Nov 18 2008
The “Fake Shipping Company” Western Union Scam
My usual policy is to wait until I have full payment up front before beginning a print job, and with an overseas customer, I was certainly not going to deviate from that method. I waited until he gave me his credit card number, along with his billing and shipping info and credit card security code, and when my bank verified that the transaction had gone through, I send the image files to the printer. When the prints came back, I even got so far as to take them to my framer, but since they had to order more mat board, nothing was done on the job yet.
All seemed fine until the “customer” told me that instead of using Fed Ex or UPS to ship the prints, he wanted me to use his preferred shipping company, Crystal Freight. He gave me their email address and I sent off for a quote. The amount was around the same that I got from Fed Ex: $1550 for express freight from Anchorage Alaska to Kobe Japan. The red flag came when I received an email from the shipping company that they only accept international payments via Western Union.
I tried to find out some information about Crystal Freight on the web, and found Crystal Freight System, based in Lahore, Pakistan, Crystal Freight Services, based in Singapore, Crystal International, based in California, and Crystal Logistical Services, Ltd., based in London. These are all legitimate shipping companies, but according to my “customer,” they were different companies, and not “his” Crystal Freight.
That’s where I balked, and luckily so, because after doing a little more Google research, it became clear to me that the entire sale was nothing more than a scam.
Here’s how it works: Artist (You) gets paid with a stolen credit card (or counterfeit money order), completes the order and packages up the work. In the meantime, artist contacts Fake Shipping Company, who is really just the scammer using a different email, and is told to make payment via Western Union. Artist goes down to the local Western Union office and sends away his cash, never to see it again, goes home and emails the scammer the MTCN number along with shipping details. Scammer walks into any Western Union office in the world, collects money and walks away. Your art sits, packaged up, ready to go, but noone ever comes to pick it up. Then, credit card (or bad money order/check) is charged back to your account. Suddenly you’re out the $1550.00 for shipping, plus a $15.00 charge-back fee, in addition to the time and cost of producing your art, which now has no buyer.
Luckily I caught this in time. This morning, I called Chase Fraud Services and was told that the credit card that was used to pay me had been cancelled, which meant that I’d be charged back the full amount. I went ahead and refunded the transaction before that happened, and so I’m only out my time and the cost to produce six 16″x24″ Alaska Landscape prints, for which I can hopefully find new buyers.
Apparently, this type of scam is pretty prevalent, so to help alert others, here is some simple advice that will help you avoid being scammed.
1. NEVER WIRE MONEY TO ANYONE OR ANY BUSINESS VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEYGRAM. You might as well put money in an envelope and throw it away, because it’s the same thing. It’s completely untraceable, and you never have any way of knowing who may have picked it up on the other end. In other words, you’ll never see it again. No legitimate organization does business through Western Union, and anyone who expects this is trying to commit fraud.
2. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Just about every legitimate business can be found by using Google. If you can’t find the shipping company that your “customer” gives, it probably doesn’t exists. Often, it will have a similar name to a real company, which may throw you off. You can also find examples of similar scams through google as well. If it’s happening to you, it has probably happened to somebody else who has written about it on some blog post… which is exactly why I’m taking the time to write all this!
3. AWAYS DO BUSINESS WITH A COMPANY DIRECTLY THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE, NOT THROUGH A LINK THAT SOMEONE GIVES YOU IN AN EMAIL. That “link” is usually nothing more than a link to the scammer’s other email address, which he uses to pose as the fraudulent company.
4. NEVER EVER ACCEPT PAYMENT FROM ANYONE IN AFRICA!!! realize that there are many legitimate, and honest people in Africa who might want to do business over the internet, but unfortunately, the HUGE number of scammers in Nigeria and Ghana have ruined it for them. However, be aware that scammers operate out of or pose as if they’re in any country. My own situation is proof. I’d never heard of a scam run by a Japanese person, but that’s probably why it got as far as it did. I know that he was Japanese, because he called me on the phone a few times, to “check on that status of his order.”
