Scamming You Twice: New E-mail Scam Targets Past Victims

July 30, 2007 1:04 PM

Ben Wei Reports:

Hoping their victims will fall for their false claims twice, e-mail scammers are targeting past victims of similar frauds claiming their lost money will be refunded.

Posing as delegates of the "Nigerian Government Reimbursement Committee," online scammers are seeking out victims of Nigerian e-mail scams and promising them a $150,000 reimbursement award.

An e-mail circulating around the Internet claims the Reimbursement Committee is "under the strict supervision of the United Nations" and is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to repay scam victims.

In order to claim their $150,000 award, individuals are ordered to provide an upfront processing fee of $850. This tactic, called "advance-fee fraud," has been the signature mark of these scams. 

Once an individual provides the scammers with his or her personal information, he or she is sent a "Certificate of Victimization." 

One ABC News intern e-mailed the scammers and specifically stated he was not a victim. They still sent him the certificate.

ABC News investigated Nigerian e-mail scams, called "419 scams," last year. The scammers target wealthy Americans, or "mugus," asking them to pay thousands of dollars in "processing fees" before they can collect on the big payout. The victims eventually discover the promised riches are a fraud. 

Ed Mezvinsky, a former Democratic congressman from Iowa, is serving a seven-year sentence for fraud after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams. Mezvinsky traveled to Nigeria numerous times and ultimately lost more than $3 million as a victim of the scammers.

Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?

July 30, 2007 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (25)

Exclusive: The Secret Behind the 'Black Money' Scam

March 09, 2007 2:07 PM

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

The "black money" scam is one of the most ingenious tricks pulled off by Internet con artists.

Victims receive an e-mail saying they've inherited millions of dollars but that the money has been coated in black ink in order to smuggle it out of Nigeria.  They are then told they have to buy a special, very expensive chemical that can clean the black money so it can be used. 

Dr. Tim Sloan, a California heart surgeon, said a con man posing as a diplomat named Davidson used the special chemical to turn samples of black money into real $100 bills. 

Click Here for Photos of the "Black Money" Scam.

Sloan eventually lost his life savings before he realized the suitcase full of black money that he was told was worth $3.8 million was little more than black construction paper. "I don't like being a fool," Dr. Sloan told ABC News.

But after 20/20 was able to catch "Davidson" in the act, he decided to come clean and give us a rare, inside look at how the black money scam is performed. 

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

"Davidson" is actually a native of Ghana named Eric, who worked as the U.S. representative for a group of con men based in Nigeria.

Eric said the trick involves first cutting thousands of currency-sized pieces from black construction paper and putting them in a box or suitcase.  But he also takes a few real $100 bills, coats them with a protective layer of glue and then dyes them black with tincture of iodine.  These are the bills that will later be cleaned with the expensive "magic chemical" that is really just water mixed with crushed Vitamin C tablets.  Eric said he can sell this solution to a greedy victim "even for a $1 million."

When he performs the black money demonstration, Eric asks his mark to randomly select several of the pieces of black construction paper from the suitcase.  He then distracts the victim's attention and does a quick switch, pulling out the pre-treated blackened $100 bills. 

Before the victim's amazed eyes, Eric then uses his "magic solution" to clean off the black coating, and presto, genuine $100 bills emerge.  Eric said he gives these bills to the victim and tells him he can spend them to prove they are for real. 

Eric said he had successfully used the black money trick to scam over 20 victims out of more than $100,000.  According to Eric, "The first time it amazed me.  And money started coming from it, and I couldn't stop it."

March 9, 2007 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (38)

Exclusive: Confessions of an Internet Scammer

March 08, 2007 2:20 PM

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

The U.S. operative for a Nigerian Internet scam ring has turned on his one-time colleagues, providing new details of who they are and how they work, for a report to broadcast on 20/20 this Friday.

Eric Amoako, a native of Ghana, made the decision to "come clean" and end his days of crime after being caught on 20/20 undercover cameras attempting to scam a California heart surgeon.

In a remarkably frank interview, Amoako described feeling little guilt about taking more than $100,000 from Americans who fell for the Internet scams, which often depend on the gullibility and the greed of the victims.

Click Here to Watch the Brian Ross Webcast.

"The greedier the person, the easier it becomes for me," Amoako said.

The scams involve a variety of instant riches: helping a famous person move illegal money, collecting inheritance money from a previously unknown relatives, setting up bank accounts or cashing checks for suspects money transfers.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Most of the scams involve the payment of an advance fee, for "storage charges" or "legal costs," to collect the supposed millions.

"Whoever falls for it, it's out of greed," Amoako said. "We call them mugus, big fools."

