It’s impossible to catalog all the perpetrators but most scams are the same old song, slightly different verse. Scam Alerts editor says it’s trite but true — if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For a complete tour of Scamland, check the scam news below, Use the search box to look for specific scams. Please note that we post all samples of such scam for you to examine and act fast
According to a social media report, a lady from California, United States, raised an alarm and accused a yet-to-be-identified suspected Yahoo boy of bringing her to Nigeria through devious means.
According to reports, the incident occurred in Badagry, Lagos State.
In a video clip posted by Instablog, an Instagram blogger, the lady claimed she arrived in the country three days ago but didn’t know how the boy persuaded her to come.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness, whose voice can be heard in the video, stated that the two were taken to the home of a Baale in the community for further questioning.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A Canadian story – In 2009, a Canadian man in a well celebrated scam lost $150,000 to Nigerian Lottery Scam. John Rempel of Leamington, Ontario, got an email way back in July, 2007 from someone claiming to be a lawyer with a client named David Rempel who died in a 2005 bomb attack in London, England, and left behind $12.8 million dollars. The scammer said it was a long-lost relative of the victim, or the deceased millionaire had no relatives so they sought someone who shared the same last name.
The unidentified lawyer said his client had no family but wanted to leave the money to a Rempel. It was John’s lucky day.
“It sounded all good so I called him,” said John. “He sounded very happy and said God bless you. But, then the Advance Fee Fraud came in.”
The man told him he had to pay $2,500 to transfer the money into his name. He then had to stump for several more documents some of which cost $5,000. The scammer told Rempel he had to open a bank account in London, with a minimum $5,000 deposit. He said some of the money had been transferred into the account for “safe keeping”.
The scammers then upped the ante, sending an email from a “government department” claiming he owed $250,000 tax on his inheritance. Rempel’s contact assured him he’d “negotiated the fee down to $25,0003 .
Rempel decided to travel to London to check that the deal was legit. He made his way to Mexico, where his uncle who owned a farm gave him cash and money for a plane ticket. He said: “I had $10,000 in cash in my pocket and my uncle sent another $25,000 when I was over there.”
Once in London, Rempel met “some people” and handed over the $10k. The next day, the 419ers showed their target a suitcase they said contained $10.6m in shrink-wrapped US bills. Rempel demanded further proof, at which point one scammer extracted a bill and “cleansed” it with a liquid “formula” which “washed off some kind of stamp”. The process converted the cash into “legal tender”, Rempel was told.
Rempel said: “I was like holy crap, is that mine? They said ‘yes sir, it’s yours.’ It all sounded legit.
Rempel went back to his hotel room with the magic formula to wait for the 419ers “so they could cleanse all his money”. They, of course, disappeared, later claiming they’d “been held up”.
The victim then managed to drop the bottle containing the formula, breaking it. He rang his contact who said he’d get further supplies. Rempel flew back to Leamington and waited several weeks until a call which confirmed more formula was available for $120,000. Rempel said: “I thought, ‘let’s work on it, nothing is impossible.’”
The 419ers told Rempel they “were willing to meet associates in different countries to get cash for the formula”, but that they’d need several plane tickets, at $6,000 a person.
The scammers subsequently confirmed they’d collected $100,000, but were still $20,000 short. Apparently, there was “a guy in Nigeria who had it, but another plane ticket was required”. The contact then insisted he could only get $15,000 of the balance and “begged” Rempel for the remaining $5,000.
Rempel obliged, borrowing the money and defaulting on his credit card and car payments.
A week later, Rempel got the call he’d been waiting for – the cash was ready to go if he could just find an extra $6,900 for “travel costs and to rent trunks to ship the money”.
The final contact between Rempel and the scammers was when they called to say they’d arrived at the airport in New York. However, there was a slight snag – security had stopped them and they needed $12,500 for a bribe.
Rempel, still none the wiser but substantially lighter in the wallet, told them: “No way, I’m cleaned out.”
In one last desperate act, Rempel drove to the airport with his parents and 10-year-old brother, but found no trace of his friends or the money. They then went home and called the police.
The final cost of Rempel’s mix of greed and remarkable stupidity was $55,000 from his uncle in Mexico, $60,000 from his parents to “cover fees for transferring $12.8 million into his name”, plus the money he personally lost – a total of $150,000.
He said: “They’re in it now because of me. If it wasn’t for me, nobody would be in this mess. You think things will work out, but it doesn’t. It’s a very bad feeling. I had lots of friends. I never get calls anymore from my friends. You know, a bad reputation. I really thought in my heart this was true.”
A scam too big
But what was described to be the biggest scam ever by the former chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu involved Banco Noroeste S.A. a Brazilian bank which recorded the “single biggest advanced fee fraud case in the whole world”. Between May 1995 and February 1998, a total of US$242 million was reportedly stolen from the Banco Noroeste S. A. through offshore banks in the Cayman islands.
