It appears that I will be arrested for pedophilia in a major international criminal case as early as April 8.
I received an email earlier this week from a guy named Tomoko Leavitt claiming to be (get ready for a mouthful) a technical collection officer with the Central Intelligence Agency’s directorate of science and technology department.
The email is covered with CIA emblems in an effort to convey to me just how important it is that I pay very close attention to it.
He informs me that my personal data, including my email address at work, is listed in a case he’s working on regarding the distribution and storage of pornographic electronic materials involving underage children across 27 countries.
Mr. Leavitt goes on to say that he has gone over my documentation and knows that I’m a very “wealthy” man (which only proves how little this bozo really knows me) who may be concerned about my reputation.
He states that he is one of several people who have access to the documents and he has enough security clearance to amend and remove my personal information from the case.
My new best friend at the CIA then gives me a once-in-a-lifetime offer to transfer exactly $10,000 U.S. through the Bitcoin network to a special bitcoin address that he provides.
“Upon confirming your transfer I will take care of all the files linked to you and you can rest assured no one will bother you,” my CIA saviour said.
“Please do not contact me. I will contact you and confirm only when I see the valid transfer.”
I was told that I had until March 27 to comply.
There was no telephone number and the address from which the email was sent wasn’t receiving messages, so I couldn’t get in touch with Mr. Leavitt to tell him how grateful I am that he would take such an interest in preserving my reputation and freedom for such a small fee as $10,000 U.S., even if I had the money to pay.
I often wonder how many people actually fall for these types of scams.
I guess that the fraudsters cast a wide net and send the same emails to hundreds, or even thousands, of people worldwide to see how many hits they can get.
There may very well be a lot of people out there who use their computers to store and distribute underage porn who might actually fall for it.
Considering that crime, it might not be a bad idea for some pedophiles to get fleeced by these fraudsters, but I bet most of the victims are people who are innocent, but intimidated (and gullible) and really think they are in big trouble with America’s spy agency, wrongly or not.
They may feel that giving up $10,000 to save themselves is well worth it, even if they are actually not really guilty of anything.
It seems that not a day goes by that I don’t read about some senior citizen, or other vulnerable people, who are duped out of thousands of dollars by charlatans like Mr. Leavitt.
If you, or anyone you know, receive an email or phone calls that you suspect are fraudulent, visit the Canada Fraud Centre’s website to learn what to do.
Meanwhile, I have to go pack my bags and prepare for the police to pick me up on April 8.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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