Amoako says he would be contacted by scammers operating out of Lagos, Nigeria, who would initially find the victim and then send Amoako, posing as a Nigerian diplomat, to pick up the money.

Amoako provided the Blotter on ABCNews.com with names and locations of the Internet scammers he worked for even though he fears they could retaliate against him.

"They get millions of dollars from this thing, and if you are going to expose them, they will be prepared to kill you," he said.

Amoako also provided the names of his next intended victims, and 20/20 cameras accompanied him as he went to them to tell them they had been scammed.

The full report airs on 20/20 Friday night.

Click here for the Blotter's full coverage of the Nigerian Internet scams.

March 8, 2007 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (70)

ABC Expose Doesn't Stop Scammer From Trying Again

December 11, 2006 1:25 PM

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

Read the fascinating e-mail exchanges for yourself.

Even after he was told he would be featured on a 20/20 expose, a Nigerian scammer continued his efforts to get a California heart surgeon, Dr. Tim Sloan, to send him more money.

Dr. Sloan says he had already lost $340,000 when he contacted 20/20 about the latest version of the scam, involving "black money."

In the scam, victims are shown black pieces of paper and told a special, expensive chemical will remove the black coating and reveal millions in cash.

Dr. Sloan told the Nigerian scammer, a Mr. Ebi, that he was going public on 20/20 to expose the scam.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

What follows  are Dr. Sloan's e-mails to Nigeria, and the response in which the scammer threatens, cajoles and promises new riches.

Read the fascinating e-mail exchanges for yourself.

December 11, 2006 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (107)

Black Money: The Latest Twist in the Billion Dollar Nigerian Scam Racket

December 08, 2006 12:29 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

There are hundreds of variations on the Nigerian e-mail scams, including one in which the victims are told they've inherited millions, millions in money that has been painted black to smuggle it out of Nigeria.

In the scam, as caught on hidden cameras in Amsterdam, victims are told there is a special, very expensive chemical that can clean the black money so it can be used.

"So with this stuff the real colors come back?" a reporter asks.

The scammer replies, "Yeah."

The victim is told the chemical can cost up to $200,000 a batch. And the scammers put on an elaborate demonstration to show how it works. Powders are sprinkled; the money is washed; and presto, it's clean.

Of course, the demonstration is done with real bills while the remainder of the black bills are just pieces of paper.

Click Here for the Brian Ross Investigative Homepage.

Dr. Tim Sloan, a California heart surgeon, lost his life savings -- about $340,000 -- to Nigerian scammers before he realized the suitcase full of black money that he was told was worth $3.8 million was little more than black construction paper.

"I don't like being a fool," Dr. Sloan told ABC News.

After Dr. Sloan made contact with 20/20, ABC News secretly taped a meeting with the scammers who had performed the bill washing demonstration for him.

They came to collect $25,000 in cash they said would buy enough of the magic chemical to clean $15 million dollars worth.

"Now is the money we're giving you, the $25,000, is that enough money to clean the entire $3.8 million?" ABC News Producer Len Tepper asks on the undercover tape.

"Yeah, not only the 3.8. It will clean the entire $15 million," the scammer, Mr. Davidson, tells him.

Then the tables are turned, and the scammers get scammed.

Brian Ross: Excuse me, excuse me gentlemen. Brian Ross from ABC News. What is this?

Scammer: I have never seen anything like this.

Brian Ross: Come on, feel this. This is construction paper. This is a scam.

The scammer's sobbing did not impress Dr. Sloan, who asked them to leave.

The scammers left, but they left behind the suitcase of black money and yet another victim bankrupt and humiliated.

And the victims include hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans, among them a former congressman and a group of Christian community leaders in Delaware.

December 8, 2006 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (95)

Former Congressman Duped by Nigerian Scams

December 08, 2006 9:59 AM

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

If reports are true that Chelsea Clinton and her boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky are considering marriage, the father of the groom won't be able to attend the wedding until he is released from prison in November 2008.

Ed Mezvinsky, a former Democratic Congressman from Iowa, is serving a seven-year sentence for fraud after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams.

Initially, Mezvinsky became the victim of "just about every different kind of African-based scam we've ever seen," federal prosecutor Bob Zauzmer told 20/20 for a report to be broadcast this evening.

But then, says Zauzmer, Mezvinsky began to steal from clients and even his own mother-in-law to raise the money to try yet another scheme.

"He was always looking for the home run. He was always trying to find the business deal that would make him as wealthy as all the people in his social circle," said Zauzmer.

Click Here for the Brian Ross Investigative Homepage.

After leaving Congress, Mezvinsky moved to Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs with his wife Marjorie Margolies, a former television reporter, who won a seat in Congress herself as a Democratic congresswomen from Pennsylvania.

