Tag Archives: FBI

Business

The Nigerian Letter or “419” Scam


I wrote a blog about the Nigerian scam sometime ago.  I’m repeating this warning from the FBI since I know someone who fell for this scheme.  The person would not tell me how much he lost, and he was somewhat sheepish about it.

So anyhow, here goes, hopefully it will prevent someone from going off the deep end and losing a lot of money to these dirt bags.

“Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter mailed from Nigeria offers the recipient the “opportunity” to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author—a self-proclaimed government official—is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers, and other identifying information using a fax number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via e-mail through the Internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a “propensity for larceny” by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.

Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria. In actuality, the millions of dollars do not exist, and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss. Once the victim stops sending money, the perpetrators have been known to use the personal information and checks that they received to impersonate the victim, draining bank accounts and credit card balances. While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. Some victims have been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned against their will along with losing large sums of money. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victim actually conspires to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label “419 fraud.”

Tips for Avoiding Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud:

  • If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Complaint Assistant. 
  • If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
  • Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
  • Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
  • Guard your account information carefully.

Source The FBI

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Real Estate

Mortgage Fraud Remains Rampant, FBI Says

About $10 billion in originated loans last year contained fraudulent information, according to CoreLogic.

“The current and continuing depressed housing market will likely remain an attractive environment for mortgage fraud perpetrators who will continue to seek new methods to circumvent loopholes and gaps in the mortgage lending market,” said a new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that cited CoreLogic’s figures.

The most prevalent mortgage fraud schemes include fraud involving loan origination, foreclosure-rescue initiatives, short sales, property flipping, equity skimming, builder bailouts, and reverse mortgages, the FBI says. Additionally, it’s finding many of the mortgage fraud schemes have a strong connection to organized crime.

“There have been numerous instances in which various organized criminal groups were involved in mortgage fraud activity,” the FBI says. “Asian, Balkan, Armenian, La Cosa Nostra, Russian, and Eurasian organized crime groups have been linked to various mortgage fraud schemes, such as short sale fraud and loan origination schemes.”

Source: “Mortgage Fraud Remains Prevalent, Organized Crime Involved: FBI,” HousingWire (Aug. 12, 2011)

 
For all your real estate needs
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Travel

Trip to Virginia and Washington D.C. – Day 1 – Quantico, VA

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May  12, 2011

By Judy J. Pinegar

Arriving at Dulles International late Wednesday, John and I were picked up by John’s daughter’s husband’s mother, Pat who drove us to Dale City, Virginia, her house, to be our base for the trip.

Sleeping to an embarrassing 11:00 AM local time, and after breakfast, we were dropped by Pat at a train station thinking to go late to Washington DC. NO Deal… it was a commuter train station. After reading all signs in the building and outside (the office [and bathroom] was closed from Noon to 3:00 PM), we decided our only option was a local bus to Quantico VA, about 15 miles south of our location. A helpful bus driver (and all of the passengers) encouraged us to stop first at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, off the Jefferson Davis Highway at the “Triangle.” A brief walk and we see the beautiful first view of the Museum.

After a quick visit to the Mess Hall, we spent a couple of hours in the museum.

 

museum-rafael-angel-calderd

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Rafael Angel Calderón Museum

 

Knowing we had to catch the local bus to go to the town of Quantico, we walked back to the bus stop, and with impeccable timing, the bus was there within 5 minutes (pure luck on our part). I was hoping to see the FBI training center and other sites I had read about (crime novels), but I was disappointed as the bus went through trees and more trees, with some turnoffs we didn’t get to take, until we got to the tiny town of Quantico. One of the residents told us it was “the only town in America totally within a Marine Base”… and indeed that was what we found. No museums, lots of housing, lots of barbershops, lots of military clothing stores, a few restaurants, and not as many bars as I had expected. Really very quiet.

But we toured the town, found a place to eat and were back at the bus stop by 8:00 PM for the ride back to the Woodbridge Train/Bus Station.

At least we were successful in doing something with our first half-day in Virginia! On to DC tomorrow… this time with an early wake-up call.

By Judy J. Pinegar
Judy is a writer who has written for numerous websites and magazines
She may be reached by email jpinegar@calwisp.com
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