Timeline for Friend needs help in Turkey
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
25 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 17, 2021 at 11:58 | comment | added | Bernhard Döbler | This is a hot network question, although OP never returned | |
| Jun 17, 2021 at 1:43 | answer | added | Gruncher1010 | timeline score: -2 | |
| S Jun 16, 2021 at 6:54 | history | suggested | CommunityBot | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
intended paragraph formatting, removed fluff
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| Jun 16, 2021 at 2:12 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Jun 16, 2021 at 6:54 | |||||
| Jun 15, 2021 at 15:43 | answer | added | user1271772 | timeline score: 18 | |
| Jun 15, 2021 at 1:27 | comment | added | Stilez | Almost certainly a scam not genuine. If legitimate, they would be able to contact the consulate, and in fact if their passport was genuinely held they would have to do so, to get home. Since they have to contact the consulate to get home, I suggest a test. Reply that you'll try to pass funds to the consulate. If they are grateful and will go there as soon as they can, the consulate will check their ID against passport records, then you can decide if you'll send the CONSULATE (NOT THEM!!) cash. If they won't visit the consulate they aren't ever coming home... and are a solid fake. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 22:12 | comment | added | Spehro 'speff' Pefhany | @llama I can do international wire transfers online, from my phone. Expensive and it can be cumbersome, but online. But this is academic, as the OP is almost certainly in the clutches of a scammer. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 22:03 | comment | added | llama | @SpehroPefhany having been in a somewhat similar situation it is actually very difficult to do anything with a Canadian bank account from overseas. You can't do wire transfers without visiting a branch, you can't even use a Canadian credit card with other wire transfer companies. I ended up having to use paypal (which OP could suggest to their probable scammer, given that she should absolutely not send them money) | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 19:37 | comment | added | Spehro 'speff' Pefhany | I'm pretty sure I would be able to work something out with my Canadian bank over the phone with a couple of calls. They would ask sensible authentication questions like how many accounts I have and how long I've had them and approximate balances. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 18:00 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackTravel/status/1404498904310222859 | ||
| Jun 14, 2021 at 15:33 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Jun 14, 2021 at 15:04 | comment | added | phoog | Why did the police take his passport? (More precisely, what reason did your friend report to you?) Police only have authority to retain passports in certain well defined situations, so it may be possible to expose the scam that way, possibly with the cooperation of the Canadian consulate. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 14:40 | history | edited | DavidRecallsMonica | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
edited title for clarity
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| Jun 14, 2021 at 12:38 | comment | added | Kyralessa | Sharon, once you work out this situation, I hope you'll write again (e.g. by editing to add to your question) to let us know what you found out. Whether or not it's a scam, it would help future readers to know what steps you took to determine that. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 11:59 | comment | added | Peter M | @PeterGreen It's that possibility that helps drive the scam. The plausibility, the desire to help a friend in need and the inability to to actually speak to them all lay the groundwork for a scam that is very common. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 11:10 | comment | added | Peter Green | "I find it strange that he cannot arrange his bank affairs online. " I don't know what it's like in Canada, but I know my UK bank won't let me log in from a new computer unless I receive a confirmation call/text and my experiance with calling my bank is it's a frustrating excercise convincing them who I am even when I'm at home and have access to paperwork. Being stuck without access to ones finances does not seem at all implausible to me. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 9:00 | answer | added | Kyralessa | timeline score: 126 | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 8:54 | comment | added | jcaron | You mean this "friend" is asking you to send money to help him pay whatever he needs and fly back home? This is most likely a scam. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 8:54 | comment | added | Traveller | There is a warning about possible scams right here on the website of the Canadian embassy in Turkey canadainternational.gc.ca/turkey-turquie/… You should follow their advice and tell your friend to contact the Consulate General in Istanbul or the Embassy of Canada in Ankara, Turkey via the contact info given on the website, or you can contact the Canadian consular help service yourself if you are concerned about your friend but not sure the request is legitimate | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 8:48 | history | edited | Traveller |
edited tags
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| Jun 14, 2021 at 8:08 | comment | added | Willeke♦ | @RichardBeasley, likely his bank/debit card. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 8:05 | comment | added | Richard Beasley | What is a "bank pass"? | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 7:41 | comment | added | mlc | Is this friend someone you have met in person before, and are you absolutely certain that you are communicating with this same person now? Unfortunately, this has all the hallmarks of a fairly common scam. | |
| Jun 14, 2021 at 7:33 | review | First posts | |||
| Jun 14, 2021 at 10:05 | |||||
| Jun 14, 2021 at 7:33 | history | asked | Sharon | CC BY-SA 4.0 |