(Edited 1/23/10) *Please note my revision to Tip #4*
4. While there are certainly legitimate customers who reside in Africa, sellers should be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS about any sale from a buyer who CLAIMS to be from Africa. It’s true that most scammers originate in the US, but the majority of Internet-based ‘Advance Fee Frauds,’ which is how this type of scam is correctly defined, either operate out of Africa or operate from a scammer posing as someone from Africa. Again, do your homework and VERIFY AND WAIT FOR ALL TRANSACTIONS TO FULLY CLEAR BEFORE PROCEEDING.**
5. AWAYS VERIFY THE TRANSACTION. Call the bank and verify the name, address, billing info and security code on the credit card. Even if it goes through, it can still be charged back if it’s a stolen card.
6. WAIT FOR PAYMENT TO CLEAR BEFORE DOING ANYTHING. If you do accept payment from a client who you think might be for real, wait at least 30 days for the payment to clear. If not, you’ll be out when the payment bounces.
7. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS. I was guilty here. Bad economy, big print sale.. hey, we all want more business, right? Just keep careful track of everything that transpires regarding a job, as well as any transactions, authorization numbers and receipts, and most of all, use your head. I was lucky that I caught this before it went any further. Hopefully this post will help alert and inform a few more people so that “Kenny” won’t be able to find any more “work”.
Dan – great post! Thanks for taking the time to write about your nightmare of an experience and sharing it with the rest of us. Glad you didn’t loose any more than you did.
Sherri
Auburn, California
Hi Dan,
I came across this post after googling kennymoore011 (a mysterious email I recieved today), and I’m glad I took that minute to do that. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience or I could have been out some dough myself.
Best, and thanks
Kevin
You’re a life saver Dan,
Same thing is happening to me right now and thought it was a bit dodgy so checked it out and now i can see it’s the same thing.
Lucky i didn’t put the card through.
Should i give all the details to someone who deals with these people?
Kindly tell me about the Western Union Shipping Corporation Limited, 365, # North Dividar, Toncolla, Australia, the company status, business, profile, is it a funding agency who provide donations to development projects, etc.
Hey Dan-
We just had the same scam last week and the guy is still waiting for me to process his cards (which I wont). It burns my but when guys try to screw me and knew just how to turn the game around on him as I am a hunter/gamer myself, albeit an honest one. If it were not for the 3rd party (the victim) getting hurt believe me he (the scammer) would be out the cost of shipping.
Thanks for keeping it real
Anthony
thank you for the post Dan!
because you took the time to write it, I could find that it is a scam.
Good thing he is stupid and/or lazy enough not to change his email address every time he scams so I could google it and find your blog when we thought this request smelled bad.
I like Anthony’s idea of a hunt. Any ideas?
happy holidays are when we care , so thank you Dan again.
artbrokers
Thanks for the helpful post. We got an email from kennymoore011@hotmail.co.uk as well, but luckily it has already been forwarded to our SPAM.
Hey so the same thing is happening to me right now as well. For the most part at least. He sent me a check for $3,650. I had a snowboarding helmet up for sale for $50 on craigslist haha and this is what he sends me. Anyways he said in the email the helmet will be headed for london england. He made up a fake name and address I’m sure. But he shipped the check out to me in a feddx envelope and I think the bastard left his name and address on it on the envelope.
James Karl
34 w pico blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90006
I don’t know if thats just made up to but I wonder if he could be that stupid? Is there anyone I can contact to bust this guy? I really want too. Or at least anything to waste as much as his time as he did mine? If somone knows anything….that would be great.
Thanks
Dan-
I thank you for taking the time to share your story. I was so excited to receive what seemed like a legitimate wholesale order from Australia. They wanted to give a credit card #- but over pay by more than $900 for shipping- I was supposed to by the shipping to their carrier by Western Union. Ugh. Bummed me out as the order was significant and economy is bad. Finding your story helped affirm my decision not to touch this situation.
You are much appreciated!
