Home  Features NEW! Scam Alert The Nigerian business letter scam
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The Nigerian business letter scam |
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Watch out for the Nigerian/West African business letter scam! For years
now, businesses, learning institutions, and government departments have
been receiving e-mails from senders posing as Nigerian/West African
government or business officials offering to share large sums of money.
Do not become a victim. If you have received an unsolicited letter containing any of the characteristics listed below, you should carefully research available information before conducting a transaction. The Commercial Crime Sections of the RCMP within Canada and your local Better Business Bureau are available for obtaining further information on this topic.
Most letters are variations of the following:
- You receive an "urgent" business proposal "in strictest confidence" from Nigerian/West-African civil servant /businessman.
- The sender, often a member of the "contract review panel", obtained your name and profile through the Chamber of Commerce or the International Trade Commission.
- The sender recently intercepted or has been named beneficiary of the proceeds from real estate, oil products, over-invoiced contracts, cargo shipments, or other commodities, and needs a foreign partner to assist with laundering the money.
- Since their government/business position prohibits them from opening foreign bank accounts, senders ask you to deposit the sum, usually somewhere between $25-50 million, into your personal account.
- For your assistance, you will receive between 15-30% of the total, which sits in the Central Bank of Nigeria awaiting transfer.
- To complete the transaction, they ask you to provide your bank name and address, your telephone and fax numbers, the name of your beneficiary, and, of course, your bank account numbers.
- The sender promises to forward your share within 10-14 working days.
How the fraud works: After a victim responds positively to a letter by sending the required documentation (for example, signed company letterheads, bank account number, etc.) the hook is in.
The primary reason for the documentation is not to rob the victim’s bank account, but to perpetuate the illusion that the deal is legitimate and moving forward. The blank signed letterheads are altered and used by the criminals as props in other frauds, letters of reference to obtain visas, or sold to other criminals.
For the next week to 10 days, the perpetrators establish a level of trust with the victim. This is accomplished by sending the victim more “official” documentation verifying the bona fides of the deal and the people involved. The criminals will correspond with the victim via fax machines and courier mail because it is difficult to trace. In the past, these criminals made extensive use of business centres in Lagos to place phone calls and send faxes, but the Nigerian Government reports that business centres were closed in an effort to thwart these scams.
What happens next is the most crucial point in the fraud. A victim will be advised that the deal is near completion, however, an emergency has arisen and money is needed to pay an unforeseen government fee or tax before the money can be released. If the fee is paid, the criminals will come up with another “problem” that requires immediate payment by the victim. Each “problem” is supported by “official” documentation.
The criminals can run this ruse for months or even years, depending on the gullibility of the victim or his or her desperation to recoup losses. One Western diplomat described it as “kind of like gambling. You get in so deep you keep putting money in to get something out of it.”
At some point during the fraud, the criminals will attempt to have the victim travel to Nigeria or another country to finalize the contract, money transfer, or other transaction.
The criminals may tell the victim that a visa is not required to enter Nigeria, or a visa has been arranged to be issued upon arrival. (Without exception, a valid Nigerian visa is required for entry and departure, and airport visas are not available).
If a victim meets the criminals in a bordering country, the victim may find that he or she still must travel to Lagos. Entry without a visa gives the criminals leverage over the victim and leads to other forms of extortion.
Once in Lagos, the victim will be housed in one of the many small hotels, located primarily around Murtala Muhammad Airport. At this point, the victim is totally immersed in the scam, and the criminals have total control over the victim’s every move.
The victim is taken to meetings with criminals posing as Nigerian Government officials, or possibly corrupt government officials, to finalize the deal. The meetings can take place in government offices or annexes that are “rented” by the criminals or in a office that is setup to resemble a government office. These offices are often located near government buildings to add authenticity to the fraud.
If the victim is sufficiently duped by this elaborate ruse, he or she returns home unharmed and the scam continues. However, if the victim decides not to pay additional payments and/or sign a contract, the victim will be subjected to threats and physical abuse until he or she arranges for more payments.
Whether the victim decides not to pursue the “deal” or at some point during a scam, the victim stops paying, the criminals will not walk away from the victim. They will attempt to reconsumate the fraud using various ruses. The criminals might pose as Nigerian Government officials attempting to get the victim’s money back or try to convince the victim that they are the legitimate government officials and the other men he or she dealt with were frauds. Revictimization will be perpetrated either by the original criminals, or sold to another scammer team to operate.
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