Scams from Nigeria

Something you need to be aware of are email letters sent from Nigeria (usually from Lagos). They are written with a story about a millionaire who wants to deposit millions to help your ministry.  I have been asked by a number of ministries if these letters are legit, no-they are not. It seems that Nigeria has gained a reputation for these scams and other sorted stories to make money off religion.

 The Nigerian money-laundering scam is not new, it began before the Internet. You get a letter, explaining how some deposed leader (usually he was from Nigeria) left his homeland with much cash and needs to deposit it in a bank. By allowing him to use your bank account to deposit the funds, you get a certain percentage of what they have, but it is really what they want from you, because they have nothing to give!

Nowadays, for Christians they send a email saying they converted from Islam and have a lot of cash they want to give to a ministry for the Lord. It starts off saying something like this -I was a Moslem or a retired military top officer in the Nigerian Army. The letter may have a heading of Confidential or Top Secret or some other eye catching phrase. In it they write that they sold all the properties after someone's death, or gained a great inheritance and are looking to invest  into God's work as instructed by the owner, is $10,000,000.00 (Ten million US dollars). Some will say I was able to divert up to $45,000,000.00 (Forty Five million U.S Dollars, into my personal Bank Account, hoping to invest the money when I’m retired. They may even mention the International Bank and give you a phone number. Of course they need you bank account number. Don’t give it to them, don’t even entertain these liars even if they say there is an urgency for this transaction. These email letters are NOT legit, and if you look in the code in the back you can usually tell where it was sent, this should be reported. 

What these scammers want is your banking info, when they get it there will be a withdrawal, not from their account but yours.  Imagine someone who does not know you wanting to deposit over 10-30 million dollars in your account. That's better than the lottery, you didn't have to buy a ticket. I get at least 4-8 of these letters a week. What I do when and if I answer them (most are trashed or reported) is I trade letters for fun. I send each solicitation letter to the other person and tell them to work it out among themselves. However, they should be reported to the FBI or other agencies that cover these matters.