Scamsters Are Getting Better: Expect Them to Continue to Get Better

Kevin Ihrke, CFP® | Feb 10 2026 16:00

Remember the Nigerian Prince?  This scam was so bad it creates laughter just thinking about it.  I don’t remember all the details but it involved an email from a stranger claiming to be an actual Nigerian prince who for some reason, which is explained in the email, is unable to access some very large number of millions of US dollars that is rightfully his and you, a total stranger, are supposed to be able to help him by setting up a US bank account into which you are to deposit some money.  I don’t remember what purpose your deposit was supposed to serve.  But with that done, this prince would apparently be able to get access to his money and would pay you a handsome reward. 

 

The emails were poorly written by people for whom English is not a first language.  They were so bad that some people guessed that was a screening tool.  That only people dumb enough to respond to that email would make good suckers for their scam.

 

That guess may not have been correct because we haven’t seen emails from the Nigerian prince for a long time.

 

Instead, we are seeing ever more sophisticated scams.

 

For a few years I saw the same scam run in various different ways.  The scamsters targeted photographers.  Many of you know I am a freelance photographer, and what you may not know is that it’s a tough business because you’re always looking for your next booking.  So, emails asking about your availability to photograph an event get attention.  And photographer emails are easy to obtain because they put their contact info out in public as part of their efforts to get business.

 

I don’t know how many photographers fell for this scam.  At first, I thought these emails were legitimate, but I managed to escape being victimized.  How it works is that the person reaches out asking you to photograph an event.  Usually this is a wedding or a birthday party or an anniversary party.

 

The way the scam worked is that after you agree to photograph their event, they send you a deposit.  Let’s say, for example, that you agree to photograph their wedding for $3,000 and the deposit is $300.  But when the check arrives, it’s actually for $2,000.  The scamster immediately apologizes.  Apparently, their boss is paying for the wedding and made a mistake and sent you the money for the caterer’s deposit too.  Would you mind sending the caterer their $1,700 right away?  They want to make sure the caterer doesn’t cancel on them.

 

If you send the $1,700 off, they got you.  The $2,000 check they sent you will bounce for insufficient funds, but you won’t know that for a couple of days.  Meanwhile, you sent $1,700 off to the same scamster or one of his team and by the time you know the original check bounced, they will have already cashed the $1,700 check and disappeared.

 

Pretty slick.  They caught a lot of people with this until eventually people caught on and the scamsters ran into too much suspicion.  They’ve tried various versions of this particular scam, and I’m sure they’ll try more.

 

For example, recently I was contacted by someone offering to pay me $5,000 to do a fashion shoot.  They sent me the look they wanted.  The extra money was to hire models and makeup artists.  They would send the clothes.  Sounds like a great opportunity for a hungry photographer.  But it’s the same scam in a different guise.

 

The whole trick is getting a victim to deposit a bad check and forward some of the money to someone else.  It works if you can get someone to believe that you made a mistake and sent too much money.

 

But this time, the English was flawless and the people knew just enough about the photography industry to speak the jargon.  And no, I didn’t fall for it, but I recognized they are going to keep getting more difficult to recognize.

Not long ago I saw a post on Facebook by a friend of mine.  Her father-in-law was going into an assisted-living place, and they were selling a bunch of his stuff.  One of the items was a golf cart and the price was about half of what I thought it should be, so I reached out.  She asked me if I could send her the money via Zelle, and since it was to a friend, I didn’t think and started the process.  This is the closest I’ve gotten to being scammed.  Zelle red flagged it and when I messaged my friend about it, she started pressuring me to call Zelle and tell them it’s okay.  Red flags on top of red flags.  Eventually, I actually spoke with my friend on the phone and found out that actually it wasn’t her.  Her Facebook account was hacked, and this garage sale was how they were scamming people.

 

With all the information about each of us being available and with the rapid advances of AI, I expect scams to get harder and harder to detect.

 

Almost getting caught by one heightened my alertness, but maybe within the next five years, the voice on the phone that sounds like my friend will actually be a scamster.  We’re not there yet, but it may be close.

 

For now, remember two things.  The first one will save you from most if not all scams.  1) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  If you remember nothing else, this is the one.  It will save you from a world of pain.  2) Texts and emails are all vulnerable.  You may or may not be communicating with who you think you are.  Before sending any money anywhere, actually talk with the person, preferably in person.

 

And be skeptical.  Remember the first point above.