The money was allegedly remitted by swift transfers through various banks to accounts controlled by Nigerian nationals. The authorisation for all the transfers was done by Nelson Tetsuo Sakaguchi, a senior official at the bank. The Nigerians, in a 419 plan, came up with a fake contract to build an airport in Abuja. They promised Nelson Tetsuo Sakaguchi a big commission in exchange for funding the contract.
The fraud was detected in February 1998 while Sakaguchi was on vacation, in the process of auditing carried out in readiness for the intended sale of the Bank Noroeste to Spanish banking group Banco Santander. Inquiry revealed discrepancies in the bank’s books, with at least US$242 million missing. Of this sum, US$190 million had been transferred directly to accounts controlled by the Nigerians or through unlawful money changing operations conducted by Naresh Asnani (a British subject of Indian descent resident in Nigeria) and another Nigerian businessman resident in Enugu.
Following the discoveries, civil actions aimed at recovering the money were commenced in Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United States of America and in Nigeria. In addition to the civil actions, criminal complaints were laid in Brazil, Switzerland, USA, Hong Kong and Nigeria.
The accused persons and companies were charged with obtaining by false pretence $190 million from one of the directors of Banco Noroeste Bank.
In prosecution, the Nigerian nationals pleaded guilty to numerous crimes and forfeited $121.5 million dollars in assets. The woman amongst them too pleaded guilty and received a two and half-year sentence after agreeing to give back $48.5 million.
Investigators acting for the bank’s shareholders persuaded Sakaguchi to visit New York, ostensibly for a meeting with the shareholders, where he was arrested on an international warrant issued by the Swiss government and extradited to Switzerland to answer money laundering charges. He admitted involvement in the fraud. In December 2002, Naresh Asnani was arrested in Miami, while en route to a meeting with lawyers acting for the shareholders, on an international warrant issued by the Swiss Government. He was extradited to Switzerland to answer similar charges of money-laundering. On October 31 2003, he too admitted involvement in the fraud.
The love scam
Besides the strictly business fraud, there were also many reported love scams. The sweetheart swindle scam, also known as the Nigerian romance scam is the worst.
This one focuses on manipulating the emotions of a person who is seeking love online. These scam artists meet unsuspecting women (and also men) on dating sites. They know exactly what to say to make the victim fall in love with them and trust them completely. Once the scammer has caught his victim in his trap, he begins to ask for small amounts of money to assist him on daily expenses. Over time, these amounts become more. He needs money to pay his medical bills after falling ill, he needs help because he was mugged, he needs your help buying a plane ticket so the two of you can finally be joined together.
There was a story of one particular scammer who conned countless women since 2007. He was Roy Innocent Moore and he is a professional Nigerian Romance Scammer. Roy Innocent Moore concocted a persona that was complex and varied slightly from victim to victim. Certain things always remained the same however. His mother was from the UK and he was born in Jamaica. After the death of his father, his family relocated back to the UK and he attended Bradford University for Art. He eventually moved to New York City, married and had a daughter. Depending on which of his victims you speak to, Moore was either a widower or recently divorced. A victim’s relative told a US tabloid:
“I first came to hear of his name three years ago when he met a family member of mine on a popular dating website. They were in love almost instantly. Each day, he sent her poetry, and romantic emails filled with promises of their future together. He was staying in Nigeria at the time because he had a contract with the “National Museum” in Lagos.
“As time went by and her love for him deepened, he began to have financial troubles. She was more than willing to assist him, knowing that any money she sent him would be returned to her when he came home to America. He still has not shown up on her doorstep though she has sent him thousands in order to bring him here.
“Though he swears his devotion, she is not his only “love.” Several women also came forward and shared their stories. The love they feel for him is real, however he is not. Nigerian romance scammers steal personal photos of people that they claim to be them. They are more than happy to send these to their victims. This results in damage not only to the victim but to the individual who truly is in the photographs.
“The problem with this particular scam is that it is so prevalent. When I reported him to my local FBI headquarters, they expressed sympathy but also said that with this scam it is extremely hard for them to catch the criminal. All information that the scammer provides the victim was fake and therefore difficult to track. These women have lost thousands of dollars to this man, and been manipulated into theft and fraud, and they may never truly know justice, and they will never see that money again.
“I know “Roy Innocent Moore” will more than likely never be caught and prosecuted for his many crimes, but that does not stop me from telling my story. It is my hope, not that he gets thrown in jail, but that by putting out information about him on the internet, it will stop any future victims from falling prey to this criminal.”
In another scam, a Nigerian tabloid reported on November 19 2012, how a Nigerian gospel artiste was jailed for defrauding online lovers of 120,000 UK Pounds.
The gospel singer, Oluwamayowa Ajayi, reportedly fleeced four American women he met on the internet dating site of over 120,000 dollars and was jailed for six and a half years at Snakesbrook Crown Court in East London.
