spoken with a certain Melody Crowe and I'm afraid that I have to be honest with you, this Melody girl, while well meaning, is a fool and she will just make a mess of this business.

Please write back to Melody and tell her that any further business has been handed over to me.

Regards

Cersei Lannister

[bikeatl77]

For some years now, l have tried effortlessly to locate...

I love it when lads mix words up and use one that has the opposite meaning than that what was intended. I assume he meant to say tirelessly. Basically he just told you that he hasn't done jack sh!t trying to find you

Regardless if you torture him through Melody or Cersei or both characters you could have fun with his request for you to provide investment ideas. Maybe to expand the Build-a-Bear kiosk empire via a large franchise agreement or something silly like that. He said the dead dude was a client but did he say who he works for? His desired percentage split doesn't really make sense. If he had already admitted that he knew you weren't really related to the deceased and he wants you to partner with him to steal the cash then 40% makes sense. If he works at a bank and is running the scam as if was a legitimate estate transfer then a small commission to the bank like 5% is more realistic. Hopefully a real victim would question why a banker expects to take 40% of what you are legally entitled to. As it stands it looks like he is trying to extort the money from you or he won't help.

Congrats on yet another windfall. Added all up how much money is due to you from all your recent baits? It must have exceeded $100 million by now

[DerekTrotter1981]

I'm sure DCI Grim's going to have a bit of fun himself...I've got just the place for him...

Added all up how much money is due to you from all your recent baits?

Eh? What do you mean?

[bikeatl77]

This bait says you are entitled to $45 million and I think one you recently posted was for $25 million. Not sure about the others or if this $45M one is the highest so far. The lads you've been messing with definitely don't start out small that's for sure.

[DerekTrotter1981]

Well, of course they don't! Lads prey on human greed, so you can't expect a lad to say "So you will be receiving £50 but we will need 12p in order for you to receive this fund", can you?

And no, I am not saying anything about victims being greedy. I'm really not; I'm just saying that scams do tend to exploit hope, which we'll talk about in a moment. As another baiter said, not every victim is greedy. There are people out there who are gullible enough to end up with their lives ruined.

And now the hope part: Imagine that you're in a particularly bad place in life, maybe you've just lost your job and are in danger of becoming homeless or maybe you've had a dodgy investment and now lost everything. Then along comes an email promising a vast sum of money and you feel that you can do whatever you want with it; it is at this point, that people will cling on to anything that looks like hope. It's human nature, and lads are willing to exploit it.

[bikeatl77]

...so you can't expect a lad to say ...

Of course not but it is interesting to see the ranges that lads use. Not too long ago someone posted one where the lad said the baiter was owed well over $100 million once they pay the $3 million fee Your lads seem to like 8 figure numbers. It can be even more interesting to see how low lads will go if they are haggled over the price. Especially when the baiter says that they can only pay a max of $X dollars but the lad refuses. Sometimes lads seem to forget that they're supposed to take the payment and then make up some story about additional required fees and hit the victim up for more cash and then repeat.

Has Brown mentioned how much you have to pay to get the ball rolling?

[DerekTrotter1981]

No. But it's early days yet.

[DerekTrotter1981]

Continuing on, Brown just wrote to Cersei with the initial format:

Dear Cersei,
Thank you very much for your response. I am searching for a trusted partner that will be able to invest this fund into a profitable business.The question now is " CAN I TRUST YOU"?, If yes, please let me know the type of investment that is lucrative in your Country.

Meanwhile the fund is currently deposited with United Nations Security Vaults in Manila, Philippines. If you are interested in this project, kindly reconfirm your interest by providing the below information to enable me introduce you to Mr.Tony Douglas, the person in charge of the funds who will obtain change of ownership certificate and other necessary documents on your name as the new beneficiary.
Our sharing ratio will be 60% for me while 40% for you.

1 Your Full Name:
2 Your Home Address:
3 A Copy of your ID/ International Passport:
4 Your Phone number:
5 Your occupation:

I hope to hear from you for further steps.

Regards,
Brown Williams.


Cersei tried to push forth and said:

Listen to me, Brown

Melody needs to be left out of this. Tell her that this deal is off and then you can proceed with a far more better partner.

Regards

Cersei Lannister


Finally, Brown wrote back and said:

That is good. I will do as you said. Then send your details as requested below to enable us to proceed immediately.1 Your Full Name:
2 Your Home Address:
3 A Copy of your ID/ International Passport:
4 Your Phone number:
5 Your occupation:

Best regards,
Brown Williams.


Then Cersei wrote back to say:

Thanks Brown!

I knew I could rely on you! As for the details...we have a saying in my family: A Lannister always pays his debts:

As you know, my name is Cersei Lannister; daughter of Lord Tywin Lannister and sister to Jaime and Tyrion. I originally wanted to marry Prince Rhaegar Targaryen but ended up marrying King Robert Baratheon after my father's attempt to betroth me to him failed. The Targaryens lost a war that Baratheon instigated against Aerys II Targaryen, or as we know him in Westeros, The Mad King. Aerys lost the war and was murdered by my brother, Jaime; Robert married me to ensure political stability following his revolution.

Sadly, Robert proved himself an ineffective ruler and my father called my brother Jaime "a glorified bodyguard for two kings: One of them a madman, and the other a drunk". The fool perished in a hunting accident of my own orchestration; I had to kill him, because he was no king; He was nothing but an ignorant, stupid, slow-witted, drunken brute, with a lack of any ruthless streak as a king requires. As I say, Set Brown, when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. Would you not agree?

Anyway, your best bet for a phone number is a family friend who my family call "Leonard". When you dial him, ask either for Cersei (my name is pronounced "Sir-sea") or my father Tywin (his name is pronounced " Tie-win").

You want a copy of my passport, but I'm sorry to say that I can't do that. I moved to Huddersfield from Highburton (that is the hometown of Lena Headey, Cersei's actress. Huddersfield is five miles southeast of it) and lost all of my documentation! Officials want my birth certificate to get a passport and they want my passport to get my birth certificate! I just don't know what to do! Anyway, my address at the moment is 34 Ponteland Rd, Huddersfield, HD1 3GP.

Regards

Cersei Lannister