 We’ve
all heard about the “Nigerian” scam, or variations on the
same crooked scheme. While it is one of the oldest frauds
around it appears to be gaining momentum and duping more Americans.
Americans are
very gullible. We are anxious to help someone we believe
is in need or we are looking for an easy way to make money. Nigerians use these character traits to catch victims
with their guard down.
Perpetrators
of this scam have been bilking money from compassionate and/or
greedy Americans for years. Here’s how it works. You receive
a letter or an e-mail from someone claiming to be a Nigerian
official, businessman or surviving spouse of a former government
official. The
letter will say that the individual wants to transfer millions
of dollars into your bank account in exchange for a small
fee. If you respond,
you’ll probably receive some official looking documents. Then you’ll be asked to provide blank personal or corporate
letterhead, as well as your bank account numbers and some
money to cover transaction, transfer and legal fees.
As the scam continues,
you’ll discover that the transfer of funds to your account
is continually delayed, while you are continually asked to
transfer more of your funds.
If you transfer
money to one of these scam artists, one of two things will
happen. You’ll
simply lose your money right away, or more than likely, the
scammer will contact you in a couple of days telling you there
has been a delay and that they are going to need more of your
money in order to get the funds released. And, as long as you keep sending money, they’ll gladly
accept it.
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Surprisingly,
the Nigerian government is well aware of these scams. In fact, these scams are the third largest industry in Nigeria
and far too profitable to the country for the government to
ever crack down on them.
Before
finding yourself a victim of a Nigerian or other scam, ask
yourself two questions:
Why would a stranger want to give you money
to deposit into your bank account; and
Why would you want to give a stranger your
personal financial information?
The Nigerian scam has taken on a new twist. Some of the “scammers” participate in online auctions,
or respond to classified ads, finish with the highest bid
and then send a cashier’s check to pay for the purchase. The check is always more than the actual cost of the
merchandise and the buyer asks the seller to wire the overage
back to a foreign bank. The unsuspecting victim deposits the check into his bank account,
wires funds back to the perpetrator’s bank and discovers weeks
later that the check is a fake and both the merchandise and
the funds are gone.
If you
should receive an e-mail asking you to help send money out
of Nigeria or any other country, forward the correspondence
to spam@uce.gov. And, whether a classic “Nigerian” scam, “lottery” scam
or a host of others, please remember—if it sounds too good
to be true, it usually is too good to
be true!
CONSUMER TIPS is provided as a public
service by the Missouri Independent Bankers Association
AND
Community Bank of the Ozarks
P.O. Box 43
Sunrise Beach, MO 65079
(573) 374-5245
1-800-927-4314
www.cbobanker.com
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