Nigerian scam

[Rick O]

I didn't think there was anyone left that hadn't heard of this but apparently some people have been living under a rock. I'm glad to see that something is being done about these slimebags but do we really need to import these criminals into the USA?

Feds crack down on international e-mail scams

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press Writer
Published on: 10/03/07 WASHINGTON (AP) — The e-mails arrive out of the blue, from Nigeria or other exotic countries. They tell of inheritances, political problems, other reasons someone needs to get money out of the country. If you help, they promise to let you share the money.
Unfortunately, thousands of people fall for the scam, losing an average of $3,000 to $4,000 each.
So far this year, an average of more than 800 people a month have filed complaints about such scams.
Hoping to stem the losses, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced an international crackdown Wednesday in which more than 540,000 fake checks with a face value of $2.1 billion have been seized.
There have been 60 arrests in the Netherlands, 16 in Nigeria and one in Canada, the Postal Inspection Service said, and the effort is continuing.
"There is no room in the mail for any of these phony come-ons," Postmaster General John Potter said.
Most of the cons start with e-mails telling of an inheritance or lottery win and ask the victim to help bring the money to the United States. The victim is asked to cash a check that comes in the mail and to send part of the money back to the person sending it, said Greg Campbell, inspector in charge of global security and investigations for the Postal Inspection Service.
Then that person disappears with the money and the original check bounces, leaving the victim with a loss.
Retired people have lost their nest eggs and young families have been defrauded of their savings for a home, Potter said.
Many of the cases originate in the Netherlands, where West African con artists operate from Internet cafes, said Johan Van Hartskamp, commissioner of the Amsterdam police.
In what he called "Operation Dutch Treat," police have arrested 60 people there, with three extradited to the United States and four more facing extradition. The rest are being prosecuted in the Netherlands, he said.
Ibrahim Lamorde, director of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said the problem is monumental and "will only be surmounted through global efforts."
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher said: "There is no lottery. There is no inheritance. The checks are not real. But there are real victims. The crime knows no borders, and our coordinated law enforcement knows no borders."

[know-it-all]

Originally Posted by Rick O

I didn't think there was anyone left that hadn't heard of this but apparently some people have been living under a rock. I'm glad to see that something is being done about these slimebags but do we really need to import these criminals into the USA?

that was a scam?
I've been waiting for my money to clear customs

[Rick O]

Originally Posted by know-it-all

that was a scam?
I've been waiting for my money to clear customs

No, yours is legit. You just need to send another $250 for the export tax.

[cath]

Originally Posted by Rick O

No, yours is legit. You just need to send another $250 for the export tax.

Yehh, riiiiight, Rick

[Doug1]

Wow if I had invested i could afford a "real" dawg

[jenajet]

Yeah, I got a Yahoo im from someone doing that! Not sure how when you have to approve contacts but he did. Glad they are doing something about it.

[Mindsgoneawol]

this is the reason i rarely check my email and snail mail.. heck.. i don't even bother to set up outlook anymore. too much spam and too many viruses.

come to think about it. yahoo does have a security patch or upgrade out. wonder if the patch or whatever is cause someone figured out a way to add themselves to your list.

[jenajet]

Could be have to check on that.

[know-it-all]

Originally Posted by Rick O

No, yours is legit. You just need to send another $250 for the export tax.

is it the same address?

[Scuba_Dave]

Wanna buy a PPPPPPPPPowerbook???

[Rick O]

Originally Posted by Scuba_Dave

Wanna buy a PPPPPPPPPowerbook???

I love that. That's the best.

[JennM]

Rick, Steve whom I used to work for, nearly fell for that scam. I think he got it as a fax to begin with. He "only" needed $15K to collect the millions. We kept telling him it was a scam, he made and received phone calls to the guy and everything.

Honestly I think if he'd had $15K to do it, he would have. That was the only thing that stopped him. In his case I think his ego egged him on - he was sure that whomever had approached him, was impressed with his 'credentials'...

Ironic that a scammer himself couldn't see through the scam...

I get that junk in my email every week and I've received a few faxes with the same thing. I've reported a few - there is a website someplace to report these things - I don't remember it offhand but if you google Nigerian 419 scam or something to that effect you'll find the page.

The old addage holds - if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

Jenn

[Rick O]

Originally Posted by JennM

Ironic that a scammer himself couldn't see through the scam...

That's funny. Where is he now anyway?

I get 3-4 of these e-mails a day. It's hard to believe that there are still people that haven't heard of this. That along with the fake cashiers checks. When I sold my boat a couple years ago a guy came down from Indy on a Sunday with a cashiers check. Since I couldn't confirm the validity of the check on a Sunday I made him wait until Monday morning to complete the sale. He was very nice and was agreeable to the delay but when we got to the bank the lady working at the bank had no clue that there were fake cashiers checks floating around and insisted that just the presence of the check was as good as gold. You would think someone working at a bank would be the first to learn of these scams.

[JennM]

LOL don't know where Steve is. Haven't seen him really since before I opened up shop. Heard he tried to open another about 3 years ago but it never got off the ground.

Yep those scams are everywhere... hard to believe people still go for them after all the publicity they've had.

Jenn

[know-it-all]

Originally Posted by JennM

LOL don't know where Steve is. Haven't seen him really since before I opened up shop. Heard he tried to open another about 3 years ago but it never got off the ground.

Yep those scams are everywhere... hard to believe people still go for them after all the publicity they've had.

Jenn

they're a scam you say

I don't believe it