| By
Gary Scott
Our messages on scams are helping
readers. Here are three scams unveiled that we helped bust, plus an urgent warning
one of our readers has shared.
First of Three Scams Unveiled
The first scam sent to one of
our readers shows that the Nigerian scam has now hit the internet. Here is what
one of our readers received and passed onto us in this first of three scams unveiled.
"Union Bank Plc, Marina,
Lagos.
Dear Sir/Madam,
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR URGENT
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
First I must solicit your confidence
in this transaction, this is by virtue of it's nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL.
I am MR DANLADI YUSSUF a member of Board of Directors with the UNION BANK OF NIGERIA
PLC, LAGOS(UBN)
I came to know of you in my
private search for a reliable and reputable person to handle this confidential
transaction, which involves the transfer of a huge sum of money to a Foreign Bank
Account requiring maximum confidence.
THE PREPOSTION:
The Foreign Late Engineer MARK
JOHNSON, an oil merchant/contractor with the Federal Government of Nigeria, until
his death three years ago in a ghostly air crash, banked with us here at the UNION
BANK OF NIGERIA PLC, Lagos, and had a closing balance of USD 28,900,000.00 ( Twenty-Eight
Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars) which the bank now unquestionably expect
it to be claimed by MARK JOHNSON'S next of kin or alternatively be donated to
a discredited Trust Fund for arms and ammunition at a military war college here
in Nigeria. Fervent valuable efforts are being made by the UNION BANK PLC, to
get in touch with any of the JOHNSON' S Family but to no avail. It is because
of the perceived possibility of not being able to locate ENGR MARK JOHNSON 'S
next of kin that the management under the influence of our Chairman Board of Directors
Major General kalu Ike Kalu who has agreed that since the incident occurred in
1997 and has left the fund dormant and devalued, we should transfer the fund overseas
and utilize it either on stock exchange market or personal business interest.
Your role is very important
as the fund when concluded on transfer we be justifiably presented as having been
remitted into the next of kins which is assumed to be you. Your interest will
be protected as unnecessary documentation will be avoided and adequate percentage
(%) scheduled for mutual benefit.
1. Account holder --- 30% (foreign
partner) 2. Nigeria Partner --- 60% (Nigeria partner) 3. 10% incidental expenses
that might be incurred in the course of this transaction
Note that all modalities necessary
for this transfer of this fund have been perfected and the transaction is 100%
risk free. Your contact telephone and fax is needed for easier communication.
Response whether accepted or not.
Best Regard,
DANLADI YUSSUF"
Three Scams Unveiled Warning
The aim of this scam is to get
a person's bank account number (allegedly to transfer money), some letterhead
and a signature. The scam artists then use these to forge a letter that cleans
the sucker's bank account. This comes out in a variation of themes (see below)
but the aim here is to make the victim think that they have lucked out because
they have the name Johnson. You can also bet that many of these messages have
gone to Smiths, Jones, etc. as well.
The second scam of three scams
unveiled is a variation of this theme from another African site. Here is what
another reader received in this second of three scams unveiled.
"FROM : MRS ELISABETH SANKOH
ABIDJAN - COTE D'IVOIRE
WITH DUE RESPECT AND HUMILITY
I WRITE YOU THIS PROPOSAL WHICH I BELIEVE WOULD BE OF GREAT INTREST TO YOU.
I AM MRS ELISABETH SANKOH A
SIERRA LEONE NATIONALITY AND THE WIFE OF THE LATE DR FREDERICK SANKOH OF THE BLESSED
MEMORY PRIOR TO MY HUSBAND ASSASSINATION BY THE REBEL FORCE LOYAL TO MAJOR JOHN
PAUL KOROMAH. HE WAS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL NATIONAL GOLD AND DIAMOND MINING CORPORATION
OF SIERRA LEONE.
TWO DAYS BEFORE MY HUSBAND WAS
ASSASSINATED, HE INSTRUCTED ME AND MY CHILDREN MICKAEL AND LINUS SANKOH TO MOVE
OUT OF SIERRA LEONE IMMEDIATELY. THE POWERFUL ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN
STATES ( ECOMOG) FORCES INTEVENED WHICH EVENTUALLY RESULED INTO BRUTAL CIVIL WAR,
I AND MY CHILDREN MANAGE TO ESCAPE TO ABIDJAN THE REPUBLIC OF COTE D'IVOIRE THROUGH
THE HELP OF MY HUSBANDS FRIEND WHO IS A TRAWLER. WE CAME INTO ABIDJAN WITH SOME
VALUABLE INCLUDING A CASH SUM OF 46.3 MILLION (FORTY SIX MILLION THREE HUNDRED
THOUSANDS DOLLARS). IN TWO TRUNK BOXES.
I DEPOSITED THIS BOXES WITH
A PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY HERE IN ABIDJAN COTE D'IVOIRE WITH MY FIRST SONS NAME
( MICKAEL SANKOH ) AS THE DEPOSITOR AND NOT THE BENEFICIARY DUE TO OUR POLITICAL
STATUS AND THE NATURE OF DEPOSITE WE CAN NOT SERVE AS THE BENEFICIARY.
