> ...the implication is that the costs of pursuing a lawsuit against an international party and successfully collecting damages are too great (in both time/effo

> ...the implication is that the costs of pursuing a lawsuit against an international party and successfully collecting damages are too great (in both time/effort and money) that, for something this tenuous, there's no chance the scammer will even try. That part wasn't linked to the grandparent comment's last sentence, it seemed to me like a line glibly tossed off -- but okay, I'll give them the HN "best intentions" benefit of the doubt :) Getting a legitimate case to court in India is a fairly Sisyphean task. Getting one as ridiculous as this might be considerably worse, and would probably incur frivolous litigation costs¹ if it ever actually went to trial. But yes, IANAL and all that -- just trying to point out that OP has very decent solutions available even if he is in India. If he is not, then yes, as you pointed out, there is very little reason for concern. [1] http://www.legalblog.in/2011/11/exemplary-costs-on-frivolous-litigation.html http://www.legalblog.in/2011/11/exemplary-costs-on-frivolous...