|
07.07.2008 |
|
Scams have never ceased to exist but only a small number of them reach a level that is almost epidemic.
With technological advances, particularly those associated with transactions conducted through the  Internet, the number of scams has increased in recent years. One scam in particular that has really caught on is known as the "Nigerian Fraud" scam. This scam, which supposedly originated from the capital of Lagos in Nigeria and thus its name, has many versions that have been tried throughout the world.
The evidence has shown that today, the scam operates principally in Canada, Europe, Asia, and all around the United States. This scam is also referred to as the "Blackmail 419" because these numbers make up part of the Nigerian criminal code that deals with the issue of scams.
The crooks that start this process seek out their victims through various sources of communication such as the telephone, fax, mail, and the ever-popular email. Once they have established communication with their prey, these con artists offer their victim an opportunity to receive a substantial sum of money by simply advancing a minimum amount to them. One version of this scam is to tell the victim than as a government official of a certain country, there is a huge amount of money available but that the funds must be transferred to a bank account outside of their country.
This "official" then convinces the victim to give up their banking information in order to facilitate this so-called “transaction” for a small fee. This charge is supposed to simply cover the costs of the actual transfer of the monies and attorneys' fees. Then, according to the "official", as soon as the “deposit” is finalized, the monies will be evenly distributed. To legitimize the transaction, these thieves will actually send their victim all types of documents guaranteeing the transaction.
Inevitably, these thieves begin to demand more money explaining that they need to deal with unexpected difficulties they have encountered in attempting to conduct the money transfer. The end result is the disappearance of those “other officials" along with the victim’s monetary contribution. Needless to say, the distribution of the “government funds” never occurs.
It is important to always take a preventive stance should you receive any of these types of proposals. The reality is that if a proposal sounds to good to be true, you can be sure that it is a scam. The "Nigerian Fraud" is only one of many floating around that requires your personal information that will eventually lead to your falling victim to the scam. If you are not the one initiating contact, never provide your personal information to anyone in this manner.
If you lost money as a result of this type of scam, you should contact the Secret Service at 305-629-1800. If the scam was initiated through email, forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at
">
Esta dirección de email está siendo protegida de \"spam bots\", necesitas habilitar Javascript para poder verla.
. For information about my office’s community outreach services, please call 305-547-0724
By Katherine Fernandez Rundle
Miami-Dade State Attorney
|
