The “Nigerian” Email Scam The Bait: Con artists claim to be officials, businesspeople, or the surviving spouses of former government honchos in Nigeria or another country whose money is somehow tied up for a limited time. They offer to transfer lots of money into your bank account if you will pay a fee or “taxes” to help them access their money. If you respond to the initial offer, you may receive documents that look “official.” Then they ask you to send money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney's fees, as well as blank letterhead, your bank account numbers, or other information. They may even encourage you to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete the transaction. Some fraudsters have even produced trunks of dyed or stamped money to verify their claims. The Catch: The emails are from crooks trying to steal your money or perpetrate identity theft. Inevitably, emergencies come up, requiring more of your money and delaying the “transfer” of funds to your account; in the end, there aren't any profits for you, and the scam artist vanishes with your money. According to State Department reports, people who have responded to “pay in advance ” solicitations have been beaten, subjected to threats and extortion, and in some cases, murdered. Your Safety Net: If you receive an email from someone claiming to need your help getting money out of a foreign country, don't respond. Forward “Nigerian” scams — including all the email addressing information — to spam@uce.gov. If you've lost money to one of these schemes, call your local Secret Service field office. Local field offices are listed in the Blue Pages of your telephone directory.

HI DOUG, I don't ever respond to any of these scams. I thank you for letting us know this information. God bless you! Carla

I think my sister-in-law was caught up in at least two of these. She's a recluse, lives through her computer, and is very vulnerable to anyone who will offer her friendship. I'm not sure how the scamsters made money in the first instance, but she agreed to accept a shipment, and in fact a mini-motorcycle was delivered to her. Shipping costs were exhorbitant, and she is now making payments to UPS on an income of only about $500 per month. It's infuriating to me that these people prey on those who can least afford to lose money. Then she became "engaged" to a man from Nigeria who was later "killed". Supposedly she has inherited his fortune. I guess identity theft is the object of this one, as she hasn't been asked for money yet. They have spent nearly two years setting this up. No one can convince her that her 'fiance' was a figment of someone's evil imagination. She has been depressed for weeks over his 'death' Everyone should be aware that there are bizarre and dangerous twists to these things. I feel sorry for legitimate businesses in the area...I have so little trust for anything coming out of that entire continent that I won't even read the entire email. Cheri