ProcurementAlert.com » Nigerian http://www.procurementalert.com Strong partnerships forge strong companies Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:19:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Warning: Do NOT put this person in charge of your finances http://www.procurementalert.com/warning-do-not-put-this-person-in-charge-of-your-finances/ http://www.procurementalert.com/warning-do-not-put-this-person-in-charge-of-your-finances/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:57:11 +0000 Charlie Walker http://www.procurementalert.com/?p=366 An Oregon resident has shelled out $400,000 falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book (or at least on the Internet).

That’s right. The Nigerian e-mail scam.

Can you imagine what she could’ve done if she had access to your cash box?

This woman said an e-mail offering $20.5 million caught her eye, because it asked her to find a long-lost relative with the same last name.

OK, so that made it a bit more tempting. So she sent $100.

We’re not dealing with a mental midget here. This woman is a nursing administrator and CPR teacher.

But she still:

  • mortgaged her house
  • took a lien on the family car, and
  • cleaned out her husband’s retirement account.

You know what makes it even more painful?

Her family and her bank pleaded with her to stop. She didn’t heed their warnings.

The first $100 was sent through an untraceable wire service.

Then, a flood of phony documents followed. “Guaranteed” documents from the Bank of Nigeria and the United Nations asked for her help.

Ever wondered why scammers keep sending out “Nigerian” scheme e-mails — when everyone has seen them?

Because it taps into a human weakness — greed for easy money — and it still works.

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