Nigerian scam alert is crucial

In conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Northeast COMBAT brings you this alert.

The letter arrives unexpectedly, with the intriguing signs of an international mailing: the red and blue aerogram border on light-weight paper, foreign postage and the postmark of a faraway country. You don’t know a soul there, but, naturally, you’re curious. Opening the envelope, you notice the letter is unaddressed, without letterhead.

Clearly, it is a form letter. Nevertheless, your eyes are drawn to the bold print across the top of the page, which reads: “Confidential Business Proposal.”This hardly prepares you for what follows.

In awkward and stilted English, the author of the letter proceeds to spin a story, extremely implausible to most readers, but tempting to others with perhaps more vivid imaginations and higher greed quotients.

The vast majority of Nigerian scams are aimed at business or government agencies rather than private individuals or small businesses. There are several, however, about which consumers, churches and small business owners should be forewarned.

Be wary when a letter arrives with offers to sell your products in the vast, untapped markets of Nigeria or all of West Africa. It seems logical. All you need is an agent in the country who can help with customs requirements, red tape and marketing.

Eventually, you’ll be invited to express-ship several thousand dollars worth of samples. The letter writers will do the rest. They may even offer to sent a letter of credit to establish financial credibility.

Many owners of small- and medium-sized businesses see dollar signs when they hear offers such as these. In fact, there may be business opportunities abroad, but this isn’t one of them. You might as well kiss your samples goodbye.

Another scam includes unsolicited offers from the Nigerian public servants who are auditing finances of the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. and have discovered unspent millions of dollars they want to spirit out of the country. With your help, it can be done. But, they need your bank account. In return, they offer to share a third of the booty with you — for a fee.

Still another scam features a notification that a wealthy American missionary has died in Nigeria, leaving behind millions of dollars to your organization or church. The money will be wired to you as soon as the inheritance taxes are paid and the estate is probated.

Do any of these scams have similarities? You bet. You’ll be tempted with a huge payoff of one kind or another. But, first, you must ante up thousands of dollars to show your “good faith.”

Don’t trust any such offer. They are just scams.

Consumer Forum is a collaborative effort of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT. Send your questions to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. COMBAT is a membership organization with basic dues of $10 a year. For membership information write to the above address. Please enclose a large, stamped, self-addressed envelope.