Most common scams originating in the Benin Republic, as of , involve sending money over the Internet and include asking for money for travel costs, visas, adoption costs and to pay fees associated with lottery winnings or inheritance. Other common scams include people trying to lure potential partners into sending money overseas. Victims of Benin Republic scams are often asked to send money in association with visa costs or travel fees. The scammer reports being stranded in a foreign country or being detained by immigration officials. The scammer then asks the victim to send money to resolve the problem. Some scams involve fake adoptions. Victims are led to believe they are adopting a child from the country and are asked to pay adoption fees to a supposed adoption agency. One of the most common scams is the lottery or inheritance scam. The victim is contacted by a scammer posing as a lawyer or government official.

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The following email scams were reported to the Anti-Spam Compliance Unit. Links to scam web pages have been removed and spaces have been added to email addresses to ensure they do not become hyperlinks. Subject: Loans We are independent finance broker’s and corporate financier’s for real estate and various type of business financing. I served as his lawyer for several years before his death and I need you to let me know as soon as possible if you are willing to pursue this claim.

Sincerely, Paul Fenton. Subject: Hello, Are you interested in the transaction?

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Since the large adoption of the internet, the online dating industry moved to set a new standard in the way we find our soulmates. And it worked. According to a study from the University of Chicago, compared to marriages between couples who meet in real life, marriages between couples whose relationships are formed through an online dating site are more likely to last.

Unfortunately, with the rise of online dating services came the birth of romance scams. Romance scams target wealthy women, sometimes widows, who are looking for a new relationship and men who are looking for extra-marital relationships. In most cases, the goal is to defraud the victim out of money. According to the FTC , victims between the ages of 40 and 69 were scammed at the highest rates, while victims aged 70 and above reported the biggest losses.

After registering on a dating website, the victim meets a hacker impersonating a handsome man. Most of the time, this man will have the same nationality as the victim. At the time of contact, he is on a business trip abroad, in the military, or, in the case of high-profile romance scam out of Australia, sailing.

Be Smart – 419 Nigerian Email Scams

Username or email. Keep me signed in until I sign out. Do not try to contact him by phone or email, you risk being cheated or robbed of her well-known tricks. The Airport authority demanded for all the legal back up to prove to them that the fund is no way related with drug nor fraud money.

Three Nigerian nationals who were convicted of a range of charges – including identity theft and payment card fraud – have been sentenced in.

Be sure everything is as it seems. They use any means to contact victims—telephone, snail mail, email, and the Internet. They gain your trust and when they have you hooked, they ask you for money; then they take it and run. The scenarios they use to lure you in change, constantly. But you can protect yourself and your friends and family by arming yourself with knowledge of the most common types of fraud.

Victim is asked to pay upfront fees for financial services which are never provided. Victims often send a succession of transactions for payment of various upfront fees. Common methods could include: credit card, grants, loans, inheritance, or investment. Video: Advanced Fee. Article: 4 ways to protect yourself against advanced fee and prepayment scams , Study Up on Student Scams.

The victim is advised that the virus can be removed and the computer protected for a small fee with a payment by either credit card or a money transfer. In reality, there was no virus on the computer and the victim has just lost the money they sent for the protection. Article: 5 Ways to protect yourself from tech scams.

Don’t get scammed – Benin City Forum

Not everyone using online dating sites is looking for love. Scammers create fake online profiles using photos of other people — even stolen pictures of real military personnel. They profess their love quickly.

Search results for benin republic scams from. Do you have questions about benin republic scams? benin dating scams Romance Scams Now.

Learn More. An online friend of mine from a small Siberian town recently posted on her blog about how her mother fell for a scam and lost the family savings in hopes of getting some nonexistent inheritance from Africa. My friend gave her elderly parents a computer, but it did them more harm than good. As it turned out, they had a relative in Africa, Mr. John Sergeyev, who had passed away. After a short email exchange, the apparent heiress was asked to wire over some cash to cover overheads before the inheritance could be delivered.

Unfortunately, Anna Sergeyevna was yet another victim of the so-called Nigerian scammers.

Online, Is Dream Date a Scam?

Police in Slidell, Louisiana, say they finally caught up with one of the people behind some of those emails. He’s not exactly Nigerian royalty, either, police wrote in a Facebook post. Michael Neu, 67, of Slidell, Louisiana, [who is a Caucasian, and a US citizen Coalition believes] faces counts of wire fraud and money laundering following an month investigation, police wrote.

They say Neu took part in hundreds of financial transactions involving phone and online scams to con money from people across the United States. In these scams, the supposed Nigerian prince or other official asks for the person’s personal banking information in order to speed the transfer of the purported inheritance or temporarily hold the allegedly pilfered funds [this version of is often called ‘Classic ‘ and, once again, is only one of many, many types of and ‘tales’].

Unfortunately, romance scams are also rising because fraudsters are migrating away from credit card fraud and toward content scams + account hacks (ATO). Let’s.

Many undergraduates in Nigerian universities dabble in internet fraud. Some have been caught by the law. He was charged for impersonation, possession of fraudulent documents and attempting to obtain money by false pretences. These cases attest to the pervasive nature of internet fraud in Nigerian universities. My aim was to determine how this subculture is organised among students in tertiary institutions.

