In The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe, Canadian author Stephen Leacock wrote of the misadventures of one Mr. Jefferson Thorpe of Mariposa, Ontario. Jefferson was a pillar of the community and owned the local barber shop: “A centre for gossip and profound thinking by the inhabitants of Mariposa.” The inhabitants of Mariposa would come to Jefferson’s shop to discuss and debate the issues of the day while having their hair cut or their beards shaved.
Jefferson takes his money, invests it all in the mining boom up North, and makes his fortune. Now well off, and respectable, Jefferson and his family are the toast of the town. It comes to pass that “some Cuban people” contact Jefferson, and they encourage him to invest in their proposition.
In describing the Cuban deal, Leacock explains, “These Cuban people wrote to Jeff from Cuba — or a post office box from New York — it’s all the same thing because Cuba being so near to New York the mail is all distributed from there.” They wanted Jefferson to invest in a land development in Cuba in plantations claimed from the insurrectos. How these investors heard of Jefferson no one knew or cared to figure out, but they promised him a huge return for his investment, perhaps up to 400 percent.
The “Cuban gentlemen” go on to say, “They asked for no guarantee. Just send the money — whether by express order or bank draft or cheque, they left that to oneself, as a matter between Cuban gentlemen.” Jefferson decides to invest in the deal and convinces other residents of Mariposa to invest as well. Of course, the Cuban land deal is a fraud and Jefferson loses his fortune. The other investors also lose their money, but life eventually returns to the way it was in Mariposa.1
This short story is part of Stephen Leacock’s Sunshine Sketches of a Small Town, first published in 1912. The fraud Leacock describes has several elements that are still used today:
1. Unexpectedly contacted by someone from another country;
2. Using assets from a corrupt regime (the insurrectos); 3. The promise of a high return;
4. The use of a mailbox address; and
5. The trust that the fraudsters place in Jefferson to send the money without guarantees, “as a matter between Cuban gentlemen.”
Sadly, some things never change.
MORE THAN JUST OIL CAN BE DIRTY
Philip was a successful and well-respected person in the oil industry in Calgary, Alberta, who lived in the affluent area of Mount Royal. He had built his company from nothing and was the epitome of the self-made man. He was educated and had written and published several books on the oil industry that were known to, and used by many in the oil patch.
As an oil executive and explorer, Philip had the opportunity to travel throughout the world and to meet many people from different cultures. After thirty years in the business, he was planning an active retirement, during which he would still dabble and speculate in the industry that made him a wealthy man.
One afternoon, Philip received a faxed letter from Nigeria written by a person claiming to be an associate in the oil industry who worked for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Philip had had dealings several years ago with the National Petroleum Company with their offshore oil wells, so he was not surprised to receive the letter.
From HARUNA ABUBAKAR
Dear Friend,
TRANSFER OF US$28.5M OVER INFLATED FUEL
FUND
I am Alhaji Haruna Abubakar, former Director In-charge of Procurement and Purchases in the Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Now I’m a board member in NNPC During the military regime of General Sanni Abacha, our refineries were in bad condition and we were importing fuel.
Some top military officers and I collaborated and imported a low quality fuel at a reduced cost thereby inflating the purchasing cost to the tune of US$28.5 Million (Twenty Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) to help out ourselves during retirement. After the importation of the fuel and the death of Former Military Head of State of Nigeria, General Sanni Abacha, we could not process the claims and the voucher from the NNPC bank account immediately as all financial transactions to that effect was suspended by the subsequent regime.
We now, after duly completing all necessary banking pro!!ession wish to transfer the funds into a trusted account overseas. We wish to have this funds, which have lingered for long in the bank transferred overseas as soon as possible as there recent eyebrows being raised as regards the funds and further leaving the money in the bank here might jeopardize our claim to it. I write to solicit for your assistance in helping us provide a trusted bank account where tax will not take a large toll on the money as we have completed all necessary documentation to the release of this fund.
Requirements
1. Your company name and address, private phone and fax numbers.
2. Complete banking information, address with all necessary communication contacts.
My colleagues and I have agreed to give you 25% for accepting to secure this fund into your account and we have set aside 5% to cover upfront expenses. My colleagues and I will share the remaining 70%. I will furnish you with more details on your response.
Note as soon as we submit your details as the contractor, the bank will contact you henceforth and will see you as the true contractor and we cannot change that any more so we need your absolute confidence. We would do all these arrangements ourselves but we are being Watched by Government officials all of the Time. You may be required by the bank to pay certain little transfer charges for the transfer of the money, we do hope you shall consider all these before accepting to assist. This informs why we have given you the above (25%) percentage commision for your assistance and we shall also repay you for all expences incured from the 5% set aside for it.
Best regards,
Haruna Abubakar [sic]
Philip remembered his time in Africa speculating and dealing with various government agencies. This letter sounded reasonable because he knew that the various government officials there were corrupt, and bribing them was merely a matter of business. Philip contacted Abubakar and provided him with the information he requested, stating that he would be willing to be his partner in this endeavour.
Shortly thereafter, Philip received a letter in the mail postmarked Nigeria. Inside was a contract between himself, Abubakar, and his partners. The terms of the contract were as originally claimed in the fax that Philip had received. All that was needed to close the deal was for Philip to send him a cheque for $35,000 to cover some of the “little transfer charges,” and as a show of good faith. Philip sent the cheque to the return address indicated in the contract and waited to hear from his new partners. To Philip, this was just like the old days when he was making and brokering deals and being a player in the field.
