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CURRENT ISSUES
Topics of Interest to Consumers
Nigerian Money Offers
Someone has contacted you from Nigeria or
another African country and offered you millions if you will
help transfer money, diamonds or other riches to the U.S. for
safekeeping. It
sounds like a dream come true, but it’s really a nightmare.
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Be aware that these scams are well-known.
They used to be called “Nigerian letters” because
they came by airmail, but now the messages may come by phone,
fax or email.
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These promises are never true.
The purpose of the scam is to get money from 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.
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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!
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Never provide your bank account or other
financial information.
This information can be used to take money out of 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 activities such
as dealing drugs 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.
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