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Babu Gowtham
Joined: Dec 28, 2002
Posts: 7 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Soft-spoken
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Gender & Age: Male & 53
Country: India
Province/State: Tamil Nadu
City: Chennai
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Fraud Alert
August 4, 2003 - 12:31 PM
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A number of people in India and other countries too are receiving through unsolicited email as well postal letters, offers to transfer huge amounts of money, usually in US dollars to their accounts. The criminals obtain the names of potential victims from a variety of sources. They do not target a single company but rather send out mailings en masse. The sender usually declares that he is a senior civil servant of one of the Nigerian Ministries. The aim of the criminal is to delude the target into thinking that he is being drawn into a very lucrative, through questionable arrangement.
I advise everyone not to fall into the trap laid by these fraudsters and to ignore their solicitations.
The Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud (AFF) known for about a decade is perpetrated by enticing the victim with a bogus 'business' proposal, which promises millions of US dollars as a reward. The scam starts with a letter which usually promises to transfer huge amounts of money, usually in US dollars, purported to be part proceeds of certain contracts, to the addressee's bank account, to be shared in some proportion between the parties. A favourable response to the letter is followed by excuses why the funds cannot be remitted readily and subsequently by demands for proportionate sharing of payments for various 'taxes' and 'fees' supposedly to facilitate the processing and remittance of the alleged funds. The use of fake documents of the Nigerian Government, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation etc. is a common practice.
The fraudsters usually request that the transaction be done under the cover of confidentiality. Sometimes, the victims are invited to Nigeria where they are given red-carpet reception and attended to by the fraudsters, posing as Nigerian Government officials. Quite often the fraudsters invent stories of Government committees having cleared the payments. It is also usual for them to contrive fake publications in the newspapers evidencing purported approvals to transfer non-existent funds.
To consummate the transaction, the 'victim' would be required to 'advance fees' for various purposes: e.g. processing fees, unforeseen taxes, licence fees, registration fees, signing/legal fees, fees for National Economic Recovery Fund, audit fees, insurance coverage fees, etc. The collection of these 'advance fees' is actually the real objective of the scam!
The major features of the Advance Fee Fraud are:
In almost every case there is a sense of urgency;
The victim is enticed to travel to Nigeria or a border country;
There are many forged official looking documents;
Most of the correspondence is handled by fax or through the mail and of late through email.
Blank letterheads and invoices are requested from the victim along with the banking particulars;
A number of Nigerian fees are requested for processing the transaction with each fee purported to be the last required.
The confidential nature of the transaction is emphasized;
There are usually claims of strong ties to Nigerian officials.
A Nigerian residing in the U.S., London or other foreign venue may claim to be a clearing house bank for the Central Bank of Nigeria;
Offices in legitimate government buildings appear to have been used by impostors posing as the real occupants or officials.
Victims are almost always requested to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete a transaction. Individuals are often told that a visa will not be necessary to enter the country. The Nigerian con artists may then bribe airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a serious offense in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim's illegal entry may be used by the fraudsters as leverage to coerce him into releasing funds. Violence and threats of physical harm may be employed to further pressurise the victims. In June of 1995, an American victim was murdered in Lagos, Nigeria, and numerous other foreign nationals have been reported as missing.
Victims are often convinced of the authenticity of Advance Fee Fraud schemes by the forged or false documents bearing apparently official Nigerian Government letterhead, seals, as well as false letters of credit, payment schedules and bank drafts. The fraudster may establish the credibility of his contacts, and thereby his influence, by arranging a meeting between the victim and "government officials" in real or fake government offices.
In the next stage some alleged problem concerning the "inside man" will suddenly arise. An official will demand an up-front bribe or an unforeseen tax or fee to the Nigerian Government will have to be paid before the money can be transferred. These can include licensing fees, registration fees and various forms of taxes and attorney fees. Normally each fee paid is described as the very last fee required. Invariably, oversights and errors in the deal are discovered by the Nigerians, necessitating additional payments and allowing the scheme to be stretched out over many months.
No statistics is available on the number of the bogus 'business' proposals received by Indians or those Indians who fell victim. In the early nineties there were news paper reports of Indians who visited Nigeria to collect the "proceeds", but were made to shell out even their personal belongings and were lucky enough to return India with the skin of their teeth. In the recent past CBI the Premier Investigating Agency of Government of India has received a few complaints from the public who have been tempted by the fraudsters. These complaints were submitted to the Interpol.
I am enclosing two such e-mails received by me.
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