Hello Dan,
Thkx alot for posting this material on net cause i hav been receiving several email for confirmation of such time of scam order as name of our compnay Crystal Freight System resembel to the scammer Crystal Freight so mostly peopel search from googel n send me many email for confirmation which was quite a problem for me to tackle,but thkx to Dan after this self explainatory message of Dan we recevied no such mail any more,Plz always check things before doing any kind of business around the grob as far as field of freight forwarding is concern plz always check out website of forwarder n there location because that is not possibel a person in Japan would move cargo through a frowarder in Pakistan,Singapore or any other country because every country hav there own working term n conditions so next time if receive such mail in which u get data of compnay located in some other part of world rather then buyer location never ever sell any thing to such buyer.i hope that small technical point will also help u .
Regards,
Nazish
Manager imports
Crsytal Freight System ,Pakistan.
Alpha TRansport (PVT) ltd, can I check if this shipping company really exist ?? it’s realy important and I’m not able to verify it.
by the way thanks for what u have wrote Dan it’s really useful
I just had someone call and try to have me run their credit card for $2500 and then wire $900 via Western Union to pay their “private shipper”. My intuition kicked in pretty early in the call and told me SCAM. I was hoping to try to get more info from them, but no luck. Pretty brilliant though…they use a stolen credit card and give you some sob story about how they are old/sick and cannot make it out to the western union to pay their “private shipper”, then ask you if you can do a “favor” and tack on some extra money for their “shipper” and then western union that money for them. OH, AND THEY USED THE RELAY SERVICE!! Unbelievable. What a bunch of low lifes.
Hey,
Thanks so much for that post. I’m a restaurant hostess and just received an IP relay call for a very large order. The credit card numbers and requests asked of us were very strange and overly confusing. It didn’t sound right. That’s when I looked online and came across your blog. Western Union Shipping Co is definitely a fake and was the company given to me as well. The person calling left me with 3 different credit card numbers and names of shipping companies on the opposite coast!
After calling Discover and Master card, I was able to make sure they took care of cancelling these stolen cards and prevent this fraud from happening. And to think, we would’ve lost over $2,500!!
Thanks for your post.
Lindsey
same thing person used relay saying they wanted 125 large pizzas but we needed to charge their card for an extra $650 for a shipper who “doesn’t accept credit cards” sounded very fishy and turns out it is!
Dan….thanks so much for posting this blog, I can’t imagine how many small businesses (like mine) you have helped with this information!
My husband and I own a local pizzeria in PA. We have just encountered the same thing …..a person used relay service and ordered a dinner for 200 people and wanted us to charge their credit card for an extra $980. They asked us to western union that money to shipping company that doesn’t accept credit cards…..thing was they were going to PICK UP the order!
The name that was used was:
PAUL STULLER
paulj909@yahoo.com
Thanks Again, Dan!
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Thank you so much for posting your blog. It looks like you have helped so many people.
I was going through the same scam, as some of the other responses. I decided to trust my gut and google my clients name. Thankfully one of you posted a name and email along with the scam.
I have a catering company and was called via a relay service to cater a birthday party for 200 people for this guys mother. His private shipper was to pick-up the meal and deliver it to the party. Everything seemed weird but ok until payment. Then he said the private shipper does not accept credit cards and would I please charge an extra $980.00 on to his credit card and wire that to the shipper. He said I could also tack on alittle for my time and trouble. That is when I googled his name.
Paul Stuller
paulj909@yahoo.com
Thanks again!
Thanks for the article! I’ve been questioning the validity of an order placed by a client who does not want to speak over the phone. I am going to go with my gut instinct here.
I did the research before reading this article and contacted the shipping company that has similar in name. They said they have received a few phone calls like this lately.
I finally was able to speak to my client on the phone and he was able to call the shipping company. He called me back immediately and asked I send the money by Western Union.
Not going to happen.
You caution about doing credit card business with Africa – they now are finding, via the Internet, valid addresses in other countries and using those addresses to reduce the red flags.
@AC
The exact same thing happened today at my pizzeria in West Virginia. I got lucky with mine, as initially they ordered items we don’t even serve, so that was the first indication it wasn’t a serious transaction. They used a relay call center, saying they wanted to feed 200 people, and wanted meatball sandwiches since we don’t serve pasta, and they wanted an email with the total. No credit card information was taken as I was hesitant to get the information as I had my doubts.
