A NEW TWIST TO THE NIGERIAN SCAM--INVOLVES A HORSE ON THE INTERNET Date: February 14, 2003 THE NIGERIAN SCAM CONTINUES: A NEW TWIST THAT INVOLVES A HORSE SOLD ON THE INTERNET A Selah, WA member bank alerted TheLocalBBB regarding a possible fraud situation they had a couple of weeks ago, which the Secret Service believes may be related to a more complex level of the ongoing Nigerian scam then we are used to seeing by email and fax. One of the bank's customers had advertised a horse for sale on a web site supposedly under the category, Horse Classified. They were contacted via e-mail by a man who wished to purchase the horse and indicated he would be sending an Official Check by Fed Ex for the price of the horse plus additional monies for shipping and handling. The customer was asked to then wire funds for the shipping costs and was given a personal name and bank to wire. Price of the horse was $4,500 and a $6,500 Official Check drawn on National City Bank of Michigan/Illinois, remitter was Global Comm. Inc. Monies were to be delivered via Fed Ex. Customer was to wire $2000 to the shipper that day and was called by the purchaser of the horse the day the check arrived to confirm that the check was received and also to find out how soon the additional funds would be wired for the shipping. The person in question did not actually call in person, but by "relay call" which sounded like a system for the hearing impaired in which calls are handled by way of computer. The seller became suspicious, so took the check into their local branch bank in Selah and explained the situation. When the teller called the bank on which the official check was drawn, they were told that particular check number had cleared about 6 months ago and the check they had in their hands was actually counterfeit. The Illinois bank also indicated that they had received 3 or 4 of their official checks counterfeited recently in addition to this one. The branch faxed a copy of the check to the bank per their request. The customer then called the Secret Service to report the suspicious transaction. Evidently, this type of scenario is currently being seen on many web sites selling automobiles, motorcycles, large items where the shipping and handling costs would be quite costly which is precisely what the scam artists would like to make off the transaction. Bottom line? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If someone is giving you the asking price for something, sight unseen without negotiation, then asking you to participate in a non-customary business practice (such a forwarding additional funds to an unknown third-party) should make some alarms go off. Furthermore, individuals should instantly become wary of any foreign interest in purchasing their item, especially an item such as a horse, which requires substantial delivery and transport arrangements. If individuals ever knowingly defraud their banks as result of participating in one of these scams, they may be putting themselves at risk of becoming the targets of an investigation and possibly facing federal charges. If you feel that you have been a victim of this type of scenario, please contact the US Secret Service at: (202)406-5572. Source: www.spokane.bbb.org/alerts/alerts.html?newsid=151&newstype=1