Ajayi, 31, who performed under the stage name “Malo Joe” pretended to be an American fighter pilot, a grieving widower and an oil executive to the women he fleeced before the long arms of the law caught up with him.
The crown prosecutor summed up his argument stating how Ajayi lived off the women by lying among others. In one instance, he claimed that he had been held hostage by Niger Delta militants and therefore, his captors needed some ransom before he could be released,otherwise, they would kill him.
Despite the pleas for mercy, it was inevitable that he would be caged. The Judge detailing the seven- count charge ruled that Ajayi had been found guilty by the jury who had found him guilty four days earlier.
In one instance,he tricked and lied to one of his victims who parted with over $100, 000 that he was a businessman who was short of cash and therefore, needed a loan. The woman used some of the money on her credit card and also borrowed from family members to raise
the funds.
In another, Ajayi claimed he was in the hands of Niger Delta militants and they would kill him within 20 hours if the woman didn’t do anything about the ransom they asked her to pay. She
hurriedly sent $500 through Moneygram to Nigeria, where he then cashed the money.
According to the Judge, “all the four women were embarrassed” when each discovered.
Just recently, Kudirat Jose of a Lagos High Court convicted and sentenced Promise Ntuen Ekemini to one year imprisonment for hijacking the e-mail of a lawful owner of a property, located in Western Australia valued at $800,000( Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars), and attempting to sell the property. Ntuen Ekemini was arraigned in April, 2014 on a 5-count charge bordering on conspiracy to defraud, attempt to obtain money by false pretences and forgery. Justice Jose found him guilty of all the charges and convicted him.
Ekemini got into trouble by impersonating Brian Roderick Daniel, owner of a property located at No. 143, Sprinaway Parade, Falcon, Western Australia and offering his property to buyers on the internet without the consent of the owner. The Australian Police alerted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to monitor a controlled delivery of some documents related to the transactions to Ekemini. He was arrested at the point of collection of the documents.
Even students are in it
The scam stories are not the prerequisite of just a few. Even university undergraduates are into it. In 2007, for instance, a final year student of the Department of Survey and Geo-Informatics Engineering, University of Lagos, Lawal Adekunle Nurudeen, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for obtaining $27,900.91 from an Australian woman, Pee Loo Rosalind Summer.
The convict was arraigned before Justice M.O Obadina of Ikeja High Court on 19-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.
He was found guilty on all the counts and consequently sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on each count. The convict was also ordered to pay the sums of $5,900, N526, 117.15 and any interest standing to his credit in his savings account with the Ikorodu Branch of a new generation bank, to the victim.
In addition, the convict was asked to pay $250 monthly to the victim until the total sum fraudulently obtained by him was liquidated. His two plots of land lying and situated at Mowo Kekere Ikorodu bought from the proceeds of the crime, were sold and the money realised remitted to the victim.
The Honda prelude car recovered by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from the convict was also sold and its proceeds remitted to the victim.
A statement signed by the then EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, said the convict who was an undergraduate of UNILAG met the victim on the internet and introduced himself as Engineer Benson Lawson, a Briton working with a multi-national company in Nigeria. “Along the line the victim, a 56- year old woman from Australia told the convict that she wanted a husband and all the men she had met always disappointed her. The convict, who is married with three children instantly applied and told the victim that she had met her Mr. Right.
“To convince his prey, he told the woman that he was a 57 -year old widower and that few years back, his wife and their only child died in a ghastly motor accident in Lagos. He sent the picture of a white man to the victim to foreclose any suspicions. The victim accepted his proposal and that gave room for the next stage of the 419 heist.” Few weeks later, he called the woman to introduce himself as Dr. Saheed Bakare and informed her that her ‘fiancé,’ Benson Lawson had an accident and needed money for his treatment. The love-struck woman sent some money.
“Two weeks after the convict called the victim and thanked her profusely for her kindness. He now told her that he would like to visit her in Australia so that they could consummate their relationship. He demanded for money for air ticket, police and customs clearances and all sorts. “At the end of the day he duped the woman to the tuned of $47,000 before his arrest and arraignment by EFCC.”
A prevailing problem
Despite Nigeria’s efforts, the schemes have reached “epidemic proportions. A publication by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said the agency received more than fifty-five thousand complaints about them last year, nearly six times as many as in 2001. The increase is due in part to the Internet, which makes it easy for scammers to reach potential marks in wealthier countries. “If we educate the public to the point where nobody falls for it, then they’ll go out of business,” Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service, the lead U.S. agency in investigating advance-fee frauds, says.
The agency estimates that 419 swindlers gross hundreds of millions of dollars a year, not including losses by victims too embarrassed to complain.
