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tigress
Talker
Joined: June 03, 2005
Posts: 122
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
June 27, 2005 - 01:10 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Gullible Chinese? |
The shabby-looking peasant approached Mr Xie in the lobby of a south China hotel, clutching a piece of paper.
"Excuse me, sir," he said nervously. "You look like a cultured person: would you mind telling me what this is?"
Mr Xie, a businessman in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province, recognised it instantly as a US$100 bill. He checked it was genuine at a nearby bank - and saw the opportunity for a quick profit.
"It's American dollars," he told the peasant, who said his name was Li. "But you'll be in big trouble with the police if you cash it. I'll take the risk and give you 200 renminbi."
The sum he offered was worth about £15. They were just about to conclude the deal when Mr Li said casually: "I've got some more notes back home in the village: my grandfather just died and I found them in his chest."
Next morning Mr Xie was on his way to Silong township, 37 miles away. To his amazement, Mr Li's "more notes" amounted to three boxes full - more than $140,000 (£86,400).
The tale ended predictably after Mr Xie had persuaded some friends to help him raise the ready cash and returned to Silong. They gave 54,360 renminbi (£4,100) to Mr Li, who disappeared saying he was going to make an offering to his ancestors. The dollars he had handed over were forged - fake notes at the top of the box and plain paper below.
The most remarkable feature of this scam is that it has been operating successfully since the early 1980s. Hoodwinked "clients" have included businessmen from South Korea and Hong Kong, as well as from across China.
Other cases are unrecorded, since many victims fear they will be accused of illegal currency dealing if they go to the authorities. The police claim this has made it impossible to stamp out the racket, although they did recently stage a roundup of suspects.
Whatever the real reason for their lack of energy, the greenback scam has been developed by the Silong villagers into a fine art.
Their story about a cache of US dollars is built around a historical fact: in 1940 the Chinese nationalist army fought a heroic battle in the area against the Japanese.
The peasant fraudsters tell the clients that the nationalists left behind a hoard of money which their grandparents found and concealed. A photograph of a dead "grandfather" is sometimes produced to back up the story.
To substantiate the story, a genuine $100 note dated 1988 is doctored to look as if it was issued in 1938. The small alteration in the date can easily escape detection.
Variations on the scam include taking the client to a cave in the area, pocketing the money and then disappearing to "fetch the dollars" from a fictitious hiding-place.
The Silong peasants have also forged bank documents from the nationalist era written in old-fashioned Chinese characters. Silong's reputation as a possible source for US dollars persists in spite of the evident frauds. A recent investigation by the popular Guangzhou-based Southern Weekend newspaper found would-be sellers and clients loitering on the roadside in Silong.
It is hard to understand why the victims continue to be so gullible. One theory is that in China, where everyone wants to "get rich first", people are quicker to delude themselves that they have found a magic way.
Pls contribute stories that such a theory is applicable!! |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6408
Location: 31 N 121 E
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June 27, 2005 - 02:57 PM |
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Greed often blocks common sense. And people forget that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Nice story though ! |
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If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6408
Location: 31 N 121 E
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June 27, 2005 - 02:58 PM |
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double post |
_________________
If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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sluttygirl17
Seeker
Joined: June 25, 2005
Posts: 62
Status: Offline
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June 28, 2005 - 08:14 PM |
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i like to grab wallet when pants are down |
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rutuman
Low Seater
Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 3231
Status: Offline
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June 29, 2005 - 09:23 PM |
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^ had that happen to me in bristol once, haha
never send a cheque off for a penis etension device...............
" excuse me teller, ive got a really small dik and i sent of for this................" |
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maxiewawa
Raver
Joined: July 10, 2004
Posts: 417
Status: Offline
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July 10, 2005 - 07:39 PM |
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Huh? The notes handed over were forged? The American notes?
Sounds like a very complicated hustle. Conning the con artists. I applaud those resourceful tricksters. |
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Now I am become Maxiewawa, |
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