Nigerian Scams

For whatever reason, Nigeria seems to be at the heart of some of the biggest money scams in the last ten years.

Some have speculated that the government or banking industry actually play a part in some of these deals but we may never know. At this time, we are recommending that you not do new business with Nigeria or Nigerians that you haven't known for at least two years.

A few bad Nigerians are ruining it for everybody else. Here is how the Nigerian scam goes: You get an e-mail or a letter from someone (supposedly) in Nigeria that really needs your help.

The person contacting you has a problem. His uncle has died and he stole millions of dollars from a corrupt government and plans to give it to charity, whatever. The point is he needs your help because you are a foreigner. He can have the money wired to you, but you need to have a bank account at a certain bank in Nigeria.

If you have a bank account, he can make the transaction look like a business pay off and no one will be the wiser. He is even willing to give you a 10% finders fee for helping him out. Since you are opening an account you will need at least $10,000 to make the account look real.

If you placed $50 in the account, a $25,000,000 deposit would raise a few eye brows since your account was so small. Many people have lost their $10,000 in this classic Nigerian scam. Whoever has been running these Nigerian scams must have friends or partners that work at the bank.

Sometimes the Nigerian scammers will even get merchandise instead of money because they will convince a big business that if they are legitimate, the government won't notice (or care) about the money transfer.

The scam has other variations. Some are even real companies that are ordering $100,000 worth of medical supplies on a credit card or with a cashiers check. I get at least two e-mails a month from people who find this review and have lost big.

Good luck and stay away from Nigerian scams. If you have already been the victim of one, or would simply like to report one, send an email to 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov and put either "LOSS" or "NO LOSS" in the subject field.

Matt Gagnon