Overseas Fraudulent Business Proposals

"4-1-9" SCAMS 

Americans have lost millions of dollars to creative scams perpetrated by Nigerian criminal enterprises. E-mail messages promoting similar scams are being widely sent from other countries as well.  They often include current events, such as natural disasters, to make it sound real.  They need your help to get millions of dollars out of their country.  All you have to do is provide your bank account number so the funds can be transferred.  For your troubles, you will receive a portion of the money.

According to some estimates, individuals and businesses in this country may receive up to 10,000 solicitations weekly from "Nigerian officials."  Internationally recognized, these various crimes are collectively known as "4-1-9" fraud after a relevant section of the Nigerian penal code they violate. Such schemes generally rely on convincing a victim to send money to Nigeria for a variety of reasons.

Advance Fee Scam:

In the most common scenario, an individual receives an unsolicited e-mail from a Nigerian who claims to be a senior civil servant or a bank official, or even a prince. The "official" says he is seeking a trusted person to provide a bank account to receive millions of dollars in Nigerian government overpayments on a procurement contract or money from a dormant bank account. In compensation, the recipient is typically offered a substantial commission, ranging up to 30%, for assisting in the transfer.

The criminal's goal is to trick his target into thinking that he/she has been singled out from the masses to take advantage of a very lucrative, albeit questionable, windfall deal. While this arrangement appears transparently ridiculous to most, the scam is unfortunately effective. Eventually the letter will reach someone who, while skeptical, desperately wants the deal to be genuine. Victims are often convinced of the authenticity of schemes by receipt of forged or false documents bearing apparently official Nigerian government letterhead and seals, as well as false letters of credit, payment schedules and bank drafts.

This sets the stage for a con-within-a-con. Once the victim is hooked and firmly believes in the scheme, the deal is threatened in order to persuade the victim to provide money - often considerable sums - to save the venture. An urgent problem will suddenly arise. An official will demand an up-front bribe or an unforeseen tax or licensing fee to the Nigerian government will have to be paid before the money can be transferred. Each fee paid is normally described as the "very last." Promises are made that all such expenses will be reimbursed. Yet invariably more oversights and errors in the deal are discovered by the Nigerians, necessitating additional payments and allowing the scheme to be stretched out over many months. All this, moreover, must be kept confidential to avoid sabotaging the deal.

This is the heart of the scam - there is no "deal" and victims are fleeced by paying these never-ending "fees." 

In a variation of the scheme, an intended victim is contacted and requested to deposit checks into his or her bank account that are issued by supposed customers or contractors. Once these checks are deposited, the perpetrator will ask for an advance against the checks. The checks will eventually turn out to be fraudulent; in the meantime, the victim may have provided the Nigerian with an advance and up-front fees. Similar scams may involve offers of disbursements of inheritance money from wills (often targeting charitable or religious organizations), real estate ventures, currency conversion deals and sale of crude oil at below market prices.

Avoid These Frauds:

• If you receive an email from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply. Never give personal information to strangers.
• Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI.
• If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, urge that person to immediately contact the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI.

Report Solicitations or Crimes:

If you have received an e-mail inviting you to participate in a 4-1-9 scam or if you have been victimized in such a scheme::

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov

Information used in compiling this warning was adapted from alerts previously issued by the US Secret Service and the New York field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).