Robert B. Reich, the former Labor Secretary, who has studied the psychology of market behaviour, says, “American culture is uniquely prone to the ‘too good to miss’ fallacy. ‘Opportunity’ is our favourite word. What may seem reckless and feckless and hapless to people in many parts of the world seems a justifiable risk to Americans.”
The mind-set was best explained by the linguist David W. Maurer in his classic 1940 book, “The Big Con”: “As the lust for large and easy profits is fanned into a hot flame, the mark puts all his scruples behind him. He closes out his bank account, liquidates his property, borrows from his friends, embezzles from his employer or his clients. In the mad frenzy of cheating someone else, he is unaware of the fact that he is the real victim, carefully selected and fatted for the kill. Thus arises the trite but none the less sage maxim: ‘You can’t cheat an honest man.’ “
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A widow, Adebisi Jinadu, who fell a victim of fraudsters and in the process losing the sum of N1.2m, believes she was charmed by the fraudsters who defrauded her of the huge sum in the Agboju area of Lagos State, when she boarded a taxi cab on her way to the popular Iduomta market to buy gold jewelries for sale in her new shop.
Narrating her plight, the woman said that at the time she boarded the cab, there were three other people were inside, but when they got to Mile 2, another person joined them. On the way, the driver pretended as if the vehicle had developed fault near Alafia bus stop.
She recalled the driver begging the other passengers to alight from the vehicle and give it a push, which the complied. It was in the process, the woman continued, that the driver said he perceived something unusual in the vehicle. The driver then asked the passengers who owned a carton the boot of the vehicle containing dollar notes. The passenger who sat in the front seat accepted being the owner, claiming the cartoned contained more than $100,000.
Curiosity and greed must have overtaken her as she became interested in the discussion because, according to her: "One thing led to another, the driver talked to me about joining in doing the business of sharing the money equally. I never knew how I agreed. It was not ordinary. I was charmed. This is something I would never agree to do in my life.
The man said he wanted to go to somewhere in Lamgbasa area, after Ajah, where he had other money. In a house at Lamgbasa, he went to the backyard and came back with a bucket.
He put some paper inside and later brought them out and we saw ten $100 bills. He said he needed money to wash the remaining dollars. He said if they washed all the money, it would amount to $10million. That was how I gave them the money I wanted to use for my business.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The EFCC on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 arrested a notorious fraudster who specialises in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public through fraudulent bank credit alerts. Wale Olaide (a.k.a Wale Dollar) met his waterloo when he duped one Abdulhamid Abubakar, a bureau de change operator of N5, 000,000.00(Five Million Naira only). Olaide had contacted Abubakar’s younger brother, Hashim, also a bureau de change operator based in Lome, Togo Republic that he wanted to purchase Five Million Naira (N5, 000,000) equivalent in CFA Francs. Olaide requested for his Nigerian bank account to enable him pay in the naira equivalent. Hashim asked Abubakar to send his First Bank account details to Olaide.
Abubakar acted immediately, sent his account details and after a while, he received an alert supposedly from his bank that N5, 000.000.00 (Five Million Naira) had been credited to his account domiciled at the Seme Border branch. Upon receiving the alert, Abubakar informed his brother who in turn released the CFA Franc equivalent of N5m to Olaide.
The next day Abubakar visited the bank to withdraw the money, but to his dismay, his account balance didn’t reflect the said transaction. He complained to the branch manager and his statement of account was rolled out but the transaction was not reflected. When Abubakar noticed that the bank couldn’t help, he approached the EFCC.
Series of investigative initiatives by the EFCC yielded the arrest of Olaide who is believed to be a member of a deadly syndicate involved in duping unsuspecting members of the public through fraudulent banking notification alerts.
While, the EFCC is working to unravel the intricate network of operations of the syndicate, the Commission has appealed to members of the public to be wary of this new trend in criminality by fraudsters who use phony credit alerts to defraud others.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, 13 March, 2013 arraigned Akinluyi Akintunde (a.k.a Akin Cindy) before Justice Bolaji Yusuf of the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan on a two count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and possession of documents containing false pretence contrary to Sections 6, 8(b) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 0f 2006.
Akintunde allegedly obtained the sum of $450.00(Four Hundred and Fifty USD) from one Robert Jackson via Western Union Money Transfer and another $6,450,000.00 (Six million, Four Hundred and Forty UDS) through false documents.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Count two of the charge reads: “Akinluyi Akintunde( a.k.a Akin Cindy) on or about the 12th October, 2011 at Ogbomosho within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud had in your possession documents containing false pretences, to wit: an air travelling regulation purportedly issued by the Ministry of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a drug free certificate for the sum of $5,000,000.00( Five Million United States Dollars) in favour of one Stan Wills Chevron Oil & Gas Company purportedly issued by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, two revenue collector’s statement for the sum of $1,450,000.00( One Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars) purportedly issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria in favour of one Stanley Woodley and Stan Wils, three contract award certificates purportedly issued by Chevron Oil & Gas plc in favour of Frank David, Stanley Wils and Stanley Dreckley and draft e-mails.
