- Home
- Departments
- Public Safety
- Police Department
- Community Safety
- Crime Alert
- Nigerian Fraud Letter
Nigerian Fraud Letter
How the Scam Works
To get an overview of how the Nigerian Fraud Letter Scam works, read an article by Brendan Koerner.
Examples
FROM: ENGR. CHRIS MADIBO.
CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS REQUEST.
I am making this contact based on the information I gathered from the business contact trade centre representative office here in Nigeria, where I got your e- mail address.
I have been mandated by my colleagues to seek for a very reliable and trustworthy person or a foreign company that can assist us in a very confidential business transaction, that will be of financial benefit to both parties based on mutual trust and co-operation.
I am the executive secretary of the contract review panel and payment recommendation board of the federal ministry of mines and solid mineral resources. We were appointed by the present civilian government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as a result of the petition filed by foreign contractors, to review the contracts that were awarded by the past military government of the late general Sani Abacha to foreign companies from 1997 to 2000 and make recommendation for payment of the contract amount owed the foreign companies/contractors from the fund allocated for foreign debt payment in this year’s budget.
In the course of our assignment we discovered that some of these contracts claims were grossly inflated and over invoice by those foreign companies, of course in active collusion with the past military regime. We have made a recommendation that these foreign contractors be paid their actual contract amount by the finance ministry, while the over-inflated sum should be returned to the federal Government account.
However I and my colleagues have set aside the sum of US$ 16,500,000.00 (Sixteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) out of the over-inflated total amount for our utilisation, so as to secure our future, because we are poorly paid civil servants.
What we need is the person, whose foreign company we will slot in amongst our recommended list for payment.
This is exactly why I have contacted you. We will use our position and influence to take care of the documentations and all other official paperwork, so you do not have to worry about that, Provided you have an account that the fund can be transferred and that you have absolute control over the account. Note that all the modalities for this transaction has perfected.
For using your company name and account you shall be entitled to 20% of the total amount, while we take 75% and the remains 5% will be set aside to settle all sundry and incidental bills that may be expended for the actualisation of this transaction (i.e. documentation cost, communication bills etc).
If you are interested in working with me on this transaction, please signify through my return e-mail address, so that I can provide you with more detailed information on steps to take to realise this transaction within the next two weeks .
I await your prompt reply.
My best regard
Engr. Chris Madibo.
FROM THE DESK OF:
MR CHU SENGCHEN,
BANK OF OVERSEAS CHINESE
TAIPEI, TAIWAN
ATTN:please email me via my correspondence office box:
chu_sengaccnt01@yahoo.com
I am Mr Chu Sengchen,Bank Manager, Bank Of Overseas Chinese North Shyn Lin District, Taipei, Taiwan. I have urgent and very confidential business proposition for you.
On June 6, 1998, a British Oil consultant/contractor with the Chinese Solid Minerals Corporation, Mr. David Abel made a Fixed Deposit of the sum of US$10,000,000.00 (Ten Million United States Dollars) which accumulated to the sum of US $20,160,176.00 (Twenty Million, One hundred and sixty thousand, One hundred and seventy six United States Dollars for twelve calendar months in my branch.
I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply.After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers, the Chinese Solid Minerals Corporation that Mr. David Abel died from an automobile accident. On further investigation, I found out that he died without making a WILL, and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless. I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr. David Abel did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank. This sum of US$20,160,176.00 is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year. No one will ever come forward to claim it. According to Laws of Republic of China, at the expiration of 6(six) years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Chinese Government if nobody applies to claim the fund.
Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in as the next of kin to Mr.David Abel so that the fruits of this old man’s labor will not get into the hands of some corrupt government officials. This is simple, I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address so that the attorney will prepare the necessary documents and affidavits that will put you in place as the next of kin.
We shall employ the services of an attorney for drafting and notarization of the WILL and to obtain the necessary documents and letter of probate/administration in your favor for the transfer. A bank account in any part of the world that you will provide will then facilitate the transfer of this money to you as the beneficiary/next of kin.
There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will be done by the attorney and my position as the Branch Manager guarantees the successful execution of this transaction. If you are interested, please reply immediately via the private email address above. Upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you understand the transaction.
Please send me your confidential telephone and fax numbers for easy communication.Please observe utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country.
Awaiting your urgent reply via my correspondence email
address.chu_sengaccnt01@yahoo.com.
For personal/security reasons…..
Thanks and regards,
Mr.chu seng chen
The schemes are designed to attempt to obtain your financial information and account numbers. When they do, they wire transfer your money to Nigeria. Then, you now have no money.
Resources
Helpful links to find more information and/or to report:
- FBI Scams and Safety
- Econsumer.gov - Report international scams online
- Attorney General of Texas - Consumer Protection