OT: Another Nigerian Scam

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

Most folks are aware of the numerous scams originating from Nigeria and

the fact that certain folks in the successive governments of Nigeria are

involved to some degree in these scams. One site says that the basic

rules for doing business in Nigeria are:

 

1. NEVER pay anything up front for ANY reason.

2. NEVER extend credit for ANY reason.

3. NEVER do ANYTHING until their check clears.

4. NEVER expect ANY help from the Nigerian Government.

5. NEVER rely on YOUR Government to bail you out.

 

All of the above appear to be logical but I have problems with number 3

because (as you will see later) its not very sound. So .. I have added

another rule for my company .. NEVER EVER do business with anyone from

Nigeria .. period! When the Nigerian government decides to crack down

on this crap (which will be about the same time elephants learn to fly)

I will then stop discriminating against honest Nigerians in order to

protect myself from dishonest Nigerians.

 

I was first alerted to the dangers of doing business in Nigeria back in

1995 or so .. I was in the commodities and bulk export business then. I

received an order for X number of containers of Levi 501 Jeans .. and

the buyer agreed to pay via a very solid form of Letter of Credit from

one of the top 5 international banks. It was when my bank alerted me to

the fact that the bank they were using was not represented in Nigeria

that I became a bit wiser. I lost no money .. but I could have lost

many tens of thousands of bucks on that deal.

 

Its easy to find volumes on the Nigerian Scams or Nigerian Fraud on any

search engine. Examples are:

 

http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/

 

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp

 

It seems that most sites concentrate on the 419 and " You're a Winner "

type scams .. or at least that's about all I've been able to find.

 

Since going from bulk export to wholesale/retail in Summer 1999, I have

built up a line of international customers in 71 countries outside the

USA .. they all pay via credit card or Pay Pal .. its all that we

accept for international orders.

 

To date, I have not been shafted by a single international buyer.

 

But .. I DO NOT accept orders from Nigeria. There are obviously many

honest folks there .. I've just not run across one yet .. and those who

are dishonest make it rough on the others. Of course, the government of

Nigeria is not doing anything to help the situation .. they are a part

of the problem.

 

I'm sure that most of you who are international sellers know about the

below .. but perhaps some of the new folks don't .. so here is your

warning. ;-)

 

I receive a half dozen requests a month similar to the one below. Many

claim the sender lives in the UK or some other European country. Its

all a scam .. I can't tell you definitely what the scam is though I've

researched it .. with no luck .. but it is a scam.

 

Possibilities are use of stolen CC information .. or .. claiming

non receipt of goods - which would mean there would necessarily be

collusion/conspiracy between the alleged buyer and some government

agency in Nigeria .. and even the carrier service itself.

 

Another possibility is .. they get the rookie or greedy seller hyped up

about a big sale .. then send credit card info that bounces .. then they

agree to send a certified check .. and its so good that even your bank

might accept it. But then .. it later bounces .. its bogus.

 

http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Nigerian/nigerian_auction_scams.htm

 

Another possibility is a Customs Scam .. and it might involve the

Franchise Owner of the Carrier Service in Nigeria .. be it UPS or FedEx

or whatever. Keep in mind that if a buyer does not pay the customs fees

in their country .. the seller has two choices .. pay them or have the

goods delivered back to you .. either will cost you more than your

profit and if the Customs officials in the country are crooked .. odds

are you'll not get back all you sent anyway.

 

http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-3668.0.html

 

Like I said above, I know not what this scam is about and don't have the

time to spend trying to find out .. but it is a scam .. so the way I

protect myself is by not doing business with such folks .. and after you

have been around a while .. you can smell the frauds even if they are

not origin Nigeria.

 

Anyone who is not so excited about making a big sale can logically find

the many problems with the e-mail below. One problem that might not

jump out and bite folks is the address .. its not addressed to me. This

means it was sent to many, many addresses using hidden addressing.

 

If you wanna lose your money .. just take an order from Nigeria.

 

The particular scam letter below is discussed at this URL .. but they

are not very clear as to how they gaff the kadoozer. ;-)

http://www.joewein.de/sw/419mailorder.htm

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

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- Mon Jan 30 15:57:03 2006

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john cole <john_cole

ORDER

MARLENEJESSE

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:37:49 +0100

 

Hello,

Pls am from nigeria,i want to order some product in your

store and i will like to know may be you can ship the goods

to me in lagos nigeria before forwarding my purchase in

your store,If you can ship to me in lagos nigeria i will

like to order with this my both company VISA MASTER credit

card information,And i will lke to receive the goods within

2 or 3 days deliver via DHL UPS or FEDEX,Pls once again if

you can accept payment via credit card and you can ship to

me in nigeria,Email me back with your website so that i can

place my order,

Hope to hear from you soonest,

Best rgds

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