“That you, Akinluyi Akintunde sometime between January 2011 and December 2011 at Ogbomosho within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $450.00 from Robert Jackson , via Western Union Money Transfer under the false pretence that you were a lady which representation you knew to be false”.
Prosecution counsel, Gbolahan K. Latona asked the court for a trial date and to remand the suspect in prison custody. However, defense counsel, Olusegun Jaiyeola, prayed the court to grant his client bail, stressing that his offences are bailable. . Justice Yusuf however remanded the accused person in prison and adjourned the matter till March 20, 2013 for hearing of bail applications.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
About two years ago, you hardly could go to any cyber café in Benin-City and get space to work. And each time you get space, there was always a drama from the guy next to you, who will suddenly receive a call and start speaking the Queen’s English as if he is a Briton. He will speak confidently about a contract that never existed. You will immediately observe that he was speaking to an American or a European.
After the conversation, he will go back to his seat and start speaking his normal Pidgin English with his other partners in the job. You needed not to be told that the guy was an internet fraudster, trying to convince an American or a European to send dollars or pounds as payment for a fake contract.
But when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) beamed their search light on the activities of internet fraudsters in Edo State, mounting surveillance on cyber cafés, these guys changed their mode of operation. Rather than use facilities at the internet café in town, they now have their laptops and operate in hidden buildings, where it will be difficult for security agents to nab them.
However, luck ran out on twenty suspected internet fraudsters in Benin-City when men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) attached to the 4th Brigade, Benin-City arrested them in an old building located on Siluko Road. The suspects were arrested following survelliance on a concealed cyber office in an old building. Men of the JTF stormed the house in a surprise raid and arrested the suspects.
After the arrest, the JTF handed them over to the EFCC for further interrogation. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the suspects confessed that American and European widows were among their victims. According to a statement from the Head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, “at the point of arrest, the suspected fraudsters had in their possession forty five laptops of different make, twenty eight telephones, eight internet mobile modems and one Nissan car with registration number, Edo State, USL 375 AG.
“The suspects, mostly in their twenties include Idehen Obabueki, Adesa Lucky, Usuagu Uche, Eloghosa Olikiab or, Larry Edomwonyi, Amowie Maike, Francis Ezegbede, Itua Samuel, Endurance John Egbeifo, Amego Ovenseri, Iyen Ighodaro, Philip Agbodori, Lucky Robinson, Nnadi Obinna, Osabuohien Osahon, Chinenu Eze, Peter Sunday, Solomon Ogu, Niyi Femi and Osaigie Aghedo.
The suspects have reportedly made statements leading to further investigation. Most of them were said to have confessed to be engaged in online dating of American and European particularly widows. They also confessed to using pseudo names and faces to deceive their prospective victims.
Nine of the suspects were arraigned before a Federal High Court in Benin-City. They pleaded not guilty to the crime. They were arraigned before Justice A. M Liman of the Federal High Court 1, Benin-City on the charge bordering on conspiracy to commit felony to wit: obtaining money under false pretence. They pleaded not guilty.
The charge read: “That you Osaugwu Uchenna Kingsley (alias Sam Henric), Robinson Lucky (alias Justin Parker), Larry Edomwonyi (alias Mark Erixson), Amovie Mike (alias Jeffery Ares), Itua Samuel Robinson (alias Park Wetty, King Harry), Iyen Oghodaro Destiny, Adesa Lucky Rute ( alias Peter Anderson, Eric Stern etc), Egbeifo John Endurance and Egbeniyi Oluwafemi ( alias Raymond Morrison, Mavis Mar) at No. 56 Siluko Road , Benin City within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire with one Dennis Osagie and others now at large to commit felony to wit: obtaining money under false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act”.
Justice Liman granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N1million each and two sureties in like sum. One of the sureties must be a civil servant and the other must own a landed property within the jurisdiction of court. The judge ordered that the suspects be remanded in prison custody and adjourned to 4th, 13th and 19th of March respectively.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
After defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians and foreigners for many years, two Nigerian undergraduates and six others Friday ran out of luck, as they were hauled into the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
They are to tell EFCC operatives all they know about using the Internet to fleece innocent members of the public and thereafter face the long arm of the law for their crimes over the years.They were all picked up from their operational base at the highbrow 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos. EFCC-3a1
One of the undergraduates, Hope Olusegun, a 25 year-old indigene of Okene, Kogi State, who claimed to be a student of Computer Science at the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University, Malaysia, was arrested by operatives of EFCC over allegations of fraud and internet scam.
The arrest of the scammers followed a petition to the EFCC over the nefarious activities of Olusegun and his accomplices who have been using the 1004 base to engage in fraudulent activities of obtaining money by false pretences and forgery.
