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The 'investors' are contacted, typically with an offer of the type "A rich person in Nigeria needs to discreetly move money abroad, would it be possible to use your account?". The sums involved are usually in the millions of dollars, and the investor is promised a large percentage, often 40%. The proposed deal is often presented as a (harmless) white-collar crime, in order to dissuade participants from later contacting the authorities. The operation is professionally organized in Nigeria, with offices, working fax numbers, and often contacts at government offices. The investor who attempts to research the background of the offer will usually find that all pieces fit perfectly together.
If they then agree to the deal, the other side will first send several documents bearing official government stamps, seals etc., and then introduce delays, such as "in order to transmit the money, we need to bribe a bank official. Could you help us with a loan?" or "In order for you to be allowed to be a party to the transaction, you need to have holdings at a Nigerian bank of $100,000 or more" or similar. More delays and more additional costs are added, always keeping the promise of an imminent large transfer alive. Sometimes psychological pressure is added by claiming that the Nigerian side, in order to pay certain fees, had to sell all belongings and borrow money on their house.
Sometimes, victims are invited to Nigeria and get to meet real or fake government officials. Some victims that travel are instead held for ransom. In some cases they are smuggled into the country without a visa and then threatened into giving up more money, as the penalties for being in Nigeria without a visa are especially severe.
In any case, the promised money transfer never happens, of course. The money or gold does not exist.
The country involved is not always Nigeria. Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and other West African states are sometimes seen. Occasionally the scam operates from a non-African country.
A variant of the scam will appear to be sent by a barrister, representing the estate of some long-lost relative you never knew you had (your last name will be inserted into the email message) who perished along with his family in an auto or plane accident last April; the scammer will claim to have gone to a lot of trouble to find you in order to give you a share of the millions of dollars available if you'll just forward your bank account information to him.
In a newer version of the scam, the scammer offers to buy some expensive item (which the victim advertised on eBayeBay is a very successful online auction website, at which people from all around the world buy and sell goods and services. About eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar as "AuctionWeb", part of a larger personal site that included, among other things, for example) by official, certified, bank or cashier's checkThe word check has these meanings Negotiable instrument A check or cheque (borrowed from Persian Chek is a document instructing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of a specific currency from a specific demand account held in the maker/deposi. The check will "accidentally" have a higher value than the price of the item, so the scammer asks the victim to wireTelegraphy is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters. This definition includes recent forms of data transmission such as fax, email, and computer networks in general. A telegraph is a machine for transmitt the extra money to some third party as soon as the check clears. The check typically clears after one or two days, but the fact that it is counterfeitA counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. The word counterfeit most frequently describes forged money or documents, but can also describe clothing, software, pharmaceuticals, or any other m is not detected until several days or weeks later, by which time the victim has sent the item and the "additional money" to the scammer and his representative. Most banks will hold the victim accountable for the value of the counterfeit check.
The United States Federal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an Independent Agency of the United States Government, established in 1914. The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws by investigating complaints against individual companies initiated by consume has issued a Consumer Alert about the Nigerian scam. It says: "If you receive an offer via email from someone claiming to need your help getting money out of Nigeria - or any other country, for that matter - forward it to the FTC at uce@ftc.gov."