What do you do if you are terminally ill and want to get rid of your assets? That's right, you write to complete strangers on Facebook!
At least that's what many users seem to believe, otherwise it's hard to explain why this scam seems to be successful even years later: You get a friend request on Facebook, accept it, and shortly afterwards you get the message via Messenger that the person have a brain tumor. But what sounds so pitiful is actually an advance fee fraud!
Some users often find this message in Messenger:
“I know that this message will seem like a surprise to you that we do not know each other, but the grace of God has directed me to you and I want you to read my message carefully and be blessed in the name of God. Every day I feel very bad. In fact, I am suffering from brain cancer which is terminally ill and my doctor just told me that my days are numbered due to my health condition. I have an amount of €150,000 in my account at the BANK, for which I have decided to make a free donation. I don't want anything in return. Since my days are numbered due to my poor health, I would like to pass them on to someone I trust. I want that person to be you. For more information about donation, please contact my lawyer:
Email: [email protected]
Thank you and God bless you!”
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The pattern
These messages vary, but are always the same in various ways:
- A mostly very religious person.
- Terminally ill, the tumors vary.
- Only a few days to weeks left to live.
- A large amount is given away.
- Contact only possible via the “lawyer”.
The reaction
If you actually believe that someone simply has such large sums of money to give away, you will be asked for more information about yourself, as we already reported in 2016 :
1. Your Full Name
2. Address and Direct Telephone #
3. Age, Occupation and Marital Statusa copy of your ID in return to begin the transaction in earnest
The fraudsters want your name, address, telephone number, age, employment status, marital status and even a copy of your ID!
Needless to say, with this information you can become an excellent victim of further fraud (e.g. single = target for romance scammers ) and the copy of your ID can quickly make you a victim of identity theft .
Next, you have to pay a “transaction fee” or something similar to a foreign bank so that the money can be transferred.
However, you never get the promised inheritance , because this is the core issue of “advance payment fraud”.
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Keyword: Nigeria connection
The Nigeria Connection is not a structured organization, but these are groups of African fraudsters. Some of these fraudsters also live in Europe and others in Nigeria. These internet fraudsters specialize in credit card fraud, document forgery, advance payment fraud and much more. specialized and have been on Facebook with many fake profiles for some time now.
Tips to protect yourself from the Nigeria connection on Facebook
- If you see dubious loan offers or inheritance posts on Facebook, you can be almost certain that fraudsters are behind them.
- You can report suspicious profiles and offers directly to us. Please send an email to [email protected] .
- Never give your personal information to strangers ONLINE. It may sound logical, but there are thousands of users who don't think about it.
Article image: Shutterstock / By Chepko Danil Vitalevich
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )