In the News: Trans-Atlantic love costs American lady $50,000 - Duped by Nigerian fraudster
http://odili.net/news/source/2006/feb/14/804.html
A 42-year-old American lady, who came to Nigeria from Texas, United States, with her wedding accessories to tie the nuptial knot with a supposed male American Muslim she met on the internet has gone back home heartbroken.
This followed the discovery that the man she had travelled to Africa to be joined to in wedlock was not the one in the photograph sent to her, but a 24-year-old Nigerian posing as an expatriate engineer, working in an oil company.

Its really sad when you read stories like this. Online romance seems to be the new '419 method' to con people out of money. On one hand i feel sorry for the victims, on the other i am angry with them. How gullible can you be? On the internet anyone can be anything they want to be. Me self wey dey call myself ijebuman, i fit be igbira man now...

The Guardian in the UK had an interesting article some weeks ago - http://money.guardian.co.uk/scamsandfraud/story/0,,1637593,00.html

Here's a recap of the 419 methods in use:
Laundering crooked money scam
Next of kin scam
NNPC scam
Overpayment scam (ebay, amazon etc)
Job offer scam
Winning ticket in a lottery you never entered scam
US visa lottery scam
Gorgeous person in trouble scam (in which scammers in chatrooms and on Christian dating sites pose as beautiful American or Nigerian women)

Here is my own personal guide to avoid 419 encounters (Seems pretty obvious but there's one born every minute..)

don't be greedy

if it sounds too good to be true (no free dinner in life so if you're looking for FOC, they will get you)

if someone keeps mentioning God in every conversation especially when it has no relevance to the issue. (my peeps are very religious so religion is a handy tool in the modus operandi of a 419 scammer)

acting in an unprofessional way or displaying unusual business practices.

anything that requires you to pay quickly so you don't lose the 'opportunity'

always get professional advice or advice from a neutral party to ensure all is 'kosher'

never underestimate them (even ijebu 'jazz' can not protect you from 419)

Basically anything that triggers my 'defence shield' (ala star trek style) and trust me its not just naijas, every nationality is well represented when it comes to fraud...


Quote: "Businesses may come and go, but religion will last forever, for in no other endeavor does the consumer blame himself for product failure." ~Harvard Lamphoon, "Doon" (paraphrase)


get involved by sponsoring an African child today:
http://www.plan-uk.org/wherewework/westafrica/