Beware of the Nigerian scammers out there!

If you sell on Auction Sites, ie. eBay, Yahoo, etc, be careful about going too far with emails that are full of typos and grammatical errors. These scammers get your email address from auctions and contact you to buy the item you have posted and offer to buy it for more than your buy it now price for a gift or urgent need overseas. Overseas has turned out to be Lagos, Nigeria 23401. I have had ten in the last month, all to same city and zip code. Are there any honest Nigerians? I don't know if there is. I spent way too much time with one of the first ones. They wanted a portable DVD player. I researched prices and shipping. Found a good deal and made her (supposedly a woman) an offer. She said yes, I'll buy it and may want to purchase more and said 'can you do something for me, I'm will be sending $3000.00 (her bill was $350.00) take your money from the check and keep $50.00 for yourself and forward the rest by western union to my client in Nigeria'. I said no, send me $350.00. Next thing I know I get a check in the mail $3000.00. Ok, I'll deposit the check, when it clears I'll send her order and send the remaining back to the sender, not the western union method. 2 days later, the check bounces, the bank freezes my account (all of it, not just the check funds) a check I wrote got returned NSF and I'm charged a fee by the bank. I raised enough cain with the bank that I got it back. When I told her the check bounced she responded back with language you'd expect from a biker, accusing me of trying to scam her.

hey a woman is trying to do that to me too!
she said she will send a cheque for $4000, and i deposit the money, and then send the item!

wow, thanks so much for your post, now i know how bad it is.
ANyways i got scammed by this guy in UK, and I dont know what to do about it, but I want my money back.

Anyone from uk? or anyone who can help me??

Thanx

Hi, Im UK based.

Were you purchasing an item from them, rather than supplying one?

If you were buying then what method of payment did you use?

Hi,

You're UK based?
I was purchasing an item from them. I used the western union method, and just paid to his name. But he must have had the correct ID in order to receive the money right?

I plan to file a complaint to the interpol, and I know they will find him through western union, as they record all ID details.

His name was NIGEL WILLIAMS, living in LONDON UK, and he just ran away with the money. I would so much appreciate your help.

Kind regards!

If you sell on Auctions, ie Ebay, Yahoo, etc, be careful about going too far with emails tat are types with bad english. These scammers get your email address from the auctions and contact you to buy the item you have posted and offer to buy at more than your buy it now price for a gift or urgent need overseas. Overseas has turned out to be Lagos, Nigeria 23401. I have had ten in the last month, all to same city and zip. Are there any honest Nigerians, I don't know if there is. I spent way too much time with one of the first ones. They wanted a portable DVD player. I researched prices and shipping. Found a good deal and made her (supposedly a woman) an offer. She said yes, I'll buy it and may want to purchase more and said can you do something for me, I'm will be sending $3000.00 (her bill was $350.00) take your money from the check and keep $50.00 for yourself and forward the rest by western union to my client in Nigeria. I said no, send me $350.00. Next thing I know I get a check in the mail $3000.00. Ok, I'll deposit the check, when it clears I'll send her order and send the remaining back to the sender, not the western union method. 2 days later, the check bounces, the bank freezes my account (all of it, not just the check funds) a check I wrote got returned NSF and I'm charged a fee by the bank. I raised enough cain with the bank that I got it back. When I told her the check bounced she responded back with langage you'd expect from a biker, acusing me of trying to scam her.

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I had someone from nigeria send me a M.O. for $2,800.00 on an item I was selling to them for $800.00. I waited 2 weeks after depositing the M.O. and it turned out to be fraudulent! Glad I waited to ship! I emailed them about it and got a response in a different language.

To make a long story short, I never sell to anyone in Nigeria. They'll even try to send you fake paypal payments. They send you emails impersonating paypal stating that they have made a payment.

If they're willing to pay more for shipping than the item is worth they're scammers, especially when they can purchase it locally for cheaper.

Why do these fool even claim to be from Nigeria. They should atleast say they are from a country that has money!

I get emails from these idiots all the time. The general scheme is that they are buying a (insert expensive consumer electronic) for their cousin in Nigeria. They ask for a quote and then will email you a fake 'Paypal' invoice saying that the funds are waiting to be released to you pending your submittance of a tracking #.

Sometimes I play along just for fun. I'll make sure to add that I am grateful for their business and that their business is paying the bills to support my newborn child. :lol:

These scams are HILARIOUS! I havent had any Nigerians offer me $1,000's yet but that is a BIG red flag! Thanks for sharing. Everyone can learn from this.

My bank informed me that it is federal crime when sending fraudulent forms of money through the postal service.

I gave them the envelope, and all their contact information the nigerians gave me.

They said they've got a department that goes after scammers. :D

Hi,
your Uk based?
I waas purchasing an item from them. I used the western union method, and just paid to his name. But he must have had the correct ID in order to receive the money right?

I need a complaint to the interpol, and I know they will find him through western union, as they record all ID details.

His name was NIGEL WILLIAMS, living in LONDON UK, and he just ran away with the money. I would so much appreciate your help.
Kind regards

Your money's gone for good :o the same thing has just happened to me this weekend just gone, these scammers probably even have false identities that they use to collect their money from western union branches.... once bitten twice shy, i'll never use western union again

If anyone wants any pay back with the Nigerians, send me an email. I have come up with some really great ways to mess with them. IT'S REALLY FUN! THEY GET SO MAD!!!!!! Link hidden: Login to view :lol:

Also, be careful of people in Indonesia and the UK. As for Indonesians, just beware, they are just as bad as Nigerians. Even after Tsunami's, earthquakes, and bird flu, this third world country can still come up with some really clever scams. As far as the UK, if you are contacted, they are probably Nigerian living in the UK. So, be careful!!!!!!!!

