The email from Dr. Olad Olayeni asked for help. As director of his country's engineering and project services, he wanted to transfer what remained of a "total contract sum of $283,600,000" out of his country. He's offering to pay you 25 percent to help him.
That too-good-to-be-true offer - and others along the same line - are called "Nigerian Money Offer Scams" for the country where they started. Sometimes they're called "Advance Fee Fraud" or "4-1-9" schemes. That's after the Nigerian criminal code that fights fraud. But these scams also come from other countries. Wherever they're from, they all have a similar pattern.
The offer comes by email, letter or fax. The writer is a high-ranking person in a foreign country. You're offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The writer, stressing privacy, wants your help to move a large sum of money out of his country. All you have to do is to allow him to transfer millions of dollars into your bank account.
He promises you'll get a large part of that money after the transfer. To accept, all you have to do is send your bank information, business letterhead, telephone and fax numbers. Sounds like an easy way to make millions.
And if you do?
You get another letter saying asking you to pay a series of fees for taxes, bribes, attorney expenses or transaction costs before the money can be released. And on and on. In the end, you lose your money, never receive the money you were promised, and stop hearing from the "official." And - by giving out your bank information - you've handed over the keys to your bank account. Your savings can disappear.
Thousands of consumers fall prey to these scams. Even when people think the letter can't be for real, some respond because of the huge rewards promised.
The U.S. Secret Service investigates Nigerian fraud. It gets hundreds of telephone calls and letters every day about this scam. It estimates that victims in the United States lose a million dollars a day.
Although the most common business "proposal" is the fund-transfer scam, these foreign money scams are only limited by the writer's imagination. We've seen letters asking for help getting an inheritance out of the country, receiving shipment of goods, buying real estate, converting "gold" coins, and selling crude oil. Check out the sample letters in our Resources section.
While this scheme takes many forms, the Secret Service says to look for these clues:
- You need to respond immediately and confidentially.
- The writer claims to have strong ties to high ranking foreign officials.
- You receive many official-looking documents. (They're forgeries.)
- You are urged to travel to a foreign country.
- You're given the impression you are the only one getting this special offer. (Actually millions of these emails are sent every day.)
- To accept, you must send your bank account number.
- You are promised huge returns for what looks like an easy thing to do.
- You must pay a number of fees to "process" the transaction. Each time you're told that is the last fee required.
Scam Prevention Tools
You can avoid becoming a victim of a Nigerian scheme by following these steps.
- Never respond to this type of email, snail mail, or fax from Nigeria, even to get more information about the offer. Delete it or throw it away.
- Do not travel to meet the e-mail's sender. Many who have gone abroad to pursue these offers have been robbed or held for ransom. One American was even killed.
- Do not travel to meet the author of the letter. Many who have gone abroad to pursue these offers have been robbed or held for ransom — one American was even killed.
- Report Nigerian money offers you receive to the fraud section of your local police and postal inspector.
- I" If you have already have lost money in one of these schemes, contact the Secret Service and ask where to send your documentation.
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