An artist friend got this in her email today and wanted to know if it wasa scam:
kdmoore22_202 wrote:
Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2006 06:35:43 -0600
Subject: Enquiry for Artworks...
From: "kdmoore22_202"
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Hello,
Good Day!. How you doing? My name is Kennedy Moore.. a art contractor..i help people in fixing different kind of art into there houses and estates...I won a contract in Western African (Nigeria)... In my art searching for a art work which i want to use for the contract... i
find your artwrok suitable and beautiful..So i decide to contact you through your contact details i saw on the web, i will like to know if you accept money order or certified check for the payment method....Also provide me with your web gallery or web listing were i can view more of your artworks....Awaiting to hear from you soonest.
Thank you
Kennedy Moore
I told her without hesitation that it is a scam without doing any checking around. Here's why. This is what all of us doing business online need to be aware of. (Disclaimer: This applies only to people with US bank accounts.)
I would be extremely distrustful of any money orders coming unsolicited from someone in Nigeria or any foreign country. Money orders can be faked. I saw a fraudulent American Express Gift Cheque come through the bank just two weeks ago. The teller who took it didn't think twice about it, but our supervisor just happened to be looking through the stack of work for something else and it caught his eye. The customer had been scammed to the tune of $3000. He was extraordinarily lucky that we got in touch with him before he'd handed the cash over to the girls for whom he'd cashed the check.
Cashiers checks and money orders from foreign banks have no statute of limitations on fraudulent item returns, and can be returned to you several months after the check has cleared. You are still liable for the loss. If it were issued on a US bank, then American banking laws require that fraudulent items be returned within 30 days (confirm this number with your own bank, just in case I've misremembered) - so that money order or cashier's check still should not be treated as same as cash unless you are able to verify that it is authentic. (Side note: if you get a money order for more than $500, it is fake. Money orders are actually limited by law to a $500 maximum.)
It is often impossible to verify authenticity on foreign funds. Two months ago we had a customer who was scammed using checks stolen on a Canadian account. When the customer (who was not very bright) got a second check from the same people on another Canadian account, we tried like hell tp get the Canadian bank to tell us it was fraudulent, and it was like pulling teeth. Imagine what it would be like to attempt to authenticate a Nigerian cashier's check.
What about a wire transfer? Well, receiving a wire transfer means that you must give someone in Nigeria, where it is impossible to prosecute or extradite money scammers, your routing and account number and the name on the account. This is all the info they need to drain your account electronically. Don't do it.
So in short, I would require that any cashiers checks be drawn on a US bank, and then shipment would only occur after the check is authenticated with the bank it's drawn upon and/or thirty days after funds have cleared. If they balk, then they're scamming you.
I have not seen this particular version of it show up in my inbox, but I work in a bank where I am in a position to see what happens to my customers, and we are hypervigilant and make a point of educating ourselves and our customers on every scam the FBI alerts us to. The FBI does care, by the way, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume and in most cases their hands are tied by extradition laws (or lack thereof) and uncooperative foreign governments.
Message edited by author 2006-06-09 21:35:48.
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