Scam Awareness Saturday: Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud. A ‘Nigerian’ scam is a form of upfront payment or money transfer scam. The scammers usually contact you by email or letter and offer you a share in a large sum of money that they want to transfer out of their country. They may tell you about money trapped in central banks during civil wars or coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you about massive inheritances that are difficult to access because of government restrictions or taxes in the scammer’s country. Scammers ask you to pay money or give them your bank account details to help them transfer the money. You are then asked to pay fees, charges or taxes to help release or transfer the money out of the country through your bank. These ‘fees’ may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer makes up new fees that require payment before you can receive your ‘reward’. You will never be sent the money that was promised. Tips for Avoiding Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud: - If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to your local police department, the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant. - Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts. - Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation. - Guard your account information carefully.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:10:00 +0000
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