Two to three weeks later, Philip received another letter in the mail. Inside was a cheque for $168,000 and a covering letter. The letter explained that Philip was to deposit the cheque into his account. The letter went on to explain that $100,000 from the cheque was Philip’s first return on his investment. Philip was also informed that Abubakar would need $50,000 for some more charges that came to light. The money was needed as soon as possible, so could Philip please take $50,000 from the cheque and wire the money directly to them? Abubakar told Philip that he could keep the balance of $18,000 for his inconvenience and trouble. In effect, Philip had made $118,000 in a few weeks.
Philip went to his bank and wired another $50,000 to his partners, and then deposited the cheque into his account. After five days, the bank notified Philip that the cheque he had deposited had been returned as a counterfeit cheque. Philip couldn’t understand how this could happen. He went home, contacted his partners, and asked for an explanation.
Abubakar stated that he was shocked to learn the cheque was counterfeit because that was what the “little transfer charges” were for, to ensure the cheques were legitimate. In fact, Abubakar had given his contact $20,000 of his own money to ensure this would not happen. Abubakar ensured Philip that he would get to the bottom of this.
After a few more weeks, Philip received another letter from Abubakar, who stated that the contact was discovered murdered the day after he had given Abubakar the cheque. Nevertheless, Abubakar had another contact that could negotiate and provide the funds to Philip and him. Included with the letter was another cheque for $89,000 with a request that Philip deposit it and wire $40,000 to Abubakar. Philip was to keep the remaining $49,000 to reimburse him for the $50,000 he had sent earlier. Philip sent the money and deposited the cheque, but again the cheque was returned to the bank as counterfeit.
This pattern continued with Philip and Abubakar for several months. Philip also began to get offers and proposals from other parties. The last time Philip tried to deposit and cash a cheque, he was arrested for uttering a forged document. He also had on him, at the time of his arrest, fourteen other cheques in various amounts adding up to $358,500. When questioned by the police, Philip estimated he had invested over $900,000 in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and he has not wavered in his belief that this is just a matter of doing business and that he will be amply compensated for his trouble.
The original letter that Philip received is commonly referred to as a Nigerian Letter or 419 letter, 419 being the Nigerian Criminal Code section for fraud. Philip’s letter is by far the most common format and it is difficult to find someone who has not received or seen one of these appeals. Nigerian letters do not always have to describe a business deal. Some appeal for donations for disaster relief, some offer to purchase items you may have listed on the Internet, while others may take on a style like the following:
Good day Sir:
My name is Master Corporal Terry Parson, 101st U.S. Rangers. I am currently posted to Iraq as part of the operation to locate Osama Bin Laden. While leading my Section through one of the remote villages our rockets uncovered a hidden tunnel and escape route. Inside was a safe containing a small amount of jewels and $15 million in U.S. currency.
This money was probably acquired through criminal means and used to finance terrorist attacks against Americans. By the rules of engagement I am required to turn over any found money to my superiors so that it can be redistributed to officials in this country.
As a Christian, I believe that it is wrong to turn over this money to the same people that we are fighting.
I am looking for someone, and I hope that it is you, that is willing to be a partner in sharing this wealth. I propose that I send you the money and that you deposit it into your bank account, or invest it. I will send the cash in several packages to your attention. With this money back home in the United States we can put it to better use than returning it to another corrupt regime.
I have made the initial inquiries and I will need a cheque or money order from you in the amount of $10,000 USD to cover the shipping and quiet any customs personnel here. If you are the person that I pray you are let me know as soon as possible. Keeping this amount of cash a secret is difficult to do under these circumstances.
God Bless America
These Nigerian letters often have several common characteristics that should be noted by anyone receiving them. They are rarely addressed to a specific person, unless the fraudster used a name database or mooch list. Instead, they are addressed to “My Dear Friend” or like these letters, “Dear Friend” or “Good Day Sir.” The sentence structure is often broken with little or incorrect punctuation and overly long sentences, and the spelling is often very poor.
Other characteristics include:
• Capital letters that are used to emphasize a point, especially the money being offered.
• The sender is often a professional person, doctor, lawyer, or high-ranking official.
• The receiver’s trust is often questioned, putting him or her on the defensive.
• The offer is always limited before it goes to another prospective investor. The offer always shows how the proceeds will be fairly divided, and will require your banking information, a cheque, or a money order to complete the deal.
• Finally, the whole deal generally centres on the fraudsters having committed an illegal or immoral act, such as stealing money from their corrupt government or smuggling jewels and converting them to cash. The fraudsters then ask you to become party to that act by helping them launder their money through your bank account. This, of course, happens only if any money is actually sent.
It’s almost impossible to get your money back if you have already sent it off. Going to the country concerned is not recommended, as you run the very real risk of becoming injured or killed. These people are criminals, not legitimate business people who made a mistake. Playing games with these criminals, such as leading them on with promises of your own, or imposing conditions, is not advisable either. Although you may get a sense of personal satisfaction by pretending to have been duped and stringing them along, you do run the risk of retaliation.
If you receive a fax, letter, or e-mail, here are some suggestions to limit your risk:
• Don’t transact business with an unfamiliar person.
• Always ask for and verify the documentation you receive.
• Do a background check on your business partner.
• Ask yourself, can I get my money back if it fails?
• Never pay fees for uninitiated services.
• Don’t be pressured or hurried into making decisions.
• If you decide to respond, limit your financial risk.
• Be sure that the amount you’re giving would not greatly jeopardize your finances, should you lose the money.