I went ahead and sent the total, and within SECONDS i had a reply that was one long run-on sentence using extremely broken english asking to add $980 to the credit card and wire the money via Western Union to the shipping company which was never named, and they would send warmer trucks to pick up the food for her mother’s birthday party.
Common sense told me not to do this, after working for an online retailer I know most of the tricks people use to scam using credit cards, and I also know at least in my state any amount under $1000 is considered a misdemeanor, while over that amount would be a felony. They know the game, and they’ll have to try to scam someone else. Be on the lookout for someone named Susan Williams, her yahoo profile that coincides with her email address said she lives in New York.
Eric, you are absolutely correct. The scam that I was faced with was posing as a Japanese buyer, and one year later, I’m now getting emails from people posing as Australian buyers. The latest are these emails: franklewis948 at gmail.com and bobsmithinc02 at gmail.com
—–Original Message—–
From: Paul Stuller [mailto:paulj909@yahoo.com] SCAMMER!!!!!!!
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 9:33 AM
To: Dick Hake
Subject: RE: $40 Storage (Ankeny)
Am very happy to hear from you and i will like you to know that am interested in the other one that you have and i willl like to pay down for 5months rent so i will like you to get back to me with the cost of that i’m also looking forward in renting the spot for such long period of time but i will be paying 5months in Advance and when i get to United State will pay the rest fee of the parking spot, I have already contacted my client states informing her that i was able to find a place and she was so happy for me, and she said, she’s ready to issue out the payment to you but she will need this before information of yours to Write and mail the check out to:
YOUR FULL NAME:
FULL ADDRESS:
HOME AND CELL PHONE #:
Once i have the above info the check will be made out to you immediately and will let you know once it as been sent out,I have already make contact with shipping agent that will be delivering the car to you cause it will be there before my arrival, and they will as well contact you on what date and time the car will be delivered to you.I await your soonest reply.i will have love to call you but things here have been very hard so please bear with me ok later bye.
I have just been contacted to buy wine from a customer in Japan who said that his name was Gerald Lewis and same thing wanted to use a private shipping company, I thought that it was suss when the spelling and language in the email seemed unprofressional. Thanks for the information.
Emma
I got this email this morning, it looks like another variation of the same Western Union money order scam. Beware!
———————–
CRYSTAL ART WORLD INC.
166 felthamn road,Unit 16
Ashford/London/TW15 1YQ
United Kingdom
Registration number: 3699677
VAT registration number: GB832 6732
+447035975536
My name is Paul Anderson and I am an artist. I live in the United Kingdom,with my two kids and the love of my life.I have been doing Art work since I was a child.That gives
me about 23 years of experience. I specialized in Art work in high school and took a few college Art courses. Most of my work is done in either pencil or airbrush mixed with
color pencils. I have recently Started designing and creating Art work on the computer.
I have been selling my Art work for the last 3 years and have had my work featured on trading cards,prints and in magazines. I have sold in galleries and to private
collectors from all around the world. I am always facing serious difficulties when it comes to selling my Art works in America and Canada, they are always offering to pay with
a US POSTAL MONEY ORDER, which is difficult for me to cash here in United Kingdom.
I am looking for a representative in the states and Canada who will be working for me as a part-time worker and I will be willing to pay 10% for every transaction,which would not
affect your present state of work,someone who would help me receive payments from my customers in the States or Canada.I need someone that is responsible and reliable, because
the cost of coming to the State or Canada and getting payments is very expensive, I am working on setting up a branch in this areas, so for now I need representatives in the
united states and Canada who will be handling the payment aspect.
These payments are in money order, checks and they would come to you in your name, so all you need do is cash the money order deduct your percentage and wire the rest
back. But the problem I have is trust, But I have my way of getting anyone that gets away with our money, I mean the FBI branch in Washington gets involved.
It would not cost you any amount, you are to receive payments which will be sent to you by FedEx or ups from my business partners, which will come in form of money
orders or travelers checks then you are to cash it and send the cash to me via western union money transfer or money gram money transfer, all transfer fees should be
deducted from the money.
If you are interested, please get back to me as soon as possible with the following informations requested below on the application form to enable us proceed.
