true and false friendship

Zhiqiang has been in the United States for more than 40 years and has been diligent and thrifty throughout his life. After retiring from the workplace, he established a company to run a small business. Nowadays, my children are married and starting a business, and the financial burden is much lighter. I am getting older, so I don’t take on more business, and I love and stay with my wife.

Unexpectedly, an elder like Yi Zhiqiang, who is familiar with the world and has rich experience, would be deceived and lose his life's hard-earned savings. Not only is he heartbroken, but he is also ashamed of his family. His anger was indescribable, and he told the author the following personal experience.

Happy to lend a helping hand

In 2006, the company's fax machine received a letter from South Africa signed Mrs. Benson. The letter stated that her husband died in a car accident in Zimbabwe a few years ago, leaving behind three children. Due to the turmoil, the family fled to South Africa and became refugees. Fortunately, with the help of the Christian church, they were able to have enough food and clothing, and they became Christians. Before her death, her late husband hurriedly confessed that he had a fortune left behind and that he might need the help of a foreign company to collect it. I wonder if anyone would like to help?

This letter aroused my curiosity and sympathy. On the one hand, her experience sounds very miserable; on the other hand, my parents and siblings are all Christians. Although I am not yet a Christian, of course I am happy to lend a helping hand to Christians.

I replied to the email address on the fax and started dating Mrs. Benson. She seemed to be a noble and kind lady in the letter, telling me from time to time about her current situation, her children's studies, church activities, and the hardships of life. She also sent me a photo of her and her three children. She is white.

She claimed that she had been a housewife for a long time and lacked experience, so she entrusted Dr. Jones, a reliable elder in the church, to help handle her husband's inheritance. Dr. Jones is a busy man, but he is cautious and courteous. He mentioned that Mrs. Benson must have the name of a future partner of the foreign company in order to legally withdraw her husband's money. As long as the company boss, that is, me, can provide a certificate. The partnership funds will be transferred to my company account first and then returned to her later. She also said that she was willing to give me 20% of her property as a reward.

Mrs. Benson and I corresponded frequently and became good friends who talked about everything. Gradually I learned that her husband was a senior official in Zimbabwe, and the car accident that year was probably a murder. This explains why she and her children needed to flee to South Africa, and why the inheritance was a huge sum of $20 million. Her experience reminded me of the tragic scene when my mother took my seven-year-old brother and me to flee during the Anti-Japanese War more than 60 years ago. The difference is that she hopes to get a huge inheritance, but there are many difficulties.

I have been passionate about martial arts all my life and would like to open a martial arts gym in the United States to promote Chinese Kung Fu, but I have no funds. If I can get this 20%, which is a remuneration of four million US dollars, my dream can come true.

Helping others and benefiting oneself?

Helping others and benefiting yourself, why not do it! I promised to help Mrs. Benson get her inheritance back, and I promised them to keep it secret. A complex process begins. First, I signed a letter asking Mrs. Benson to be my company's business partner. After paying a few hundred yuan in handling fees, we immediately received the official approval document from the South African Ministry of Commerce. We were very excited. It is not easy to obtain an inheritance without a written will. Dr. Jones suggested asking a lawyer for help. The lawyer asked for a fee of three thousand dollars. I thought it was reasonable, so I remitted the amount to Mrs. Benson. The procedure progressed smoothly. very smooth.

They contacted the African Bank where Mr. Benson’s inheritance was stored. The bank’s business staff, especially the vice president, were very cooperative and even called me to contact me. From the email, I felt that Mrs. Benson was becoming more and more cheerful, and her gratitude to me was beyond words. I once talked with her shy little son on the phone, and she told me by the way that she plans to bring her children to the United States as investment immigrants in the future.

Soon they asked for my Bank of America account number so they could wire the money. When the inheritance was about to be remitted, unexpectedly, Dr. Jones angrily sent an official document from the South African Ministry of Security, which stated: After the 911 incident, in order to ensure that the amount of foreign exchange was not used for terrorist acts, an advance payment of 150,000 was required. The investigation fee and security deposit in US dollars can be paid in two installments... I only have 50,000 US dollars on hand, indicating that I am in difficulty. Helplessly, Mrs. Benson begged me, my great benefactor, to be a good person and do my best to save her family.

She thought that her house had equity and could be borrowed, but she refused to discuss it with her husband for fear of being cheated. Feeling confident, I showed her all the correspondence and official documents I had received, including official seals and signatures. I also showed her the bank’s website. She had nothing to say and reluctantly agreed; I regarded the loan as an investment to help others and benefit myself, so I wired it as instructed.

