Scams. They’re spreading all around the globe.

They are not just becoming more clever and complicated, they’re also stealing the identities of dead people to steal silently.

This is the report about a scam from Nigeria and other African countries, that caused millions of dollars in financial losses.

How it started? Why is it still happening?

The scam is believed to be originating from Nigeria, a country with over 216 million people and large crude oil reserves. Started in the 80s, this scam makes millions of dollars from illegal activities involving impersonations and identity thefts. Victims were threatened either to make payment that is equivalent to a small amount of the total funds claimed from its late relatives or face huge amounts of debt. But that’s not all! Scammers often claim they’ll visit the country where the victim lives to receive half of the funds delivered, but this is too far from true. Once the money is sent to scammers, they’ll eventually disappear and BOOM! You’ve been lost.

Most of the scammers either don’t have a job, or want to get rich as fast as possible. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Trying to trick the victims into living wealthy, making millions. Free things found in the trap only.

My Story

Few weeks ago, I was studying and preparing for exams when suddenly, someone named Katie (name changed for privacy reasons) send me a message via Instagram. When I chatted with her for hours, she redirected me to Telegram. She called herself a “banker” from USA, claiming that I’m eligible for receiving $4m of funds from my late relative, John McNeil. She will travel to my country to get the other half. When I asked whether this is a scam or not, she sent me some pictures showing her ID and vehicle license, then promising not to lose my faith.

I did everything she told me to do. Then she redirected me to three WhatsApp numbers, two claiming to be working as a legal advisor from Florida and one from a delivery service (which after searching for hours, found to be fake)

She claimed to have borrowed $150,000 for legal fees by selling her house and car.

But after spending a week talking with her and send whatever she told me to send, they suddenly asked me to pay $2,000 in order for the funds to be delivered. I tried everything, tried to borrow it from a bank with no success. When I told her I couldn’t afford to pay it, she started threatening me, yelling “I’ve lost everything, you are not my friend!”

After talking with my parents, they said:

“It’s all fake, don’t you fall for it!”

Searching for hours and found the culprit! Her phone number starts with +234 (Nigeria, so she actually isn’t from USA). The documents and passports appear to be photoshopped and did not even have a stamp or valid signature.

And the $8m deal turned to be fake. BUSTED!