This is a very common scam, now Alibaba.com is not all that great of a place to do business with due to scams, however they have GREAT advice in their discussion sections. Worth a look to anyone in this business.

Link hidden: Login to view


-Benjamin

Oh and also! If you know they are scammers ahead of time, you could help bust them by telling your bank about them before you send the money. Get the bank in on it, to track it. Then when the scammer cashs your check hell have a setup waiting for him/her and it wont cost you a dime. In the mean time, you help put away somone who potentially would screw somone else out of money, and this time that person may not be able to afford the loss.

-Benjamin

yeah, I have experience this before as well. AND it's 3X. I think with the same person. He is trying to scam me. That time I was selling my mobile phone. He even said wanna buy more than my price, he want to pay double and send to his son in nigeria as a gift. he pay me using western union. he make the payment really looks like from the bank side. I think he / she is really good. I dont know how to make fake email that really looks like the bank side email.
I even chat with him / her so many times. until know, his id is still active in my chat room. hahaha

sometimes, I asking him about silly things (about his scam), and he aswer me so serious hahaha its fun dough
Better be careful

I have been advertising for retail quantities on a few various sites. I've been receiving a bunch of mail from these idiots. Here is one response that I received:

(From Link hidden: Login to view)
Thank for the mail.I need this item just because my brother in Africa and i
would like to pay you through via western union money trasfer or through
certisfied check due to my business schedule.Please kindly get back to me so
that i can send the payment first thing tommorow morning through the information
gave to me and i will send the shipping address later.Get back to me with your
valid phone number.
Regards.

Yeah right buddy...

You should post something totally different to what they have ordered. Maybe a piece of paper with the following.

'InterPol knows who you are!'

You got owned!!!

Here is part of email I got the other day.

DEAREST ONE,

I KNOW MY MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE SINCE I DONT KNOW YOU
IN
PERSON OR MET WITH YOU BEFORE BUT AM OF THE BELIVE THAT YOU WOULD BE
OBLIGED
TO COME TO MY ASSISTANCE AFTER HEARING ABOUT MY SITUATION.
I AM MIRIAM HARUNA,18 YEAR OLD GIRL, I WAS FORMELY A MEDICAL STUDENT OF
UNIVERSITY OF ABIDJAN,IVORY COAST WEST AFRICA.LATE LAST YEAR OCTOBER
2005,THE REBELS IN MY COUNTRY STRUCK OUR TOWNSHIP AND KILL MY PARENTS
AND MY
ONLY BROTHER BECAUSE MY FATHER WAS AN OPPOSITION LEADER TO THE
PRESIDENT
OF MY COUNTRY IVORY COAST .
BEFORE HIS DEATH HE HAS $9.5 M USD (Nine Million , Five Hundred
Thousand
dollars.)IN A DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT WITH A BANK IN COTE D IVOIRE WHICH I
AM
THE NEXT OF KIN.

PLEASE I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.

1)TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND SINCE I AM ONLY 18.
2)TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED .
3)TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR ME TO COME OVER AFTER THIS MONEY IS
TRANSFERRED TO
COMPLETE MY STUDIES AND ALSO LOOK FOR A GOOD VENTURE WHERE THIS MONEY
WILL
BE INVESTED,I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF TH TOTAL SUM AS
COMPENSATION OF
YOUR EFFORT AND 5% FOR ANY OTHER EXPENCE YOU MIGHT MADE AFTER A
SUCCESFUL
TRANSFER.

Any ideas on what I can spend my 20% on...lmao

I haven't decide what to do with this yet, play with it or hand it on....it could be fun. :twisted:

Hi,
I've had similar situations with scammers from Nigeria and even Indonesia. I notice they love ordering electronics. I've decided not to ship to these countries. I wasted time preparing quotes and shipping costs only to find that the orders were dubious.

I am very thorough when it comes to orders. I even rang the phone number given by one of them and unsurprisingly it was not a valid number. They tried to pay with stolen credit cards. To confirm if they were legit, I asked them for the bank issuer of their credit cards (I was going to ring the banks to confirm their identity). Unsurprisingly, when I did that, they never responded. Thank God I wasn't ripped off!

Even if one of them claims to pay by escrow, beware because it is probably a scam.

Even if you sign up for one of those damn dating websites or friend circle websites, beware of who you are talking to because 90% of these are setup by scammers.

And if you see someone just automatically purchase an iPod you carry, double-check them for goodness sake. Do a background check on anyone before you ship, *OR* receive payment!


This is what interpol reccommends.

To report scams and online phishing fraud, send it directly to Link hidden: Login to view

Do not send anywhere else but their investigators as well as Interpol. These people need to be in jail, and when you see orders that are outrageous chances are stolen credit cards may be used. Make sure to press charges, just turn them in.

Even the poorest countries on earth should not be doing this crap and scamming people to make a living, some of them that may be the only way left for them. But they still should not do it.

This needs to be deterred as much as possible, and plenty of open job opportunties or affiliate opportunities should be provided to those communities so they learn legitimate income is the only safe way to live.