The EFCC said yesterday that following the petition, its operatives swooped on Olusegun’ s apartment and discovered various items which were being used for the fraud.
The recovered items included laptops, iPad phones, travelling documents, cheque books, flash drives, Internet modem, and three exotic cars – a Mercedes Benz Jeep, One 4-Matic Mercedes Benz Car and a Range Rover Sport SUV.
When confronted by the operatives, Olusegun denied ownership of the exotic cars, claiming that they belonged to his who lives in the United Kingdom.
Operatives of the EFCC also downloaded over 80 implicating documents from the laptops recovered from Olusegun. However, the Commission is making effort to track down other members of Olusegun’s syndicate who are currently at large.
Tunde Wasiu Sodiq, another undergraduate and member of another syndicate with close affinity with Olusegun’s gang was also nabbed by operatives of the EFCC at the Housing Estate.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Just in case you needed a couple more reasons to delete that Nigerian email scam in your inbox, how about about kidnapping and the stinging international embarrassment for falling for the scam? That’s what happened to a South Korean father and daughter who thought they were cashing in on tens of millions of dollars and instead had to be rescued after being held captive by a Nigerian gang. “While most instantly hit the delete button, the unnamed 65-year-old from South Korea and his daughter, in her 30s, evidently had a trusting nature,” reportsThe Guardian which added that the two arrived in Johannesburg last week. “The suspects allegedly tasked a driver to fetch the victims from O.R. Tambo airport. The driver and the two Korean nationals were kidnapped and kept at a house in Meadowlands, Soweto,” said a South African Police Service official. What happened next would be funny if, you know, it didn’t involve actual, real-life people: $10 million ransom negotiated down to $120,000, being held hostage for four days, and the South Koreans leaving town before they could testify. “They declined to testify because they were traumatised,” the police official added. “They were also embarrassed at being lured to South Africa. This is common once victims discover they’ve been fooled.” The gang, five Nigerians and one South African, will appear in court on Monday reports said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
LIAM BARTLETT: In a luxury hotel room, we carefully set our trap “ with the help of experienced fraud investigators. Our targets lurk in the street below “ Nigerian conmen awaiting the call from another victim. But this time the call will come from us and undercover police are ready to pounce.
DAMIEN: No more mucking around “ you want your money, come up. I’ll give it to you, you can go. These greedy scammers are slicker than ever. To better hide their tracks they’ve spread from Nigeria to become a global pandemic.
BRIAN: They’re intelligent, they’re resourceful, they’ve got global networks and let’s face it “ at this point in time, they’re winning the battle.
LIAM BARTLETT: Here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, our chance to strike back.
DAMIEN: That’s when you and the police come in.
LIAM BARTLETT: On behalf of the 10,000 Australians who, despite all the publicity, still hand over a total of $10 million to these shysters every single month.
DAMIEN: You count¦
LIAM: Good afternoon, we’re from 60 Minutes Australia and you seem to be in a lot of trouble.
JULIA: Well. They’re the lowest of the low. They’re absolute scumbags and they are a poor excuse for a conman.
LIAM BARTLETT: When we first exposed Nigerian scammers in Lagos six years ago, they ran a simple but lucrative operation “ sending dodgy emails around the world requesting money, with the lure of a handsome return.
POLICE: Sit down! Sit down!
LIAM BARTLETT: But the swindlers have a new schtick. They’ve moved onto dating sites and the cruel hook they use is the promise of love.
ROSALIE: I suppose he absolutely had me by my heart. This guy was just telling me everything that I wanted to know.
LIAM BARTLETT: He was saying everything he knew you wanted to hear.
ROSALIE: Everything I wanted to hear, yep. He was making me feel as if I was worth a person.
LIAM BARTLETT: Rosalie is 53 “ divorced and terribly lonely. For romance scammers, the perfect mark. Looking for love online, she met Benjamin Walthol “ a handsome, American businessman, working in Malaysia. Ben wooed her for hours at a time “ he even sent flowers. Rosalie believed she’d finally found true love. And when the man of her dreams asked for loans to help his business, she happily handed over thousands.
ROSALIE: $90,000 plus what I still owe in phone calls and I have a debt of fifteen thousand dollars.
LIAM BARTLETT: You’ve given away your entire life savings and you’re in debt?
ROSALIE: Yes.
LIAM BARTLETT: But even now, Rosalie clings to the dream that Ben will repay the loans and they’ll begin a new life together as he promised. Her brother Neville knows better.
NEVILLE: The whole family has been banging their heads against a brick wall. It’s very difficult.
LIAM BARTLETT: At the risk of breaking his sister’s heart, Neville has sought professional intervention to expose the truth.
JULIA: Look, Neville brought us here because we have some serious concerns about the man you’ve met online and that he’s not the person he claims to be.
