Never thought Id ever get caught out by something like this and thought anybody who did was a right mug.
Anyway to cut a long story short,I got an email from a friend, who is from Jamaica, I was at uni with a few years back who I have not heard from in a while, from the same first part of the email address but a different provider. Basically saying that he was at a course in Manchester, where he has had his belongings stolen from. The embassy apparently sent him to an immigrant hostel in Manchester. He needed money to sort out his return. I sent him £25 initially incase it was him thinking that it might help him out in the very short term and if it wasnt then Id only lost £25. However he says that he needs hundreds. Dont get me wrong if it is this guy then I would be only too willing to help him out.
I asked him some questions,which pretty much only he would know and he was particuarly vague with the answers. I also said that if he could make his way to where I live that he could stay with me till he sorted something out.
I also wonder what he needs the cash for, I would have assumed that he would have a return air ticket,which they would have a copy of it which he could access and obtain his flight home,if his pasport was stolen Im sure that an emergency one would be able to be issued for him quickly and that if he had missed his flight that the airline would alow him to move his flight with a minimal additional charge. Also if he had been staying in an hotel for a period of time that they woudl have been using his credit card to take payment, if he had had his belongings stolen from there then they woud have alowed him to use his credit card details to stay there for a further period of time? Unless he was staying in a backpackers type of hostel,which he may well have done
I have made contact with a mutual friend from uni and he has contacted her, she has also sent some money, the amount Im unsure of at this time,tho it sounds like it is considerably more than the £25
To be honest the more I think about it the more dubious I am about it, but I would really hate it if it is him who is in trouble and I could help.
So does anybody know if there is an immigrant hostel in Manchester or has heard of a similar scam?
quite possibly the more I read my own post Ive been done out of £25, but better that than a lot more