Regards,
Paul Anderson.
We were also contacted by Paul Stuller through a relay service. We own a cafe in CA and he wanted to place a catering order for 200 people. He also asked that we western union $980 to a shipping service with the following information: Name….Leona Sullender
Adress……133 bloom dr. west union ohio 45693
He attempted to process 5 different credit cards but they were all declined.
Wish there was something we could do to help track him down. At least for now we can get the word out.
I own a local pizza shop and I too was contacted through a relay service and was given the same story of placing an order for 200 people and to western union $980.00
He called me after I emailed him that I would not be able to do this. On the relay call I confronted him with this scam and emailed him all the scam info. He signed off the call!!!
Thank you Thank you for all who post this!!! Thank you !!!
Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
From: Paul Stuller (paulj909@yahoo.com)
Sent: Mon 12/28/09 8:49 PM
To: geofrey MERINO (dmoises@msn.com)
Hello am very happy to hear from you i will like you to help me with the shipper fees cause they always help me with my consignment so kindly help me send the funds to them so that they can come and pick up the food from you hope to hear back from you.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 7:33:36 PM
Subject: RE: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
Paul,
I would not be able to western union the private shipper. Unfortunately, we are a local business and cannot access that amount by the 30th because it takes three business days for the credit card to clear with the payment processor. Is there any way that you can do this yourself?
Geofrey
——————————————————————————–
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:24:52 -0800
From: paulj909@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
To: dmoises@msn.com
Hello am very happy to hear from you an am ok with the price i will like you to include extra $980 plus the total price of the order so that you can have all charge on my credit card now and you will have the $980 send to the private shipper to be able to come for the pick up with their warmer truck so can you add it all and let me have the total price all together so that i can get you my credit card for you to have the total cost charge on it and also i will like to let you know that you will have the to send the $980 for the shipper agent via Western Union Money Transfer after you have charge my credit card through and you add all the taxes that you will need add additional money to your food payment ok hope to hear back from you as soon as possible so that i can give you my card details thanks.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 7:21:24 PM
Subject: RE: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
Paul,
The quote is for 300 pizza’s of cheeseburger pizza’s and ten salad trays. I am giving you a 23% off on the pizza’s.
With tax the amount is:
$3675.80
Due to the volume we will require payment in advance.
Thank you,
Geofrey
——————————————————————————–
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:09:32 -0800
From: paulj909@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
To: dmoises@msn.com
His my friend John the refer you to me that you can handle the catering for me that is why am contacting you and am hearing impaired.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 7:05:32 PM
Subject: RE: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
Paul,
She is ringing this up now. How did you hear about us?
Geofrey
——————————————————————————–
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:04:16 -0800
From: paulj909@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
To: dmoises@msn.com
Yes i know it will be 300cheese burger pizza that is wll i want with the salad so can you get me the total cost now.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 7:00:26 PM
Subject: RE: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
Paul,
Ten salad tray’s will feed 100 people, for a hundred people each eating 2-3 wings the order that would satisfy 23 orders of our hot wings (8) in one order. On the pizza’s I just want to make sure because that would be 300 cheese burger pizza’s.
Geofrey Merino
——————————————————————————–
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:47:11 -0800
From: paulj909@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
To: dmoises@msn.com
I want Cheeseburger pizza and i want 10salad tray so can i get the total cost now.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 6:36:52 PM
Subject: RE: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
John,
What type of pizza’s would you like to get and how many. Each salad tray would feed ten people.
Geofrey.
——————————————————————————–
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:28:35 -0800
From: paulj909@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
To: dmoises@msn.com
Hello am very happy to hear from you have seen your menu list and i will like to order for Turkey & ham Salad for 200people so i will like you to get back to me with the total cost of that as soon as possible including tax and i also want Hot Chicken wings for 100people so i will be looking forward for the total cost hope to hear back from you thanks.
