Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud

Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter mailed from Nigeria offers the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author—a self-proclaimed government official—is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers, and other identifying information using a fax number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via e-mail through the Internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a "propensity for larceny" by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.

Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria. In actuality, the millions of dollars do not exist, and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss. Once the victim stops sending money, the perpetrators have been known to use the personal information and checks that they received to impersonate the victim, draining bank accounts and credit card balances. While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. Some victims have been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned against their will along with losing large sums of money. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victim actually conspires to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label “419 fraud.”

For example:

* They may claim that political climate or legal issues preclude them from accessing funds in a foreign bank account.
* They may claim that your last name is the same as that of the deceased person who owned the account and suggest that you act as the Next of Kin of this person in order to gain access to the funds.
* They may claim that a rich merchant, who has a terminal illness, needs your help to distribute his or her wealth to charity.

Tips for Avoiding Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud:

* If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant.
* If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
* Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
* Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
* Guard your account information carefully.

Source: FBI

Email Scam: Financial / Investment

Financial/Investment Scams:

Including High Yield Investment Plans (HYIPs), Ponzi Schemes, Fake 'Affiliate' schemes and Molti-Level Marketing (MLM) scams. Basically offering huge unrealistic returns on investments which turn out to be fraudulent, illegal or non-existent. Solicitations almost always by Spam emails, often uses 'meta-cash' like e-Gold etc.

The best advice is to do your own research.

Email Scam: Employment

Employment Scams:

Employment is usually offered processing international payments, promising to let you keep 10% as commission. You pay the (fake) checks into your bank and send them your good money. By the time the bank bounces the check, your money s gone - almost always demands Western Union payments!

The check turns out to be a fake or you get prosecuted for Money Laundering!

Email Scam: Auction

Auction Scams:

Simple scams using eBay or Craigslist to take either your money, your property or both. May use hijacked accounts with good customer feedback obtained by Phishing to give false confidence...

Watch out for 'Second Chance Offers' on auctions you did not win!

Email Scam: Phishing

Phishing:

You may receive an email from a bank/online service provider/ financial institution that asks you to click a link and visit a website in order to provide personal information. Such an email is more than likely the type of Internet scam known as "phishing".

Official-looking emails from banks, retailers and other online services, including Facebook, eBay, MySpace, PayPal, Chase Bank etc) which ask you to 'confirm' some details or which are warning you that your account needs some kind of immediate action. Once they have your login details, they can raid your bank, use online accounts as spam engines or hijack your good name for selling/buying. Information submitted on these bogus websites is harvested by the scammers and may then be used to steal funds from the user's accounts and/or steal the victim's identity.
Often asks for credit card details. These are then used or sold on.

Email Scam: Lottery

Lottery Scams:

You may receive an email/letter/fax that claims that you have won a great deal of money in an international lottery even though you have never bought a ticket. The email may claim that your email address was randomly chosen out of a large pool of addresses as a "winning entry". Such emails are almost certainly fraudulent. In some cases, the emails claim to be endorsed by well-known companies such as Microsoft or include links to legitimate lottery organization websites. Any relationships implied by these endorsements and links will be completely bogus.

Payment is required to get your huge unsolicited lottery winnings transferred into your country/bank account. If you are told you have won some random email lottery, or a lottery that you don't remember entering, you are probably being set up for a Lottery Scam. Microsoft, BMW, HP, Shell, Google etc. DO NOT DO LOTTERIES!

There is no lottery and no prize. There are no 'winnings', except for the scammer! Those who initiate a dialogue with the scammers by replying to the messages will be first asked to provide a great deal of personal information. Eventually, they will be asked to send money, ostensibly to cover expenses associated with delivery of the supposed "winnings". They may also become the victims of identity theft. DO NOT respond to these messages. DO NOT supply any personal information whatsoever to the scammers.

Email Scam: Advance Fee Fraud

Advance Fee Fraud:

A 'nominal' payment is required to 'release' some much larger amount which is held by a third party. Any transaction that promises a huge return for a relatively small fee is probably an Advance Fee Fraud, also known as 'Nigerian' or '419 Fraud'.

There is no 'millions', Mrs Abacha doesnt have the money either.

FBI says:

An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value—such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift—and then receives little or nothing in return.

The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only by the imagination of the con artists who offer them. They may involve the sale of products or services, the offering of investments, lottery winnings, "found money," or many other "opportunities." Clever con artists will offer to find financing arrangements for their clients who pay a "finder's fee" in advance. They require their clients to sign contracts in which they agree to pay the fee when they are introduced to the financing source. Victims often learn that they are ineligible for financing only after they have paid the "finder" according to the contract. Such agreements may be legal unless it can be shown that the "finder" never had the intention or the ability to provide financing for the victims.

Tips for Avoiding Advanced Fee Schemes:

If the offer of an "opportunity" appears too good to be true, it probably is. Follow common business practice. For example, legitimate business is rarely conducted in cash on a street corner.

* Know who you are dealing with. If you have not heard of a person or company that you intend to do business with, learn more about them. Depending on the amount of money that you plan on spending, you may want to visit the business location, check with the Better Business Bureau, or consult with your bank, an attorney, or the police.
* Make sure you fully understand any business agreement that you enter into. If the terms are complex, have them reviewed by a competent attorney.
* Be wary of businesses that operate out of post office boxes or mail drops and do not have a street address. Also be suspicious when dealing with persons who do not have a direct telephone line and who are never in when you call, but always return your call later.
* Be wary of business deals that require you to sign nondisclosure or non-circumvention agreements that are designed to prevent you from independently verifying the bona fides of the people with whom you intend to do business. Con artists often use non-circumvention agreements to threaten their victims with civil suit if they report their losses to law enforcement.

Source: FBI