# Serious issue here. Â I need some suggestions.



## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

My dad and his friend have fallen for the Nigerian 415/Advance Fee Fraud Scam. Â The details vary, but the basic way it works is that you are "chosen" to help "rescue" millions from Nigeria. Â For your help, you receive a large part of the loot, typically about 30%. Â The scamsters typically get their money when "complications" arise at the last minute and they need money for taxes, bribes, attorney's fees, and so on.

My father was contacted by these folks and I thought I had put the issue to bed. Â However, yesterday I found out that he and the scamsters have continued to communicate for months and he is apparently convinced, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that the deal is legit.

So today, I found out that he has flown to London along with a friend of his to meet with the scamsters. Â They wanted him to meet them in Africa, but when he balked, they agreed to meet in London. I had a huge fight on the phone with him last night, but he would not listen. Â I did not know until today that he was already gone.

I know these guys are very slick. Â They will present all sorts of photos, official looking documents and so on. Â The amazing thing is that my dad is a highly educated man. Â He has a Doctorate in Law and a Masters in Economics. Â His traveling companion, who is apparently also in on the "deal" is a former bank President.

He's likely still in the air, but he'll be in London soon. Â I know that he is about to get nailed, financially almost for certain and possibly physically as well.

Anyone have any suggestions?


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Fly here too to be able to help him in case things turn nasty.

Or employ a bodyguard in the UK to look after him/them during their stay.

This is dangerous stuff...trusting strangers and especially these people that are well known for this scum.

I am thinking that your dad is getting old and can't think properly any longer, despite his education. :-/


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## newcasTTle (Nov 29, 2002)

there is a special unit of the metropolian police that deal with this specific problem - maybe you should contact them - they might be interested in catching them in the middle of a deal plus these guys are known to be very dangerous - hope you get it sorted...


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

Don't suppose that you have a phone number for this unit?


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Go to the www.BT.com web site and there is a telephone directory there. You may be able to locate them somehow.


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## neilp (May 7, 2002)

I'd contact Scotland Yard (Metropolitan Police) In London;

New Scotland Yard
Broadway
London
SW1H OBG

Telephone: 020 7230 1212

and ask them for advice, good luck

Neil


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

Have a look here

http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/

I just hope that your dad comes to his senses very soon.Keep us informed


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

Come on - this has got to be a wind up. You say

"The amazing thing is that my dad is a highly educated man. He has a Doctorate in Law and a Masters in Economics. His traveling companion, who is apparently also in on the "deal" is a former bank President"

come on - they cant be that gullable or greedy :


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

> Come on - this has got to be a wind up. You say
> 
> "The amazing thing is that my dad is a highly educated man. Â He has a Doctorate in Law and a Masters in Economics. Â His traveling companion, who is apparently also in on the "deal" is a former bank President"
> 
> come on - they cant be that gullable or greedy Â :


When you become old (i.e. over 30 ;D ;D) your intelliegence dimishes somehwat :-X, so this maybe true!


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## jonhaff (May 20, 2002)

just call the police and make it fast its about time they had a break and actually catch someone.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

It's strange how greed overtakes common sense in siuations like this. :-/

I guess if you haven't already then phone the number above. I think the actual number you dial will be +44 20 7230 1212 as you're calling from outside the UK.

Good luck.


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

or possibly 011 44 20 7230 1212 :-/



> It's strange how greed overtakes common sense in siuations like this. Â :-/
> 
> I guess if you haven't already then phone the number above. Â I think the actual number you dial will be +44 20 7230 1212 as you're calling from outside the UK.
> 
> Good luck.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

hence the plus sign.


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## r1 (Oct 31, 2002)

Simply show him the following site:

www.ebolamonkeyman.com

If he still doesn't believe it's a scam then, no disrespect, he deserves to lose his money. :-/


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## StuarTT (May 7, 2002)

> Simply show him the following site:
> 
> www.ebolamonkeyman.com
> 
> If he still doesn't believe it's a scam then, no disrespect, he deserves to lose his money. :-/


Or worse. You need to get onto the police as quickly as possible.

There was an article in the papers 2 to 3 weeks ago about someone who had disappeared after going to Nigeria to try and find out what had happened to their money. Hasn't been heard from since.

Good luck!

P.S. I hope for your sake that you are not trying to wind us up!


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> Come on - this has got to be a wind up. You say
> 
> "The amazing thing is that my dad is a highly educated man. Â He has a Doctorate in Law and a Masters in Economics. Â His traveling companion, who is apparently also in on the "deal" is a former bank President"
> 
> come on - they cant be that gullable or greedy Â :


Yes, they were that gullible and greedy.


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

I just hope that you speak to your father sooner rather than later :-/


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

I spoke with a number of individuals. Everyone from Scotland Yard to the U.S. State Dept and the local Paddington Police. Ultimately, the folks who helped him out were the investigators from the West African Crimes Unit of the Metro Police.

They paid my father and his friend a visit at their hotel and (apparently) convinced him that he was about to be ripped off or worse. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, as I had 1 conversation with my father and several conversations with the law enforcement authorities, but I think we were able to get the message through.

Thanks for your help and concern and kudos to the investigators from the Metro Police Specialist Crime OCU Fraud Squad. A lot of times, I think some law enforcement types feel like they can't do much until the crime actually occurs. These investigators were proactive and aggressive and I think they saved pop's bacon!


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## StuarTT (May 7, 2002)

Good news.

It's been a while that anyone on the forum had a good word to say about the police. :-*


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

What about the Nigerians that your dad and his friend were about to meet........any word on them ?