"They were seen as people of means; they were a legitimate power couple," said Gar Joseph, a political columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.

The Mezvinkskys were also close to Bill and Hillary Clinton and were frequent guests at White House state dinners.

Prosecutors say Mezvinsky used his connections to the Clintons and his son's social relationship with Chelsea to persuade people to give him money to participate in the scams.

Mezvinsky traveled to Nigeria numerous times and ultimately lost more than $3 million as a victim of the scammers.

Prosecutors say Mezvinsky fell particularly hard for what is known as the "black money" scam.  Victims are told millions of dollars have been coated with black ink so the money could be smuggled out of Nigeria.

Click here to see undercover video of the "black money" scam.

The scammers then offer to sell a special, expensive chemical to remove the black ink so the currency can be used.

Prosecutors say Mezvinsky fell for at least three separate "black money" schemes that he thought would bring him millions.

Mezvinsky declined requests sent to him in prison to speak with ABC News and also instructed his lawyer not to speak with ABC News. His wife, Marjorie Margolies, declined to comment "in the interest of the children."

There is no evidence the Clintons knew of any illegal activity.

December 8, 2006 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (346)

Despite Growing Scams, U.S. Secret Service Pulls Agents Out of Nigeria

December 07, 2006 12:22 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Despite massive counterfeiting of U.S. currency and checks in Nigeria, the American law enforcement agency with principal jurisdiction, the Secret Service, has closed its office in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigerian officials said the decision has hurt efforts to crack down on criminal rings that produce the counterfeit currency and cheat thousands of Americans with online scams.

Check out video on how to spot counterfeit check scams.

"It's something that I find difficult to understand," said Ibrahim Lamorde, who heads the Lagos office of the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Lamorde says Nigeria has become a center of high quality counterfeit currency, postal money orders and bank checks.

"They need an office here," said Lamorde, who praised the FBI which continues to maintain an office in Lagos.

Click Here for the Brian Ross Investigative Homepage.

Nigerian investigators say they were told the Secret Service agents found the living conditions in the impoverished city of Lagos too difficult.

"The decision on any of our overseas staffing is based on operational demands and investigative priorities," a spokesman at Secret Service headquarters in Washington said. With their agents now stationed in Pretoria, South Africa, a short flight away, the spokesman maintained, "We are comfortable with our efforts in that part of the world."

But Nigerian officials said the decision makes no sense if the Secret Service wants to maximize opportunities to stop the counterfeit scams.

"There is no way you can talk about issues of counterfeiting and financial crimes without being in Nigeria," said Lamorde.  "I think they need to have a rethink," he said.   

December 7, 2006 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (39)

Churches, Ministers Targeted By Nigerian E-mail Scammers

December 06, 2006 12:30 PM

Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee Report:

Nigerian e-mail scammers are successfully targeting American churches and ministers, cheating them out of millions of dollars under the guise of spreading the word of Jesus.

"They are going after small churches, claiming someone has left them a lot of money to improve their church or help others," U.S. postal inspector Steve Korinko told ABC News for an investigative report on the Nigerian scams to be aired Friday on 20/20 and World News with Charles Gibson.

The catch, says Korinko, is that the church has to pay a legal fee or a Nigerian tax to collect the money.

An offer of $41,000,000 to the Hickory Ridge Community Church in Sussex County, Del., allowed scammers to cheat a group of prominent Christians out of $350,000.

"It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant," said Jeff Premo, an accountant hired by the church whose early skepticism about the offer ultimately dissolved after the Nigerians professed their faith.

"I thought I could ask them about, you know, 'Can you confess Jesus as Lord?' And they could answer all that," Premo told ABC News.

Premo traveled to Africa three times where he says the scammers posed as Nigerian diplomats.  After he and the other community leaders ran out of money, Premo contacted the FBI and participated in an undercover sting that led to the arrest and conviction of the scammers in this country.

"They touched me on my hot button," Premo told ABC News about his faith.  "Everybody had a hot button," he said.

U.S. postal inspectors say there are similar cases involving Christian churches being targeted across the country.

In Massachusetts, prosecutors say John Worley, an ordained minister and Christian psychotherapist, got so caught up in a Nigerian scam he went from being a victim to becoming an accomplice.

Convicted of fraud, Worley is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.

The widely-reported case of Mary Winkler, the Tennessee woman accused of murdering her minister husband, also grew out of a Nigerian scam, according to prosecutors.

Federal investigators say she had been cashing a series of counterfeit checks from Nigeria at a Tennessee bank.

Her family says she shot her husband after years of abuse.

In court, prosecutors have alleged she decided to shoot her husband after he confronted her about the scam.

December 6, 2006 in Nigerian E-mail Scams | Permalink | User Comments (140)