THE BENEFICIARY MUST BEAR THE
NAME OF A FORIGNER. THE DOCUMENTRY POWER TO APPOINT A BENEFICIARY IS WITH MICKAEL
MY FIRST SON. FOR YOUR INFORMATION WE DID NOT DISCLOSE THE REAL CONTENT OF THE
BOXES TO THE SECURITY COMPANY AND WE DO NOT WISH THEM TO KNOW THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
RATHER, WE DEPOSITED THE BOXES AS FAMILY VALUABLE.
WE HAVE IT IN MIND TO REWARD
HANDSOMELY FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE, WE ARE PREPARE TO GIVE YOU 25% OF THE TOTAL SUM
AND 7% WILL BE SET , TO OFFSET TO ANY EXPENSES THAT OCCUR DURING THE TRANSACTION
BOTH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL, WHILE THE REMAINING BALANCE WILL BE ESTABLISH ON
YOUR DIRECTIONS.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT NO ONE ELSE
KNOW ABOUT THIS MONEY AS IT IS ONLY MYSELF, SONS, YOURSELF AND THE EVANGELIST
OF THE CHURCH WHERE WE WORSHIP WHO KNOWS ABOUT THIS MONEY AND THIS BUSINESS IS
100% RISK FREE.
LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOUR SOONEST
REPLY.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU ASSIST
US.
YOURS SINCERELY
MRS ELISABETH SANKOH
NB :
PLEASE ANY A-MAIL THAT YOU WILL
SEND TO ME PUT YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER.
Three Scams Unveiled Warning
Once again in this second of
three scams unveiled the con people are looking for an account number and signature.
This is a variation of the lost treasure scam. This is a good con, full of romance,
intrigue and religion (I cannot tell you how many cons I have seen run through
churches). This builds excitement and creates confidence (hence the name con men).
Obviously no such trunk of money exists.
If you receive a fax like this
or in some variation either delete and forget it or turn it over to the appropriate
law enforcement agency in your area.
Three Scams Unveiled Warning
Beware of original touches! Such
persons above (the engineer or the mine director) may have existed and may have
been killed in the way described at the time described. This is all the part of
the scam. (I write about this in my novel the 65th Octave).
We are pleased that we can in
any way help our readers be more aware of such scams. This awareness can save
you fortunes in time and money!
Third of Three Scams Unveiled
Below the third of three scams
unveiled is a case where we were too late, but read the warning our reader has
shared.
The reader wrote:
"Mr. Gary Scott
I have been contacted by a company
"Crown Capital" to acquire shares that I own in World Health Network
"WHN". Crown Capital address is in the Bahamas, telephone number in
Canada and Fax number in the UK.
To complete the deal they requested
a performance bond of $12,000 to be sent to an account in the US. I paid this.
Now they are requesting a non-resident TAX again to be sent to the same account.
The TAX is for the Bahamian government yet they say that all proceeds is in Belize.
I questioned both Crown Capital
and Lexington Capital Holdings about their credentials. Crown Capital referred
me to Dun & Bradstreet in Canada which has not given me any information yet.
When I received your article regarding scams, I thought to try my luck hoping
to find any information that might help.
Appreciate your time and sorry
for a lengthy message.
P.S. As part of the agreement,
I should not disclose any information about Crown Capital or Lexington Capital.
However, due to the circumstances, I sent you all the information."
When I received this from this
reader, I forwarded this phony sounding deal to our advisor and attorney Leslie
Share who sent the reply to our reader below.
"More detailed information
is needed to give a complete answer, but this sounds like a scam at first glance.
A proper escrow arrangement would make more sense in a real business deal than
a "performance bond", which makes it look like the infamous "Nigerian
letter" scam. The "non-resident tax" arrangement (for a country
not known for imposing many taxes) also sounds suspicious, at best.
I suggest that you contact a
Bahamian attorney regarding the transaction (which is the first thing you should
have done, if not already done). They should be able to look into whether Crown
Capital and Lexington Capital Holding Ltd. are legitimate, whether the "non-resident
tax" really exists, along with reviewing the particulars of the business
deal. You could also check the New York consumer protection agency to see if they
have heard of these companies. The deal could be totally proper or a scam--it's
too hard to tell at this point. If you want our further assistance, please let
me know.
Here is what the reader later
replied.
"Thank you very much for
your suggestions. I contacted the US SEC and The Ontario Securities Commission
about both Crown Capital Management Corporation and Lexington Capital Holding.
Both companies are not Registered in either the US or Canada. I have not heard
from either company after I suggested to complete the deal through a broker.
The bottom line is that I lost
US $12,000. I have been very careful for more than five years now and yet I did
this mistake. The catch here is these companies are using legitimate and well
known company names.
I am passing this message to
you if you want to pass to your clients so they will not do the same mistake."
Three Scams Unveiled Warning
So readers beware. There are
so many people out there trying to cheat you out of a buck or many. The stories
are good phony tales often attached to real names. They can be fun but like firecrackers
don't play with them because they are dangerous! Don't let yourself get sucked
in. If a deal sounds too good to be true, suspect that it probably is.
Until next message,
Good global business and investing!
Gary
My novel the 65th Octave looks at scam protection issues. The hero is a scam catching
expert who works for big banks. The book outlines why scams work and why suckers
always lose. I recommend you read the book. It has some in depth economic information
but is also a fast paced, fun read.
Order the 65th Octave
at GaryScott.com
Sometimes one picture is worth
a thousand words
To avoid scams balance
yourself in nature like this cabin at Gary and Merri Scott's Merrily
Farm where you are welcome to visit and stay Little
Horse Creek. |
