Beware Nigerians Bearing Gifts

Now before some reader gets into a huff about my title for today, let me explain that this is not a knock against the Nigerian people. I have not had the opportunity to know many of them in my relatively short life but I'm quite certain that Nigerians are a wonderful people and that when they bring you gifts, they mean it from the bottom of their hearts. That being said, people should be aware that they are being used as scapegoats for a new series of scams being perpetrated online. And in this case they are targetting the lovelorn and lonely. I was reading about the scam, which is seeing a great deal of success in Australia, and how it works.

In a nutshell, a con man will contact a lonely person via the internet hoping to establish a relationship, the two may begin dating or at least establish a good enough relationship online to build trust. The con man will suddenly be called away to Nigeria for work or to sell land that will help set up the new couple for life. While on the trip, the con man will contact the victim and report that he's been mugged and in desperate need of money in order to get ready to come home. Usually the victim will be asked for a rather large sum of money and if the con man has worked his charms properly, loyalty will win out over reason and the victim can wire any amount they choose. Some victims have been known to wire up to $35,000 to accounts which are then quickly cleared of cash and then closed down with nary a sight of the con man seen again.

Australian officials are trying their best to get word out on the street but there have been many victims thus far. The unfortunate thing is that this is just one of many scams targetting unsuspecting victims who have a great deal of trust in someone. A similar case is the letter that comes to people via e-mail or snail-mail in which the con artist will indicate that they have come into posession of a great deal of money through inheritance (or lottery) but in order to get the money they have to show that they have a bank account with a certain amount of money in it. The letter is asks you to kindly provide your bank account information and signature (along with your social security number and address for good measure) in order to affect the transfer. Usually the victim is promised tens of thousands more than what they provide the con artist. The rub being that the con artist takes the account information and again clears the account of all cash before disappearing again.

Though at first glance it seems obvious not to want to help provide someone information that is meant to defraud you but it's surprising how many people fall for it. Occasionally there will be phone calls from people where they ask to confirm your account number. The caller will indicate that they are from your bank and have some new offer to make you but you need to verify information in order to get the offer. They purposely read you an incorrect account number and if you go to correct them, they get your correct bank account number and particulars. Enough to go and again clear your bank accounts. All these schemes and so many victims, it's a wonder that many more don't fall prey to it.

But what's with the fascination behind Nigeria and other African countries? Why are so many scams associated with these countries? Well the truth is that they aren't but they are usually chosen at random so that the average Joe who is the usual victim of these cases is less likely to go to Nigeria to help out in person. At least that's the theory anyways. Plus with passive knowledge of these countries through the news and incorrect assumptions about the countries themselves, it's no wonder that many people fall prey to believing that these guys have their best interests at heart. It's not very likely. In fact it's more likely that their sole interest is in making you yet another victim. So the next time you get a mail from someone pleading with you to provide private information in order to get home or share their lottery winnings, take the note and toss it in the trash.