|
07-17-2007, 02:31 AM
|
|||
|
|||
Big, Fat Lies
Dateline, Primetime, and the Oprah show have delved into Nigerian money scams. The media tells victim stories, but doesn't mention how to recoup losses. As it stands, you will not see your dollars again. They might be sitting in a bank that protects tainted assets, or already spent on a bigger, better house/car/HDTV.
The US Secret Service, Financial Crime Division, the FBI and Interpol concentrate on educating and alerting the public because 419 gangs are experts at hiding from the law. Usually, a low-level member rents a computer station in a public place, like an Internet Cafe. This type of site provides a remote email address, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the person's location. These gangsters conceal themselves further by assuming false identities, using fake names and titles as well as bogus business addresses. A stolen/cloned/prepaid cell phone makes them even harder to track. (To learn how to spot Advance Fee Fraud, open http://www.chase.com/ccpmweb/shared/.../fbi_flyer.pdf.) Nigerian gangsters are professional liars. Scamming is there cultural heritage. African American Business Link reports Nigeria is a country where fraud is the third or fourth largest industry. To make matters worse, the FBI states that Nigerian criminal enterprises operate in more than 80 countries, worldwide. Some countries are not interested in policing 419 gangs - either cyber crime is not illegal or government officials profit from fraud schemes. Other places do not have the manpower to curb financial crimes while a few are openly hostile to outside intervention. Once a year an Interpol West African Fraud Annual Conference brings together law enforcement agents from around the world to share information on financial fraud. I guess this is good news. Unfortunately, the bad news is that there is no protection for the individual. It is up to each person to investigate any too-good-to-be-true offer or suspicious website. The truth is out there, in cyberspace. The Internet is, after all, a powerful research tool (see Love Scams in General Scam & Spam Discussions). Use Web (Google, Ask.com) and home-page search engines to your advantage; that is, don't take anyone or anything at face value and always do your homework first. Open the Internet Fraud Tips link at Tips for Avoiding Internet Fraud, from the Internet Fraud Watch to learn about all kinds of online scams. If you are a US citizen who is a Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud victim and has suffered a significant financial loss, open United States Secret Service: Frequently Asked Questions to learn how to report the fraud incident to the agency. Click on the How do I report a case of advance fee fraud (also known as "4-1-9 fraud")? link, which is located in the "Protecting Yourself" section. After that, visit United States Secret Service: Field Office Contact Information to find your nearest Secret Service field office, or look in a telephone directory under "US Government Information." __________________________________________________ ____________________________________ Important note: The US Secret Service says it is not a crime to ask a stranger's assistance in a financial matter. If you have wired dollars to a stranger with a hard luck story, the FBI probably isn't interested, either. Sorry. __________________________________________________ ____________________________________ Also, go to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov to file a complaint. To educate yourself more, open the "What we Investigate" link, then click on "Internet Crime Schemes." The screen that appears describes eighteen (18) to-be-reported fraud schemes, such as Auction Fraud, Credit Card Fraud, Investment and Business Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, Re-shipping, Phishing, etc. Before you leave, you might want to enter Cyber Investigations, into their search engine. You will find several interesting links on this page: (1) New E Scams and Warnings, (2) How to protect your computer, (3) Prevention Tips. The Federal Trade Commission's website at Federal Trade Commission - Home is the agency interested in pyramid schemes, money-making chain letters, credit card scams, credit repair scams, weight-loss plans, fraudulent business opportunities, etc. They have a Consumer Complaint link on their home-page. Or, forward spam to spam@uce.gov. They say their database generates cases against people who use spam to spread false or misleading information about their products or services. __________________________________________________ ____________________________________ For junior members from outside the US, see Interpol Connection in the Reporting Fraud forum. __________________________________________________ ____________________________________ When the reporting is done, consider closing your current email account (see Free Email Directory in Email Spam Blocker and Software link). Open another one with a new address, for it's not unusual to receive a message from a so-called Nigerian official who is willing to recover your lost money for a fee. It's the same ole gang with a different scam. These gangsters have been known to use a victim's name/bank routing and account numbers from a check, and/or credit card number to grab all your loot. They can assume your identity from the personal financial information, i.e. social security number, obtained through a fake online bank account. Call your bank and card company immediately. Have them put a freeze on your assets. For resources on how to guide you through an Identity Theft nightmare, see Insider Information under the Identity Fraud link. The Secret Service recommends installing an anti-spam software program in your computer to filter unsolicited, bulk mail (Read Avoiding Spam Email in General Scam & Spam Discussions). Some Internet servers, like Earthlink, provide an excellent spam filter with their on-line packages. Changing from Internet Explorer to Firefox may also cut down on unwanted solicitations. To read how to better secure your personal information, check out Phishing Refresher in the Reporting Fraud section. Meanwhile, get up to speed by reading How Nigerian 419 Fraud Syndicates Operate in the Information and Education section. Check out Escrow Fraud in General Scam/Spam Discussions as well as Website Tips in the same forum. And please spread the word about 419legal to family, friends and community. __________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Update 8/7/07: Victims defrauded by scammers originating from South Africa need to return to this website's home-page, scroll down to the "Important Contact Information" link, click on it, then open SAPS Commercial Branch & SAPS Crime Intelligence for further details. Last edited by S. Tomas : 10-02-2007 at 08:28 PM. Reason: Add link 
|
 |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
