Nigerian Letter Scam
The general theme with any Nigerian Letter Scam is to induce the recipient into believing they are going to get something for nothing.
They rely heavily on personal misfortune and in some cases sheer greed coupled with the naiveté of the individual, which is why some people are drawn into the far fetched schemes outlined in the letters.
Usually the letters claim there are extensive funds available (multi-million $) for immediate transfer into the recipients bank account(s). Emphasising the fact that all that is required of the recipient is to provide the details of their personal or company bank accounts.
Should they reply to the invitation there then follows a series of further communications usually by fax but email is now being used. Further instructions are passed to the potential victim explaining the finer points of the scheme and the fact that they will be required to provide some form of advanced payment.
The explanation for this is that the negotiations for this deal are highly secretive and money is required to bribe officials in Nigeria to arrange customs clearance or exchange control procedures.
Continued participation in the scheme will result in the victim losing further sums of money before they are invited to London to finalise the documentation, all of which looks very genuine with the official crests and logos of foreign Banks and Government departments.
There are a number of different schemes in operation. For the sake of brevity this paper will only refer to the three most common, but they all share a number of common features.
Over-Invoiced Contracts
The author purports to be a highly placed official in the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Federal Ministry of Works or Civil Service claiming to have overinflated the costing on contracts in one of these organisations.
The scam is that the money they have hived off from the contracts is available and they require assistance to virtually launder it through a willing party's bank account.
Existing Contract Debts
There are many organisations who conduct perfectly legitimate business deals with various Nigerian organisations and whilst they are awaiting payment of their invoices their details are illicitly obtained by criminals operating in Nigeria. They make contact with the creditors purporting to represent the Debt Reconciliation Council or Central Bank of Nigeria.
The criminals claim to have collected the debt on their behalf and in order to arrange for payment into the recipients bank account, fees are required to cover the cost of the administration. You can guess the rest!
Beneficiaries of Wills
The family of deceased relatives who may have lived and worked in Nigeria are contacted and falsely advised that they have been left an inheritance.
In order to benefit from the inheritance they are invited to provide bank details and pay an advanced fee to cover the professional fees of Lawyers and any tax liability.
Never consider visiting Lagos in order to recover lost funds. Never reply to the letters, seek police advice.