A number of times in the last 20 or so years, we’ve reported victims’ experiences and warned you about Nigerian money-laundering schemes. There are variations of the schemes, of course, and not all of them are carried out from Nigeria. But they’re alive and thriving, and the experience of one Puerto Rico resident who could recently have been snagged by such a scheme makes it seem worthwhile to remind you once again of the dangers in accepting seemingly something for seemingly nothing.
What might catch you off guard in the offer this man received is that the initial letter is allegedly sent from United Nations headquarters, New York, and signed by someone from the “United Nations Compensation Commission.” Beginning “Congratulations Beneficiary,” it goes on to say that the “UNITED NATIONS, in Affiliation with WORLD BANK” have agreed to compensate all people that have been scammed in any part of the world with “the sum of USD $750,000.00 Dollars.”
What might make you less cautious than usual at this point is that that’s a mighty enticing windfall, especially for any of the many who’ve experienced one or more of the blows caused by the state of the American economy over the past several years.
What do you have to do to claim your money? Well, first, what doesn’t seem to be required is that you were even scammed at all. The letter contains no further mention of it nor does it ask for any sort of proof, or even acknowledgment, that you did lose some–or, for that matter, any–money to a scam.
So you can get right down to what is required. Mr. Douglas Tawanda Munatsi, of Union Bank Nigeria PLC Payment Center, who sent the next communication to the Puerto Rican man, tells him that his payment center’s agreement with the United Nations is to pay “over 25 people,” and that they wanted these 25 people to come to Africa to collect their payment. Then, he says, they realized that it would be better and faster for the beneficiary to accept payment by bank draft, for which he/she would have to pay “the little delivery cost,” or by ATM card, for which he/she would have to pay for the “packaging and delivery of your payment . . .”
Mr. Munatsi, asks you to send him some personal information, then, including your full name, address and phone number, country, marital status, occupation, sex, and age.
Unfortunately, your only alternative to paying those “little” delivery costs is flying to Africa to pick up your payment. Presumably, then, you’ll accept the bank draft or ATM option, and presumably, then, you’ll have to divulge information such as your bank account number before you go much further. (But be advised that if you should choose the personal pick-up option, you could find yourself in great personal danger, if previous reports we’ve received are any indication.)
Fortunately, the Puerto Rican man decided to go no further to get rich quick, and he sent his story to us. We pass it along to you with another reminder not to bite at still another version of the Nigerian scam, which, in this case does come from Nigeria.
How can you avoid the scam? First, don’t let greed or the promise of easy money cloud your reason. Don’t let the references to the United Nations or any other legitimate-sounding government or other name fool you. Don’t give out personal information–especially your bank account or social security numbers–no matter how much money you may believe you’ll be losing if you don’t do it. Ask yourself if it’s realistic to believe that anyone is going to seek you out to hand over thousands of dollars to you.
One last thing: If you lean toward altruism, don’t succumb to the offer because, as in this case, you’re baited with the promise that if you accept the payment you’ll be “making the world a better place.” You can only imagine whose world will be made better if you effectively write them a blank check.