Radical Fundamentalist Nigerian Money Scams

The Emails below are being sent to Christian web sites through out the web world by Radical Fundamentalist groups and Nigerian Bankers. The emails are false and are meant to deceive using large amounts of money, sickness and Christian lingo as a lure to gather your private information. Higher Praise has investigated these claims from these emails. The groups that are sending the emails have targeted Christians knowing that 99% of believers have no criminal records and are not wanted by the law. The emails are sent to gather your private information and your identity etc. Crime free identity is what these groups need to travel to other countries. The sole purpose is to use peoples identity to steal funds and to travel the world.

Anybody who has ever received the notorious Nigerian Money Scam will probably have asked themselves the same question - what would happen if I replied?

For those of you unfamiliar with this email scam, the basic idea is simple. Somebody purporting to be a Christian, converted Muslim, widowed Christian, or Nigerian banker contacts you, offering a chance to earn some serious money. Often his or her bank will be looking after the considerable fortune of a deceased millionaire - from shipping magnate to former president. He or she says they need a foreign bank account through which to launder the money - and in return for sending him or her your bank details for this purpose, he or she will give you a share of the spoils.

Of course those who fall for this scam never see these promised millions. Instead their bank accounts are often cleaned out once they have handed over all their details - which include bank account numbers, copies of their passport and drivers license and phone and fax numbers - it is a simple identity theft, dressed up with a tempting lure for the gullible.

Be aware that these scams are well-known. They used to be called “Nigerian letters” because they came by mail, but now these messages also come by phone, fax, or email.

These promises are never true. The purpose of the scam is to get money out of your bank account, not to put money into it.

Once you are on the hook, they’ll never let you go. You will be asked for a never-ending series of payments for “transfer fees,” “legal expenses,” and other bogus costs.

Be wary of offers to send you an “advance” on your “commission.” Some con artists use this ploy to build trust and to get money from your bank. They send you a check for part of your “commission,” instructing you to deposit it and then wire payment to them for taxes, bonding, or some other phony purpose. The bank tells you the check has cleared because the normal time has passed to be notified that checks have bounced. After you wire the money, the check that you deposited finally bounces because it turned out to be an elaborate fake. Now the crooks have your payment, and you’re left owing your bank the amount that you withdrew.

Don’t believe photographs of the “treasure.” One common ploy is to tape money around a block of wood or bundles of paper to make it look like a large amount of currency. Sometimes the crooks even sprinkle harmless powder on the money and tell victims that it’s a toxic chemical used to protect it. Then they offer to sell a special substance to remove the powder!

Never provide your bank account or other financial information. This information can be used to withdraw money from your account.

Don’t agree to travel anywhere to meet these people. They avoid coming to the United States because they fear arrest. Instead, they sometimes try to lure victims to meet them in Africa or other countries. Victims have been robbed and even murdered.

Remember that these are hardened criminals. According to the Secret Service, these crooks use the money they make on this scam to finance other illegal activities such as drug dealing and credit card fraud.

If they get your money, you’ll never get it back. It’s very difficult to bring these crooks to the United States for trial, and action is rarely taken against them in their own countries. However, it’s still helpful to report actual or attempted Nigerian money offer scams to law enforcement agencies.

If you need advice about an Internet or online solicitation, or you want to report a possible scam, use the information below or call the NFIC hotline at 1-800-876-7060.

At some point, the victim is asked to pay up front an Advance Fee of some sort, be it an "Advance Fee", "Transfer Tax", "Performance Bond", or to extend credit, grant COD privileges, send back "change" on an overage cashier's check or money order, whatever. If the victim pays the Fee, there are often many "Complications" which require still more advance payments until the victim either quits, runs out of money, or both. If the victim extends credit on a given transaction etc. he may also pay such fees ("nerfund" etc.), and also stiffed for the Goods or Service with NO Effective Recourse.

The Nigerian Scam is, according to published reports, the Third to Fifth largest industry in Nigeria. It is the 419 Coalition view that, in effect, the elites from which successive Governments of Nigeria have been drawn ARE the Scammers - therefore, victims have little recourse in this matter. Monies stolen by 419 operations are almost Never Recovered from Nigeria.

Most 419 letters and emails originate from or are traceable back to Nigeria. However, some originate from other nations, mostly also West African nations such as Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast ( Cote D'Ivoire ) etc. In most cases 419 emails from other nations are also Nigerian in that the "Home Office" of the 419ers involved is Nigeria regardless of the source of the contact materials. But there are occasionally some "local" copycats trying to emulate the success of the Nigerians. These folks tend not to last too long actually operating out of nations other than Nigeria, but they do try.

THE FIVE RULES FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH NIGERIA
Courtesy of The 419 Coalition
1. NEVER pay anything up front for ANY reason.
2. NEVER extend credit for ANY reason.
3. NEVER do ANYTHING until their check clears.
4. NEVER expect ANY help from the Nigerian Government.
5. NEVER rely on YOUR Government to bail you out.

