The US Postal Inspection Service has found a new way to fight an old scam. At a news conference in New York, the USPIS announced that it has seized and destroyed over two million fraudulent "Nigerian letters" at the JFK Airport Mail Center since March 30, 1998. While the letters promoted a fraudulent offer for an illegal business transaction, they were destroyed because they carried counterfeit postage.
Every year millions of Americans receive letters from Nigeria and other West African nations containing a confidential business proposal from a government official. Usually, the crooks claim that they have skimmed money from an International Aid package or from an over-invoiced government contract and need a foreign account to launder funds of up to $38 million. For this service, the recipient is promised a 25% commission. All he/she has to do is provide a bank account number for the transfer.
Here's where the scam comes in. Either the account is drained with demand drafts (withdrawals similar to checks but generated by the crook and sent by wire that purport to have the account holder's authorization), or the recipient is required to pay a never-ending series of legal fees, expenses, and government bribes before they can receive the funds transfer. Some victims are even invited to Nigeria where they have been held for ransom and stripped of funds. Needless to say, consumers never receive the promised funds. According to Lee Heath, Postal Inspector in Charge, New York Division, American consumers lose $100 million annually to these international con artists.
In the past it has been difficult to protect consumers from this scam. Since it involves money laundering and kick-backs, possible victims are often wary of asking too many questions before becoming involved. And once money has been sent to Nigeria, it's almost impossible to get it back. Now, however, the USPIS has a weapon. Since many of the fraudulent letters use counterfeit postage to eliminate the expense of mass mailings, the USPIS, working in cooperation with Nigerian authorities, is now able to identify, seize and destroy the incoming letters. A similar arrangement has been made with the authorities in Ghana, another frequent point of origin for this scam.
If you would like more information about this action, the Nigerian letter scam, or the US Postal Inspection Service please check out the USPIS website. That site has information on how to report if you've received such a letter and how to spot counterfeit postage.
If you have any questions or would like to report an incident, contact NCL's National Fraud Information Center and Internet Fraud Watch at 1-800-876-7060 or use one of our online forms.
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