Take action on Nigerian scam letters

The Nigerian scam and variations of it is reaching epidemic proportion. I’ve received many e-mails from people reporting solicitations of this type, and they want to know what to do about it. Most of the offers to share in millions of dollars of illicit money purport to be from somewhere in Africa. Although the scam started in Nigeria, the importuning messages now come from a variety of countries ranging from Sierra Leone to South Africa.

If you receive one of these scam e-mails, there is something you can and should do it. The RCMP and the Ontario Provincial Police are working to bust up these operations, although it’s a difficult task because most if not all of these letters originate from outside Canada. Nonetheless, they want to hear from you if you receive one of these letters.

The following is posted on the RCMP Web site. To read the full warning, go to: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams/nigerian.htm

“Please forward Nigerian/African letters to [email protected] The Phonebusters National Call Center (‘PNCC’) is a joint partnership involving the Onrio Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The PNCC is very interested in receiving copies of any ‘new’ versions of Nigerian letter scheme, particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. This valuable intelligence information is used to assist in the strategic targeting of would be fraudsters.

So don’t just delete the letters, as most of us do. Who knows, the one you send on may contain a vital clue that cracks another of these sleazy rings.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in Internet Wealth Builder, a weekly newsletter that provides investment advice from some of Canada’s top financial experts on topics ranging from stocks to income trusts.