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Scams come from many different places in the world. One place in particular is the continent of Africa. The country of Nigeria seems to be a major source of scam letters such as the Nigerian inheritance scam coming either from a bank employee or a person dying of the cancer. The Scam Coming From the Bank EmployeeIn the case of the bank employee, the employee claims to be an account manager or such and has discovered an account belonging to a person who usually has died in an accident such as a car or plane crash. The cause of death may vary in the scam email but the account is unclaimed according to the bank manager. The scam email that was sent to the targeted victim requests help in getting the money out of the country by having the scam victim pose as next of kin. The Scam Comes From A Dying PersonThe dying person states that they want to do good in the world before they die and will call upon religion in some cases. They promise to give the email recipient a large percentage of a $1 million fortune to setup a charity for orphans. The Scam Comes Mainly From OverseasThe Lottery Scam Comes From Europe Including the UKThe Africa scam comes from countries outside of Africa as well. In the case of the UK, the scam comes from London, England most of the time with the scammer using the title of barrister. One particular type of scam coming from the UK is the lottery scam where the intended scam victim has won millions of dollars or pounds. In order to claim the prize, the scam victim must send their personal information such as name, address, etc. to claim the money. The lottery scam letters also mention Madrid, Spain on occasion. Also, it is stated sometimes in the scam letter that the lottery scam comes from Microsoft or Yahoo in some cases. Coca-Cola might also be mentioned in a scam letter. Other European countries that scams come from by appearance are the Netherlands or Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Russia. Scams Come From Other Continents AlsoScams come also from other continents such as Asia, Australia, North and South America. They include such countries as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In the Western Hemisphere, Canada, the United States of America, Mexico and Paraguay have been mentioned in scam letters. The 419 Check Scam Coming From NigeriaThe Nigerian scam as well as any other African scam commences with the email to the targeted victim. The check scam comes after the scam victim has responded to the scammers email. Fees, bribes and other excesses have to be paid to free up the money for transfer. As a result, the scammer sends the victim a check to be cashed and then to send the money back. The check is fake, however, and the scam victim ends up having the money drawn out of their account. The check scam coming from Nigeria is known as 419 fraud. The African scam comes mostly from West Africa which has countries such as Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast or Cote dIvoire, Benin, Burkina Faso and, of course, Nigeria. Scams come from the Sudan and South Africa also. Scam CommunicationsScam communications mostly take place by email, at least in the beginning. If the scam is more involved then telephone, letter or other means of communication might be used. Scam communications, whether or not by email, should not be responded to. A scam coming from a foreign country should be reported to an appropriate authority such as a government agency that does law-enforcement or Internet and email service providers. Report a scam coming from any foreign country especially African ones such as Nigeria. Although a scam comes from anywhere in the world, by recognizing and identifying scam letters it is possible to avoid becoming a scam victim. Examples of scam letters are provided to help get an idea of the scam letters method and structure. Once identified, authorities should be notified such as the FBI. Scams coming from overseas or at home can be dealt with when recognized and understood.
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