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> What about the Nigerians that your dad and his friend were about to meet........any word on them Â ? Â


He was apparently supposed to meet them tomorrow. I don't know if they asked him to assist in their capture or not. Sounds like my dad just wants to get out of London.

If I were him, I'd probably be embarassed, but take a few days off to spend some time in the city. I'm sure I'll get all of the details once he gets back to Southern California.


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

Has he had any contact with them whilst he has been in London ?


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> Has he had any contact with them whilst he has been in London ?


I don't believe so. However, I don't know that for a fact. I only know that the scheduled meeting was tomorrow (Thursday).


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

Well I just hope that the boys in blue manage to get hold of these Nigerian assholes


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

I agree 100%. I don't know if the police are continuing their investigation in this case, or if it will be concluded with my father's departure. I would assume that they asked him a lot of questions, but since I haven't conversed with him firsthand since his encounters with the police, I would only be speculating.


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

Please keep us all informed of the final outcome


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> Please keep us all informed of the final outcome Â


Will do.


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

I wonder if this story will make the news over here if they have done this to a lot of people?


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> I wonder if this story will make the news over here if they have done this to a lot of people?


I doubt that it will. Sadly, it seems to be an all too common occurance. I found an article in a UK newspaper which addressed the issue of masses of foreigners loitering in London hotel lobbies awaiting their meeting with West African con artists, who will presumably lead them to that elusive pot of gold.

FWIW, UK residents are often scammed as well and they too are led out of their home country. The scams almost never occur in the victim's country of origin.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

It's absolutely incredible that such an educated and accomplished man can fall for this. What hope is there for the rest of us


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

> It's absolutely incredible that such an educated and accomplished man can fall for this. Â What hope is there for the rest of us


All we can do is stay on our guard and, remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. :-/


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Fools and their money... :


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

My father just called me from London. He said that the police spent several hours with him and that they were quite impressive. "On a scale of 1-10, they were a 15", he said.

The police obtained quite a bit of information on the con artists and told pop that his assistance was quite useful. They also completely convinced him of the scope and magnitude of this fraud, and though he was initially upset at my intervention, my father is now quite grateful that I went out of my way to save his arse.

He wanted to pay quite a bit extra to come home early, but I convinced him and his friend to try to get beyond the incident and have some fun while in London. I also encouraged him to consider spending a day in Paris, time permitting, as he's never been there before.

So it looks as if all's well that ends well and it appears that this will end on a favorable note. Once again, thank you for your comments, suggestions and concern!


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

Glad to hear that pops bacon was saved  although I really do hope that these Nigerian assholes get their come uppance


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

There was a website some time ago where a UK guy had begun to toy with one of these guys, arranging to meet him and then claiming he'd been detained by immagration and that's why he hadn't turned up.

If I could find it I would send you the link. Now that your father is out of it, he might find it interesting reading.

Then again, he probably just wishes to forget about the whole thing. Pleased you managed to sort it.


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

Sure, let me know if you find the article.

By the way, here is my most recent response from the UK West African Fraud Investigator...

Brad,

Very briefly -
Owing to the stage that the fraud was at it was not viable to continue an investigation, based on your father's financial loss.

Having assessed the information that your father provided, there is also an question of what substantive offences had been committed up until
now, that come under UK jurisdiction.

I've spoken to your father about what has happened whilst he was in the US and the fact that he may well be further contacted by persons trying to continue or extend the fraud on his return. The avenue for any further reports should be directed through the USSS.

All that said, I have all the details that your father has provided concerning the circumstances and the identities used, these details will be of use here in the UK.

That's the basis of it, you now doubt understand that I can't go into further details at this time.
Please give my regards to your father on his return, I hope the remainder of his trip will not be so eventful!

Kind regards

DC Chris XXXX


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

> DC Chris XXXX


LOL and XXXX (kisses I assume) at the end! :-/


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## r1 (Oct 31, 2002)

> Sure, let me know if you find the article. Â
> 
> By the way, here is my most recent response from the UK West African Fraud Investigator...
> 
> ...


I think the website that was mentioned was the one I commented on earlier:

www.ebolamonkeyman.com

Read some of the examples - there are loads on there and some are pretty funny.

Glad to hear the English police impressed.

R1 XXXX


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## Fin (May 7, 2002)

I would say the XXXXX's are to protect the identity of the policeman.

:

Fin


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

As it happens - it wasn't precisely that one, but it was very much like it.


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## HumphreyF (Nov 7, 2003)

Oh please tell me this happened!

How do you 'fall' so momumentally into such an obvious scam? The guys who carry out this type of thing have, at best, a feeble grip of the English language and are absolute tyros at this sort of thing. Many of them spend a lot of their free time in interent cafes chasing the 'dream' of the gullible punter without ever actually hooking one before.

Only in America eh?


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

LOL ;D


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## EighTT (Jun 10, 2003)

> Oh please tell me this happened!
> 
> How do you 'fall' so momumentally into such an obvious scam? ...
> 
> Only in America eh?


Actually, the losses to UK residents are enormous. I read somewhere that UK citizens are bilked out of over 100,000,000 pounds annually.

Victims are mostly English-speaking, but this is certainly not an issue solely related to America. For more info, follow this link: http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm


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## HumphreyF (Nov 7, 2003)

> Actually, the losses to UK residents are enormous. Â I read somewhere that UK citizens are bilked out of over 100,000,000 pounds annually.
> 
> Victims are mostly English-speaking, but this is certainly not an issue solely related to America. Â For more info, follow this link: http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm


I suspect your figures are way out of date my cigar smoking, strait-jacket wearing friend. This sort of fraud is a laughable travisty of it's former self.


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