Scam Descriptions
The Nigerian "Nairobi" scam (does not occur very often but is the most dangerous type):
Convince a business man that a “real” investor is interested in investing in his company (this is the most difficult one to detect).
Lure him to Africa. Perhaps
even pay his air fare. Kidnap him at the airport when he arrives. Have the
family pay the ransom. In this case not millions of dollars.
Anything. Even as little as $10,000 (ten thousand). Once the money has been
paid, take the victim back to the airport at night.
Obviously, the victim is glad
to get out alive and go home. Once home, the victim cannot report anything. He
is even embarrassed and will feel stupid. He does not
know his captors (they had used false names and passports), he does not
know where he had been held in a city of 2.4 million of people, he only paid a relatively
small amount (as far as ransom money is concerned) – it is
embarrassing - to say the least. And so, they used to get away with it.
Don’t feel embarrassed
anymore. We worked together with the FBI and CID (Criminal Investigation
Department) in Kenya to track these people down and three (3) of them are now in
custody.
But three (3) more are still on the run. We need YOUR help!!!!!!
If you have been in a similar position, go to our site and look at the pictures.
The Nigerian "I need help, I will pay you money" scam:
These scams do not all start in Nigeria! South Africa, Ivory Coast, Mali etc. etc. Most of these scams are very primitive and can be noticed right away. Most of them start in Nigeria. From there you may be referred to another fictitious person or company. That can be anywhere but, they have used London (England), Amsterdam (Holland), Atlanta (Georgia, USA). They move about. Some of the more sophisticated ones will send you phony documents and even pictures and pictures of passports to convince you.
They will convince a person, any person, even housewives, you do not have to be a business man, that somebody in Africa needs help. Mostly to get money out of the country. This is the basis of the ordinary "Nigerian Scam" but there are many variations.
Lure him to Africa. Ask him to bring some money for certain fees that need to be paid. Kidnap him at the airport when he arrives. Rob him of everything he has except for his suitcase and air ticket. Take the victim back to the airport at night or do away with him.
Again, the victim is glad to
get out alive and go home. As in the Nigerian Nairobi scam, the victim
cannot report anything. He does not know anything and once he collects himself
he will be embarrassed and will feel stupid. As above, he does not
know his captors (they had used false names and passports), he does
not know where he had been held in a city of millions of people. Are you going
to tell the authorities your reason for having traveled to Africa? To help
somebody move illegally obtained money and you expected a portion of it? Of
course not – it is embarrassing - to say the least. And so, they get away with
it again and again and again. America has lost over 100 million dollars last
year that way!
The "exploding chemical" scam
We did not have to describe this one. Here is a letter we received, describing the scam (8. March 2003):
Dear Sirs:
I am a scam victim, having lost around $160,000 USD to the ³advance fee²
fraud. I have not approached any authorities before, because I was not aware of
the Nigerian 419 scam until fairly recently, and when I finally ³woke up², I
did not know who to approach. I have tried various police organizations, but
none has responded. This is a basic outline of my story:
I am a missionary in South America. I was first approached with a possible
donation for our mission in May, 2001. The contact was made by e-mail, in which
a ³Mathew Mulumba², supposedly hiding out in South Africa, expressed a desire
to donate $12.5 M USD to make up for bad past as terrorist and guerrilla fighter
with Kabila of Congo. At first I dismissed the idea as a prank or similar. But
then I was told a consignment in my name was already in London in a security
company. Certain papers were faxed to me and I was instructed to travel to
London to collect. Finally I fell for this, so my wife and I traveled to London
in June, 2001, where we had to pay demurrage charges to the tune of around
$8,000 USD. One of the 3 boxes, containing the money was brought to our hotel
room by a ³Mr. Roy Douglas², where we were shown ³black dollars² or ³sealed²
as they called them. They did a proof of 5 bills picked at random to show the
money was legit. They left the box with us in the hotel room over night along
with the chemical for cleaning them. During the night the chemical imploded,
almost intoxicating my wife and I. This required another bottle of the chemical,
which could not be obtained immediately and of course required more money to
purchase. We borrowed around $68,000 USD to buy more chemical. We returned
again to London in July, 2001. The chemical was obtained by ³Joseph², Mr.
Mulumba¹s emissary, but it was ³too strong² and made holes in the bills. It
needed to be deluded by another chemical, which, of course, needed to be payed
for to the tune of $15,000 USD. The next meeting point was set up in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, in August, 2001, where a ³Dr. Paul O¹Neal² was our contact.
³Anthony² another emissary was sent by Mr. Mulumba to perform the
cleaning. This time we were taken to an office building in Amsterdam (near the
Ajax soccer stadium) where we verified the contents of the consignment - now in
one large metal trunk. Another proof was made, but the chemical had
solidified leaving only a few drops in the bottle - not enough to perform
the total ³cleaning². More chemical was needed to the tune of another $65,000
USD. This we obtained. Finally the ³cleaning² was performed in a corner
apartment in Amsterdam in September, 2001 We were called at our hotel to go to
the pick up point, but when we arrived were told all had been confiscated by the
Netherlands Customs. Then and only then did we begin to fully suspect some kind
of fraud. Later we were informed of the existence of Nigerian 419 scams and
realized how seriously we had been deceived.
I have various ³documents², e-mails, and contact information in my power which
I will be happy to submit, should it be of any help. Please tell me what I can
or should do.
Sincerely,
Kenneth S.
More to come! watch for the next write-up! As soon as we have some free time!