[meteorite-list] Scam Alert

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Oct 22 15:44:18 2005
Message-ID: <bu5ll1tq3vfai8bh87e9mpho2v0558urcq_at_4ax.com>

Sorry, last post that I'll make on this topic, but I think this recent (two days ago) article is
important for anyone selling on the internet to be familiar with. The last page lists the types of
419 scams:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-scammers20oct20,1,1799691.story?track=mostemailedlink&ctrack=1&cset=true

The many forms of 419 scams

Advance-fee frauds, also known as 419, appear to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich
or find the girl of your dreams. The scams can involve phony websites, forged documents and
Nigerians in America posing as government officials. Here are some of the most popular:

? The "next of kin" scam, tempting you to claim an inheritance of millions of dollars in a Nigerian
bank belonging to a long-lost relative, then collecting money for various bank and transfer fees.

? The "laundering crooked money" scam, in which you are promised a large commission on a
multibillion-dollar fortune, persuaded to open an account, contribute funds and sometimes even
travel to Nigeria.

? The "Nigerian National Petroleum Co." scam, in which the scammer offers cheap crude oil, then
demands money for commissions and bribes.

? The "overpayment" scam, in which fraudsters send a bank check overpaying for a car or other goods
by many thousands of dollars, persuading the victim to transfer the difference back to Nigeria.

? The "job offer you can't refuse" scam, in which an "oil company" offers a job with an overly
attractive salary and conditions (in one example, $180,000 a year and $300 per hour for overtime)
and extracts money for visas, permits and other fees.

? The "winning ticket in a lottery you never entered" scam ? including, lately, the State
Department's green card lottery.

? The "gorgeous person in trouble" scam, in which scammers in chat rooms and on Christian dating
sites pose as beautiful American or Nigerian women, luring lonely men into Internet intimacy over
weeks or months then asking them to send money to get them out of trouble.
Received on Sat 22 Oct 2005 03:51:27 PM PDT