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Wales Online
National
Maynard Manyowa & David Flett

Reporter responds to African scam email that promised to double his money

Ever been tempted to find out what would happen if you did respond to that African prince's email promising you untold riches?

Not to take him up on his life-changing offer, of course, but just to see what fun could be had or, even perhaps, what criminal activity you might be able to uncover just by playing along.

Maynard Manyowa - a YorkshireLive senior reporter and a former investigative journalist in Africa - decided to do just that and has shared his story on the website of how it panned out.

In a private message from a scammer with a female profile picture going under the name of Kimone Mattis Investments, Manyowa was given a promise that his money could be doubled in 30 to 45 minutes, as a means of helping to pay household bills.

Manyowa offered to invest £800, but said that he wanted it turned into £8,000 in half-an-hour and also attached one condition - as the scammer had claimed to be based in London, he asked for a London bank account to transfer the money into, rather than using CashApp or World Remit.

He was subsequently given an HSBC account, but only sent £1 and quickly received a phone call from the scammer but, as he started to warm to the game, said he needed the toilet and that he would resend the money after he had finished his "number two".

Manyowa continued to be elusive for a couple of days, but got back in touch with the scammer on a Friday and said that the bank had been rejecting his payments, but that he would transfer £500 over instead.

The journalist then sent a link to confirm if his phone could send the money by another method and the scammer inadvertently disclosed his IP address, which was in Lagos, Nigeria.

When Manyowa then asked if he could use World Remit, details were given that confirmed the money would now be directed to Jamaica but, when the scammer was asked for a Jamaican address, they subsequently suggested using CashApp instead.

Another ID was given, this time for an account based in the US and, at this point, Manyowa asked for a face-to-face voice call to ease his fear that he might be getting scammed.

The scammer targeted Maynard Manyowa using extremely polite language, designed to appeal to his financial difficulties (Maynard Manyowa)

This appeared to spook the scammer, who also quickly unsent the messages with the Jamaican contact's name in them, perhaps realising their intended target was now aware of the accounts of their money mules in London, Jamaica and the US, as well as knowing that they themselves were based in Nigeria.

Manyowa went on to alert HSBC of the account name that the scammer had tried to use and was told by the bank that they would not be commenting on that exact account.

The journalist still suspects he hasn't heard the last from his scammer, however, and is hoping to expose their criminality further, saying: "They are still holding out, waiting and hoping, and swearing on their late parents' lives. Nothing gives me greater joy than knowing not only did I waste their time, but I am terrorising them with hope, the same way they do to their victims.

"Watching them toil for a fish they were never going to catch is the ultimate satisfaction. As is knowing that, in desperation, they will eventually agree to a video call, and they will be recorded and shamed."

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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