LIAM BARTLETT: Julia Robson is a new breed of the investigator. She runs DateScreen, conducting background checks for people who’ve met on dating sites “ and business is booming
JULIA: The golden rule is if you’ve met them online and they ask for money, it is a scam.
LIAM BARTLETT: Julia has followed Rosalie’s money trail to Malaysia and noticed references to a man called Bidemi Bakare.
JULIA: Bidemi, his name came up on documents that Rosalie was sending via Western Union. His name was written on the documents as collecting it, so straight away we had a suspect in mind
LIAM BARTLETT: And sure enough Rosalie’s white, middle-aged Lothario, Benjamin Walthol, is a fake. This is the man who’s really been romancing her “ Bidemi Bakare. His Facebook page reveals a champagne lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur, funded by the money he’s swindled from Rosalie and countless other women.
JULIA: We’ll find him. We’ll track him down and we’ll prove to you that this person you thought was Benjamin Walthol is really Bidemi.
BIDEMI: I miss you, I’ve been thinking about you long.
JULIA: Oh I know, I can hardly sleep
LIAM BARTLETT: And so in Kuala Lumpur, we set out to take on this swindler at his own game. Julia poses on a dating site as Amber “ and befriends Benjamin.
BIDEMI: I’m thinking baby, I’m thinking if you can send some round figure of say $20,000 so I can have some pocket money on me, you know.
LIAM BARTLETT: You did exactly what he does. Created another identity and targeted him
JULIA: That’s exactly it.
LIAM BARTLETT: And sure enough, Bidemi comes sniffing for the easy cash “ $23,000 that Amber has promised will be delivered by a business associate. Former Victorian undercover cop, Damien Marratt, is playing our middleman.
DAMIAN: We bought in the ruse that she had a friend, Jack “ myself “ who often travels through Singapore and Asia on business and basically I could deliver the money personally.
LIAM BARTLETT: We’ve wired the room with microphones and hidden cameras. It’s one thing to get Bidemi to the room but for a conviction, we need the money shot “ the moment he accepts the cash.
DAMIAN: We’ll have a quick chat to him, show him the money, get everything we need on tape just to show he’s involved in the scam and yeah, that’s when you and the police come in.
LIAM BARTLETT: In an adjacent room, we wait with surveillance gear, Julia, and a posse of Malaysia’s finest detectives. Out on the street, undercover police surround the hotel.
DAMIAN: Sorry mate, $23,000. I don’t know about money here, but $23,000 is a lot of money.
LIAM BARTLETT: But after repeated phone calls, we fear Bidemi is getting cold feet. Then finally, a knock on the door…
DAMIAN: I’m Jack “ So who have I been talking to? Sit down ..
LIAM BARTLETT: ¦ but it’s not our man. The crafty conman Bidemi has sent a local teenager to collect the cash.
DAMIAN: That is three ¦you counts to make sure.
LIAM BARTLETT: Hi, good afternoon “ we’re from 60 Minutes Australia’ and you seem to be in a lot of trouble. It’s a bust, but not our target. We want Bidemi
DAMIAN: Ben if you want your money no more mucking around. If you want your money comes up. I’ll give it to you, you can go…
LIAM BARTLETT: So, we take a gamble. We let the courier go, knowing he may run. But our hope is he’ll lead us right to our main man. And yes “ in the streets around the hotel, the undercover police swoop. Bidemi and five accomplices “ nabbed. Do you know Rosalie?
BIDEMI: I don’t, sir.
LIAM BARTLETT: You don’t know, Rosalie. What have you done with the $53,000 she gave you?
JULIA: You are the lowest form of a conman that I have ever met. The woman that I’ve spoken to “ the pain and the destruction of their family you have caused from this stupid little trick. All of you, look at you “ you’re absolutely disgusting. The stories I’ve heard “ I have no sympathy for these people. None whatsoever.
BIDEMI: She says she thinks I’m Benjamin.
LIAM: Yes, because you called yourself Benjamin’.
BIDEMI: Yeah, I know.
JULIA: Now the moment of truth “ proving Bidemi is Rosalie’s online lover, Benjamin. And guess who’s number we find on his phone.
LIAM BARTLETT: Oh, what a surprise! Hello is that Rosalie? We’re standing in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur at the moment and I’ve got a fellow standing next to me wearing a set of handcuffs. He just wants to say a few words, see if you can recognise this voice. Can you just talk to him for a moment?
BIDEMI: Hello?
LIAM BARTLETT: Don’t be shy, tell them what name you’re using now.
BIDEMI: Benjamin. Benjamin Walthol.
LIAM BARTLETT: Unbelievably, we found the numbers of another 81 Australian women on Bidemi’s mobile. That list is being investigated by Australian authorities. So you’re halfway through that list and so far it’s almost 100% strike rate?
BRIAN: Yes.
LIAM BARTLETT: On the victims.
BRIAN: Yes.
LIAM BARTLETT: He was a busy boy, wasn’t he?
