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.
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