Internet fraud is organised along areas of specialisation to make a success of the deviant behaviour. Fraudsters study the security network of online transactions to decide where to pitch their tents. They use different schemes. Sending fraudulent messages to online dating websites and social network sites were reported to be low-risk — but high-profit — areas of specialisation. I started online fraud in my second semester of level [a session comprised of two academic semesters in Nigerian universities] as an impostor via online dating.

Then I looked for the profile of people that live in developed countries. But if it is in Nigeria, I look for people who live in places like Port Harcourt, Abuja [luxury suburbs]. I always posed to them as a big man who needed a wife. Sometimes I posed to them on how my wife disappointed me and took away my property and children.

How to Protect Yourself From an Online Dating Scam

You can send funds to any U. In August , former U. Foreign Service Officer, Michael T. The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator indicates that he was scheduled to be released from prison on January 4, The USDOJ announcement notes that following his prison term, Sestak will be placed on three years of supervised release.

Divorcee Brenda, 60, joined a dating website and just before Christmas Then he told her he had to go to the Benin Republic in West Africa on business. “If I can be scammed then I believe anybody can be scammed.

Department of State. The current U. Some areas have increased risk: exercise increased caution in urban areas due to the crime; and reconsider travel to the northern border with Burkina Faso and Parc W due to terrorism. Overall Crime and Safety Situation. The U. Embassy in Cotonou does not assume responsibility for the professional ability or integrity of the persons or firms appearing in this report.

The American Citizen Services ACS Unit cannot recommend a particular individual or location and assumes no responsibility for the quality of service provided. There is serious risk from crime in Cotonou. A broad spectrum of criminal activity occurs in Cotonou. The majority of crimes affecting U. Criminals may take advantage of foreigners attempting to navigate the crowded markets or leaving their belongings unattended.

The FBI’s Nigerian email scam ring bust shows how the billion-dollar global fraud has evolved

Online dating has become the new normal: 1 in 3 new couples meet online and 1 in 4 Americans are using dating sites. In this webinar, you’ll learn: How online dating fraud is perpetrated and its prevalence Anatomy of a romance scam What techniques are effective in mitigating against account takeover, fake profiles and payment fraud Why users who interact with a fake profile are 14x more likely to churn. Sejal Monterroso – Panelist. VP of Customer Success – Zoosk.

This Valentine’s Day, authorities are once again warning individuals to watch out for anyone perpetrating romance scams. The FTC says.

Finder is committed to editorial independence. While we receive compensation when you click links to partners, they do not influence our opinions or reviews. Learn how we make money. Updated Mar 27, Millions of people are affected by money transfer scams each year. Learn what to look out for so you can keep your money safe.

Benin 2019 Crime & Safety Report

View Alerts and Messages Archive. A passport valid for six months, a visa, and proof of polio and yellow fever vaccinations are required to enter Nigeria. You must obtain your Nigerian visa from a Nigerian embassy or consulate in advance of your travel. You cannot legally depart Nigeria unless you can prove, by presenting your entry visa, that you entered Nigeria legally.

Dual-national citizens can be, and often are, denied boarding until they have obtained current Nigerian passports.

Read our blog post about the infamous “” or Nigerian email scams. Date: Wed, We have been able to track down some scam artist in various parts of African countries which includes (Nigeria, Republic of Benin.

Two Army reservists have been accused of coordinating a fraud scheme involving business email compromises and romance scams against elderly women, according to a federal complaint in the Southern District Court of New York. Joseph I. Asan Jr. Ogozy, both of whom enlisted in the Army Reserve in February , were arrested Oct. An FBI agent said in the complaint that Asan and Ogozy defrauded victims and laundered their proceeds through bank accounts they had opened in the names of fake businesses.

The publication Quartz noted that only Asan has been indicted and some of the court records indicate Ogozy might be cooperating with investigators. Few details of their military service were released in the document, and while the romance scams they were allegedly engaged in targeted elderly women , the schemes did not appear to invoke their military service to help their cause. The two men would gain unauthorized access to business email accounts or spoof emails and impersonate employees of a company in order to convince victims to transfer funds to bank accounts they controlled, the FBI agent said in the complaint.

An email was sent in February telling the chemical distributor that payment for the sale should be deposited in a bank account owned by Uxbridge Capital, LLC, at a credit union for active-duty, retired and reserve U. After the bank was alerted that the wire transfer was fraudulent on March 1, , the funds were recalled and the account was frozen. For more newsletters click here. Another business scheme involved an email compromise at a Marine Corps veterans organization.

Nigerians Get Lengthy Prison Terms for ‘Romance Scams’

Always approach any new online acquaintance with caution. Online dating is not only limited to dating sites. With social media having become more integral to our daily lives, many people find love on social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and several other platforms. They shower people with loving words and, over time, win their trust.

Scammers will continue this so-called relationship for months or even years before asking a person for money.

Lester Holmes.” She said they began talking and a “romance happened really fast.” According to an FBI affidavit, Lindsey made four wire transfers.

Do not send money. Unfortunately, any money that you might already have sent will probably not be recoverable. End all communication with the scammer immediately, rather than attempt resolution directly. If you feel threatened, contact your local police at once. Do NOT attempt to personally recover the funds lost.

Contact the appropriate authorities to resolve the matter. If the scam originated through a particular website, notify the administrators of that website. We receive inquiries every day from people who have been defrauded for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars by Internet contacts they thought were their friends or loved ones. Internet scams are attempts by con artists to convince you to send them money.

Do NOT believe any offers lottery, inheritance, etc.

Victim out $510K after online romance scam