I exchanged nearly 200 emails with Mrs. Benson, Dr. Jones, the vice president of the African Bank, and the salesperson. I felt a sense of satisfaction in helping others, and I also dreamed of the day when the martial arts gym would open. Waiting, waiting, Dr. Jones finally wrote to inform me that the money can be remitted and entered my account. However, inheritance tax is required for inheritance, and the government must first receive this tax before it will release the money. I need to find a way.

When I saw it, the tax amount was as much as one million US dollars. The inheritance tax of 5% is not unreasonable, but for me, the burden is too heavy. I was caught in a dilemma: If I don’t pay this tax, all my previous efforts will be wasted. I’m so unwilling to do so. Moreover, the poor Benson family’s inheritance is frozen in the bank. What will they do in the future? After paying this tax, I have to borrow money. If I can't get the four million remuneration, I will go bankrupt and my marriage will break up. I was riding a tiger and couldn't get off, and I was struggling in my heart, which made me sleep and eat poorly, and I wanted to hit the wall and get into trouble. I wonder who can help me figure it out?

▲Similar scam letters are often received in emails or fax machines. It would be best for readers to be wary and ignore it.

Get to the bottom of things

I think of my girl in the west. She is a devout Christian, well-informed, and has more time to read these two hundred official documents and letters for me, so that she can objectively distinguish the authenticity and make judgments before I make a decision. When Meimei found out that the family lived in Africa and had money involved, she immediately suspected it was a fraud. As a Christian, I find it incredible that she would question my Christian friends, the Benson family and Dr. Jones. I insisted that she read all the letters I had before drawing any conclusions.

She said that the U.S. government’s anti-fraud website is warning the business community about a fraud scheme called “Nigeria 419” with a structure similar to what I experienced. Some of those who were deceived even went to Africa to investigate in person, but were killed, kidnapped, and imprisoned. Their families in the United States were extorted for a large ransom. She advised me not to go to South Africa and to be careful about keeping my identity, credit card number, etc. secret. I went online and read the webpage she provided, and I felt that the situations of those who were deceived were completely different from mine. I have a legal guarantee of credit from the vice president of the bank, hundreds of letters of gratitude, and photos of the Benson family. How could a Christian lie to me? Mrs. Benson really needs help. We can't let her down!

After several days of thinking and research, Meimei told me with a serious face that 99% of the time, this was a scam. She analyzed that the whole process was a fraud carefully practiced by the group for one to twenty years. There is no Mrs. Benson at all; the photo may be a group photo of four unrelated people; the emails may be the work of role-playing by group members, and there may even be a psychologist providing guidance. As for the bank website, anyone can set it up; the bank they told me the inheritance belongs to may not exist at all; the answerer and vice president of the phone number listed on the webpage may all be members of the fraud group; it is too easy to print on computers nowadays, and I Official documents from South African government departments can also be forged. Furthermore, they used various pretexts one after another to get me to pay more and more money in advance, but what they gave me was just a blank promise. This is consistent with the scams often heard in the media, but with more tricks.

Only then did I slowly wake up from my denial and believe that I had really been deceived.

▲The "Fraud Group" is a group of people engaged in collective fraud. It is incredibly powerful and has become a huge tax-free business in the global underground finance. A stall selling salty crispy chicken at a night market in Taipei borrowed the homonym of the name to make passersby smile knowingly.

Learn from the pain

Oh my gosh! There are people in this world who are so treacherous! How did I step into this trap?

I thought I had made friends from afar. Their Christian words and deeds had won my wholehearted trust and precious friendship. Their experiences earned me sympathy.

But, if it weren’t for the four million yuan in return, would I have fallen into such a deep trap? Is it wrong to hope that the money can be used to buy property and realize the dream of opening a martial arts gym in the United States? I am here to promote Chinese martial arts! I admit, however, that there is some selfishness mixed into the motivation for doing good. They took advantage of my greed mixed with friendship, compassion, and generosity, and almost bankrupted me. A little bit of greed, the price is so high!

At the end of the day, I didn't pay the last inheritance tax. U.S. government officials told me that U.S. laws only extend to U.S. territory and cannot sanction foreigners. Unfortunately, they cannot help me... Fortunately, I still have a pension, and the price of my house has increased, so food and clothing is not a problem. Meimei comforted me and said that after paying an expensive tuition, I realized the ferocity of sin. People’s motives for doing good always hide evil thoughts, and the consequences are terrible. They need the salvation of the Lord Jesus. Alas, if this painful lesson allows me to be reunited with my parents, brothers and sisters in eternal life, how can I know that it is not a blessing?(To protect privacy, the names and some details of this true story have been appropriately changed.)

Author profile

Qingting, was born in mainland China, grew up in Taiwan, and settled in Pennsylvania. Currently serving in the church.