BRIAN: Well he was very successful until you people came along.
LIAM BARTLETT: Brian Hay’s job, as head of the Queensland Fraud Squad, is to catch the scammers. But he spends more time counselling their targets.
BRIAN: You’re not victims, you’re survivors. You’ve gone through it, you’ve come out the other end and you’re not letting the bastards get it from you anymore.
LIAM BARTLETT: In Brisbane police headquarters, a support group for women “ and men “ who’ve been stung by Nigerians.
WOMAN #1: I willingly parted with $300,000.
MAN: You get sucked in and you find out when it’s too late and it’s cost you money.
WOMAN #2: He talked to me for quite a while, madly in love with me, never seen me before but madly in love with me. And wanted to make my life good.
BRIAN: For these people, it is love. They believe it, they live it, they breathe it, they yearn for it and to them, it’s very real, very tangible.
POLICEMAN: They’re sending the money to Nigeria.
LIAM BARTLETT: Meanwhile, back at Bidemi’s place, we’re following the paper trail. Most of those ill-gotten gains are sent straight back to Nigeria into the hands of criminal gangs and even terrorist groups. But men like Bidemi cream enough of the profit to keep themselves in the best of bling.
LIAM BARTLETT: Where does a student get $800 for a pair of designer label sneakers?
BIDEMI: My mum, she sent pocket money.
LIAM: Your mum sent you pocket money?
BIDEMI: Yeah.
LIAM BARTLETT: From Nigeria?
BIDEMI: Yeah.
LIAM BARTLETT: You got the most generous mother in the world have you? Gee. $800 for sneakers. There’ll be no Louis Vuitton where Bidemi and his fellow conmen are headed “ Malaysian prison and then deportation back to Nigeria.
ROSALIE: I don’t hate him I just feel sorry for him. I don’t know how that a person could do that to someone who’s just trying to help and that’s all I wanted was to help him to get out of Malaysia and he promised me absolutely a new life.
JULIA: These people are in a place in their life where they are lonely, they are looking for love, something…
LIAM BARTLETT: Does that make them silly?
JULIA: No, it doesn’t make them silly. There’s nothing wrong with having friendships and falling in love with someone online. That’s not the issue.
LIAM BARTLETT: The danger arises when that love is blind “ Rosalie’s desperate heart made her ignore all the warnings. Even, after all, we’d told her, Rosalie had been back at the computer being wooed by a new man calling himself Richard’. Rosalie, while we’ve been having this interview, we’ve checked out Richard Williams’ email and guess what? It’s on a blacklist. He’s a scammer too. He’s not who he says he is and he certainly doesn’t love you as he’s professing.
ROSALIE: Really? You’ve actually checked out that email address as…
LIAM BARTLETT: While we’ve been talking. Rosalie, please turn the computer off, Rosalie. Just please turn the computer off. If you can’t see the whites of their eyes and they’re not buying you a drink. Don’t talk to them.
ROSALIE: No one buys me a drink. That’s the whole problem.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Scammers at their best. If you have recived any kind of this email that claims that the sender comes from united nation. Pease ignore it. it is a scam. if you check the real email of the sender, it will show From:”info@unitenation.org” <info_unitednation87@yahoo.com> . It is a scam mail. be warned!!!!
‘The subject is ””””’RE””””’UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES”””””’
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES
Internal Audit, Monitoring, Consulting and Investigations Division
Mrs.Inga-Britt Ahlenius.
Atten: Beneficary.
This is to inform you that I came to Nigeria yesterday from London, after series of complains from the FBI and other Security agencies from Asia, Europe, Oceania, Antarctica, South America and the United States of America respectively, against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the British Government for the rate of scam activities going on in these two nations.
I have meet with President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria who claimed that he has been trying his best to make sure you receive your fund in your account.
Right now, as directed by our secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, We are working in collaborations with the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and have decided to waive away all your clearance fees/Charges and authorize the Government of Nigeria to effect the payment of your compensation of an amount of $10.5M approved by both the British government and the UN into your account without any delay. The only fee you will pay to confirm your fund in your account is your Notarization fee to the UN which is $281 only.
Payment Informations Bellow
Receivers Names ….. NWAUUWAN CHIJIOKE VICTOR
Text Question……..GOOD
Answer……………GOOD
Amount$185
Senders Names……….
Sender Country…………….
Mtcn Control Numbers………..
Sincerely, you are a lucky person because I have just discovered that some top Nigerian and British Government Officials are interested in your fund and they are working in collaboration with One Mr. Richard Graves from USA to frustrate you and thereafter divert your fund into their personal account.
I have a very limited time to stay in Nigeria here so I would like you to urgently respond to this message so that I can advise you on how best to confirm your fund in your account within the next 72 hours.
For oral discussion, call me on this number which I just acquired in Nigeria today.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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