Craig Daily Press / Craig briefs for Jan. 12

Archive for Monday, January 12, 2009

January 12, 2009

Police: Beware of fraud scheme

A new twist on the "Nigerian" scam entails attempting to legitimize mailings to people by appearing to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Craig Police Department reported in a news release.

The mailings indicate the FBI is collaborating with other "international crime agencies" to stop fraud incidents occurring with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The letter purports to involve a claim for millions of dollars that requires contact for documentation on the claim in order to wire funds to the receiver of this letter.

"However," police report in the release, "reading the letter, it becomes obvious that there are numerous grammatical errors and omissions in the wording, which are a clear indication that the letter is not authentic and certainly did not originate with a federal entity. In addition, no federal organization would advise a citizen to contact a foreign business office, as in this case, reportedly the Central Bank of Nigeria."

Any similar correspondence, either by mail or e-mail, which present information involving foreign governments or banking institutions, and originate out of Canada, Europe or Nigeria, immediately should alert the receiver that he or she is receiving fraudulent correspondence, police said.

Suspicions should be verified with the receiver's local bank or law enforcement.