——————————————————————————–
From: geofrey MERINO
To: paulj909@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 6:16:38 PM
Subject: Don Merino’s Pizzeria
Paul,
Thank you, for calling and inquiring about our pizza’s. We love making good pizza and I promise you will not be disappointed. Attached is our menu and keep in mind that we have three pizza’s that are not on the menu. I will describe them as follows:
1. Greasy Delight: Bacon, Artichokes, and onion
2. Three Cheese Pizza: Mozz, Pecorino, and Parmesean
3. Cheeseburger pizza
We have salad’s which you may see on our website: donmerinospizzeria.com
For appetizer’s we can do Breadsticks, Cheese Bread and Garlic Knots. We also have hotwings.
I hope this helps out. We are excited to be able to serve you. We hope we can do this for you. Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Let us know who referred you so that we can send them a thank you card.
Don Merinos Pizzeria
Geofrey Merino
801-352-2066
I also received the following scam email: BEWARE OF PAUL STULLER!
Subject: CATERING ORDER
From: Paul Stuller
Date: Sat, January 16, 2010 9:10 am
To: jadotwo@aol.com (This person was copied- appears to be linked to a legitimate business- I emailed this person to let him know about PAUL. I believe he was also a target but could be involved I guess- not sure)
HELLO THIS IS PAUL STULLER I WILL LIKE TO ORDER FOR BARBECUE AND TOMATO SALAD FOR 200 PEOPLE ON THE JANUARY19TH AND IT FOR MY MOM BIRTHDAY PARTY AND IT WILL BE PICK UP BY PRIVATE SHIPPER AGENT AND AM READY TO PAY FOR THE FULL PAYMENT NOW WITH MY CREDIT CARD SO CAN MAKE IT FOR ME ON THAT DATE.
By the way, I attempted to report this to Western Union, and they make it nearly impossible to send an email with any information- You would think a company that deals with cash might have some method or forum for reporting things like this but they do not seem to.
Paul Stuller contacted my business last night. He also wanted barbecue and tomato salad for his mother’s birthday party on January 25th. He said he had a $1200 budget and he wanted food for 200 people. We are not a catering company and did not have what he wanted so he tried to get other food from us. We sent him an email telling him what we could get him and he hasn’t responded. It was all too weird. I am so glad that I googled his name. Now I know not to do any business with him. Thank you to everyone who posted something about him.
You are a bloody idiot! How can you advice people not to accept payment from ANYONE in Africa and even more idiotically state ” the HUGE number of scammers in Nigeria and Ghana have ruined it for them.” Are you suggesting that a 1 billion people should suffer because of a handful of thugs from Nigeria. There are more Internet thugs in the US than there are in the whole of Africa combined. You bloody idiot, it is such sentiments that get you Americans in trouble all over the world.
Kimkay, thank you for calling me names and for pointing out the true fact that there are more internet thugs in the US than there are in Africa. You are right, I shouldn’t stereotype the people of an entire continent based on the actions of a very small percentage of its people. I certainly don’t like it when people make generalizations about Americans based on the actions of a few of our less-than articulate or educated citizenry.
Although documented information shows that for its population of over 150 million people, Nigeria has a disproportionately high number of scammers, and the following statistics show that Nigerian based scams account for the highest dollar loss per incident, I shouldn’t make such unfair generalized comments.
However, I will point out that while more scammers operate out of the US, the majority of US-based scams involve identity theft and phishing-based fraud, whereas African based scams account for more “Advanced Fee Frauds,” which is the exact type of fraud that I outline in my post.
Even so, I still shouldn’t advise people not to do ANY business with ANYONE in Africa, rather they should be EXTREMELY suspect about any email-based buyers who CLAIM to be from Africa. So thank you again for kindly bringing this to my attention. With this in mind, I will take the initiative to edit my idiotically stated post.
• According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Nigerian scams accounted for the highest losses per incident of any reported Internet-related financial crime in 2008 with an average loss of $5,100.
• A Dutch private investigation firm which has studied the problem for a decade estimates that U.S. companies and individuals lost $720 million dollars in 2005. Consumers in the United Kingdom lost $520 million. Nigerian scam losses from 37 countries in 2005 approached $3.2 billion dollars.
• Of the Nigerian scam criminals who could be traced, 71% lived in the U.S. Nigeria accounted for the next highest portion, 7.9%.