What To Do If You Receive A Nigerian Scam/419 Letter
1. DO NOT RESPOND TO THE 419 SOLICITATION.
2. Notify your Own Nation's National Law Enforcement Agency and your Own Nation's Foreign Office.

3. File a Complaint with the Nigerian Embassy or High Commission in your nation.

4. File a complaint via email with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

5. For Loss cases only, you may file a complaint with the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

6. If the contact from the 419ers was via email: write their email provider at their "abuse" address (abuse@yahoo.com, abuse@onebox.com etc.) and include the 419er message with its headers; complain about the 419 message; and ask that the account be shut down. You may also file complaints with watchdog type sevices like Spamcop to try and get the 419ers email accounts shut off by whatever ISP they are using - Spamcop and other services like it will parse the headers of the 419 email and try to see through forged information etc. to get back to the actual origin of the 419 email, which is often useful in these matters.

Please remember that it is important to include the message's full header information. This is necessary for tracking the message's point of origin. This extra information is not shown by default, and the method of displaying it depends on the email resource you use. If you don't know how to display full headers, please see the instructions in your mail program or website. (Note: Many webpage-based email hosts include a "full headers" option link near the top of the message.)

Some 419ers give different email addies in the body of their mail than the one they sent from. You should complain to "abuse" etc. at those email providers as well.

Additional Country Specific Reporting Instructions
Australia - Additional Country Specific Instructions - Australia
According to the West African Crime Section (WAOCS) in the UK, Australians are to report 419 matters In Australia to their local police and to the Australian West African Organized Crime Section at er-waoc@afp.gov.au

Canada - Additional Country Specific Instructions - Canada
Regional Offices of the RCMP Commercial Crime Branch are the proper places to direct inquiries. The phone/fax numbers of the nearest CCB office are available from any local detachment of the RCMP/GRC.
Also, in Canada, The Phonebusters National Call Centre (PNCC) is a joint partnership involving the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Phonebusters is very interested in receiving copies of any 'new' versions of Nigerian letter schemes particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. You can email such 419 letters to them at WAFL@phonebusters.com

You may also access the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Website (RCMP/GRC) which contains a section on the Nigerian Scam.

South Africa - Additional Country Specific Instructions - South Africa
Fax all documents pertaining to the scam to the Commercial Branch, South African Police Service, Head Office for attention Superintendent SC Schambriel at facsimile number +27 12 339 1202, telephone number + 27 12 339 1203 or e-mail mediarelations@saps.org.za. Please mention whether or not you have incurred any financial loss.
The South African Police Service maintains a 419 Scams/Nigerian Letters Alert on their website. They also have a counter-419 notice in their FAQ Section on the site. Finally, they show a short Anti-419 Pamphlet issued by and available from the South African Police Service, Click Here.

United Kingdom - Additional Country Specific Instructions - United Kingdom
For those in the UK with NO financial loss, examples of Internet '419' Advance Fee Fraud should be forwarded to your local fraud squad for investigation, whose location is obtainable through your local police station. Please quote 'NCIS West African Organised Crime Section' in your correspondence with them and under no circumstances reply to these criminals.
In addition to the above, if you HAVE lost money and there is a UK connection to the 419 operation, the NCIS wishes to speak directly with you as soon as possible. Persons who Have actually lost money to such scams can contact NCIS at :

victim@spring39.demon.co.uk

or by phone at 020 7238 8012.

NCIS also notes that 419 emails are very common, and it is possible that you may receive others in the future. Please do not send them direct to NCIS unless there is a loss, but as well as transmitting them direct to your local fraud squad, please send a copy to the Internet Service Provider (ISP's) from where the 419er email has originated. These emails to the ISP's should be addressed to:

abuse@"the ISP's name"

(for example abuse@yahoo.com, abuse@hotmail.com, abuse@onebox.com).

By this method the ISP's will be able to quickly terminate the accounts that abuse their systems.

Anyone OUTSIDE the UK receiving such a letter or email with a UK connection is advised to Notify your Own Nation's National Law Enforcement Agency and your Own Nation's Foreign Office; to NOT reply to the 419er communication; and to forward the 419er correspondence to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, PO Box 8000, London SE11 5EN, or by e-mail.

The London Metropolitan Police website also maintains an excellent section on Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Fraud. The URL of the The London Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert Page is http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert

United States - Additional Country Specific Instructions - United States
1. The United States Secret Service continues to be tasked as the primary US law enforcement agency in dealing with Advance Fee Fraud (419) matters. US Citizens or Residents with No Financial Loss are asked to email 419er documents to the United States Secret Service at 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov where they are archived for future datamining. Only No Loss reports are to be sent to this email address. Due to the sheer volume of materials received, USSS does not respond to submissions to this address.
2. United States Citizens and Residents who HAVE suffered a Financial Loss are instructed to contact the nearest Field Office of the United States Secret Service.