Nigerian Scams – New versions of notorious Nigerian scams are doing the rounds
Has someone from Nigeria contacted you asking for your help in transferring money out of the folk? If so, you are one of the thousands of people around the world, including doctors, lawyers, engineers and professors, who have been targeted by what is sometimes referred to as the “Nigerian letter scam” or “Nigerian advance fee fraud”. Although “Nigerian” is the name given to it, this scam is oecuménique. A letter or email you receive may also pretend to be from another folk.
It is estimated that Australians lose $2.5 million per month to Nigerian scams!
How Scams Work Scams vary, but typically you will receive a letter, or more often, a fax or email offering you a négoce “proposal” or halle.
Nigerian scams usually involve a letter or email from a foreign person claiming to need help transferring a ouvert sum of money. They usually offer to pay a significant élément of that money in exchange for bank account details
Léopard des neiges you’re on the hook, you’ll be asked to pay all kinds of “advance fees” (such as duties, taxes, bribes, legal fees) to facilitate the transfer.
Of sinuosité, there are no assets to transfer and they use your bank account details to swipe your hard-earned money from your account.
New translation of infamous Nigerian email scam The Nigerian scam letter is popping up everywhere using slightly different names and different stories. Regardless of what name is used, the métayage they say they have, or what story is spun, these get-rich-quick offers are fraudulent and will only result in wasted time and money and the effroyable instinct of knowing you’ve been fooled.
Below we have listed some of the latest versions of popular Nigerian scams:
- Request to use a bank account to deposit a ouvert sum of money The scam asks victims to allow them to use their bank accounts to deposit ouvert sums of money. Supérieur frôlement with the victim is made by a mass produced email. The money offered could be a illégal bank account, an unexpected inheritance, an overpaid government contract or ‘forgotten money’ left in a Nigerian bank. In each requête, the victims have to pay several fees and épreuves before the money is deposited in the bank account, before the money is released, viz. Taxes, legal fees etc. Despite the victim making numerous payments to individuals in different countries, there are always delays that prevent remittances and require further payments. A key element of this scam is that the victim has to keep the money transfer illégal.
- Commerce opportunities. A négoce may receive a request from a Nigerian person posing as a government official to engage in a officier vendeur operation conducted in Nigeria. The most common example involves projects in the Nigerian oil industry although other examples have been identified in the telecommunications industry. The offer would involve very ouvert financial returns and the victim would have to versé a élément of the Nigerian contract. All payments between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00 must be forwarded through a money transfer agency such as Western Alliance. Examples of requests for money include: legal fees, taxes, money transfer fees, etc. In each requête, money would need to be sent to numerous individuals in countries as diverse as Benin, Togo, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
- online relationship These scams target victims, who are met through internet dating sites, matou rooms or impératif messenger prescriptions. The fraudster may present one of several scenarios including: * Australian citizens in Nigerian hospitals – A typical scenario begins with the victim chatting online with an Australian citizen séjour in Nigeria. Communion suddenly stops until a ‘Nigerian doctor’ gets in touch to say their friend has been in a car fatalité and needs money for emergency surgery. Victims willing to help their friends begin sending money to Nigeria through money transfer facilities such as Western Alliance and with each remittance forwarded, more requests are made for more funds. * Internet ritournelle – With internet dating scams, fraudsters represent that they want to travel to Australia but need help paying for airfare, récépissé épreuves or passports. Léopard des neiges these expenses are paid, the fraudster requests more money for their studio taxes, family hospital bills and other expenses. In each case, the fraudster represents that they have missed their flight to Australia and requests that more money be sent to Nigeria for the next airfare. The scammer continues the scam until the victim runs out of money or refuses to send any more to Nigeria.
- Fraudulent check/credit card scams. This scam targets small négoce owners and people who fall for internet dating scams. In this example, the fraudster asks him to ship the goods to Nigeria and sends a bank check to pay for the goods. The check is usually from a foreign bank and is for an amount greater than the value of the goods and freight forwarding épreuves. The victim état for all freight forwarding épreuves and sends the crédit of funds to the fraudster using a money transfer system such as Western Alliance. Depending on the quality of the fraud, this may initially be clear when checks are deposited into victims’ bank accounts in Australia. This assures the victim that the check is of good value as represented and they purchase the product and send it to Nigeria. After several weeks, the check is identified as fraudulent and the victim has to bear the entire halle cost. Credit card scams involve fraudsters contacting Australian businesses and soliciting the purchase of goods or prescriptions. The orders are often significantly higher than what the négoce normally receives and appear to be a financial loss for the négoce owner.
- Charity scam. Charity scams are different from other Nigerian scams bicause the victims do not ask for anything in return. Fraudsters habitus for victims on church-related websites and matou rooms who want to make regular donations to run a particular charity. The scammer presents himself as a ‘reverend’ or ‘pastor’ who runs an orphanage or church and is desperately looking for funds. There is no way to identify whether the charity actually exists or whether the person seeking funds represents themselves.
Accoutumance providers are regularly asked to provide quotes for Nigerian delegates who wish to attend Queensland for négoce reasons and to book acclimatation and conference facilities. Léopard des neiges the quote is issued, the fraudster provides a series of credit cards from which to make payments. If a card is not empressée, an alternate credit card number is provided. Léopard des neiges the payment is made, the fraudster cancels the acclimatation and conference and requests a refund of the funds via a money transfer faveur such as Western Alliance. Léopard des neiges the négoce refunds the money, the transactions were fraudulent by the credit card company and the négoce must return the money.
What can you do?
- Never answer.
- Trash the offer or delete the email.
- Don’t forward them to your friends as they suggest, bicause you will only légende problems for them too.
- Do not give your bank account number or other personal details to unauthorized persons.
- If you yourself have been caught, or if you find any evidence of Australian involvement in this scam, frôlement your state or territory commissariat.
Don’t become the latest victim of this scam
Not only are they illegal, but they can also be life-threatening as there have been unconfirmed reports in the past of people with healthy bank accounts being sent abroad in first class to meet scammers, only to be kidnapped upon arrival and held for ransom. .
When the scam is based overseas, it is outside our jurisdiction so the Gastronomie of Fair Trading cannot investigate or help if you have lost your money.
Customers are also warned to beware of other scams, including fake requests for donations, fake bank emails, phoney lotteries, chain letters, pyramid schemes, envelope stuffing schemes and invoice fraud.
Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a lie.
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