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Nigerian
/ South African Letter & Email Scams
The Nigerian Letter Scam is a worldwide scam that is known
internationally as the "Four-One-Nine" (419) scam. The
"Four-One-Nine" refers to the Nigerian criminal statute for
fraud. The scam has been around since the 1980's and began
as a postal letter scam. It now includes telephones, cell
phones, Internet, Email and fax messages.
Names referrenced in the scams vary, some of those more
often used are Howgul Abul Arhu, Mbooma Emma, Dr Altaka
Yurmani, Dr.Mewro Ghali, Alhaja Mariam Abacha, Allan Seaman,
and Patrice Miller. Names may be common in various cultures
and in no way implies any person with the same or similar
name is involved in any scam or fraud.
In one form, a letter is post marked from Nigeria, but
may be from any country outside of the United States. The
envelope will not have a return address. The letter will not
be addressed to anyone, as it is a "form letter." The person
sending the letter alleges to be a member of a special
committee for Budget and Planning of the Ministry of
Petroleum. He advises that they have secured large sums of
money through an undeclared windfall from sales of crude oil
during the Gulf War. He then solicits your help in investing
their funds in a very vital account. He then asks you to
call or fax him, at a number he provides, to discuss the
procedures to transfer their funds into your account. The
sender will stress that this transaction is very urgent and
strictly confidential. He also honestly assures you that
this transaction is 100% risk free.
Another form is from a South African Bank.
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) has received
more than six hundred complaints on the Nigerian Letter
scheme since it began operations in May 2000. Of these
complaints, only two have been identified as having an
actual monetary loss. The combined monetary loss of the
victims was $31,000.
The Nigerian / South African scam is not new. It is
merely the same traditional scheme using a different
approach. Unfortunately, the Internet provides an
opportunity for nameless, faceless criminals to thrive
crossing geographic boundaries. The Internet allows
individuals or companies to reach out to thousands of
internet users by sending e-mails, posting items on auction
sites, posting messages on bulletin boards, entering “chat”
rooms, or building web sites. The traditional method of
sending this scheme through the mail is becoming obsolete as
the perpetrators of this scheme know they can communicate
under complete anonymity with large crowds and minimal
effort using the Internet. These perpetrators have not
targeted any specific Internet domains as the scheme is
widespread and encompasses practically all domains.
For more detailed Information, you may click on the
FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center. The IFCC is a
partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center, you may
click on their site below. http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/nls.asp.
Additional Updates may be found at:
www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm or
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal
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To contact Central Texas Crime Prevention Association |
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Email Addresses are listed on the Board of Directors Page |
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