Scam???

[alkmunro]

I responded to an ad for a personal loan. They claimed to be here in the US. Here is the email I got from them. I then got approved for my loan..no personal information was given yet at this point. Just name address,etc. No banking information, ss#. I then got an email stating who would be the lender. She then sent me an email. I did sent my bank information at this point (which was probably stupid). Anyway, I get the next email. So they say the funds have been transferred but until they get the tax fee, it won't reflect in my account. Does anyone know if this is a scam?

1st EMAIL
From: Del/Hill Investments <cdel.investments@gmail.com> Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: [Mod edit: JF - Personal Details Removed]
Date: Jul 15, 2006 5:15 PM
Subject: Re: Loan

Hello

Thank you for your interest in Eagle Financial and Eagle Financial Services International.

"....we render the best services."

Eagle Financial acts as a subsidiary to EFS International.

Brokered by Del/Hill, one of many offices nationally, our principal activity is to provide potential borrowers with both secured and unsecured loan packages.

Del/Hill is an independent firm. Because we are a web-based company, and for our clients security, we do not seek sensitive information such as credit reports, social security, etc., for the release of funds.

Instead, and in line with governing rules, both state and national, we must charge a fee for the release of funds to a borrower. Unless clearly stated, and unless a lender can not be matched to the loan request, all applicants are approved.

We are an unconventional lending service providing another option to those who may not be able to obtain conventional loans.

All applicants have the option of accepting/declining a loan offer.

*** Currently our smallest account stands at $3,566.82 USD (5yrFX) ***

*** Currently our biggest account stands at $435,238.13 (30yrFX) ***

Again, thank you for showing interest in our services!

Please contact us at anytime to receive an application via simple Microsoft Word format.

We look forward to servicing you!

Regards

2nd EMAIL
From: Jennifer Rolands <jenny2rolands@yahoo.co.uk> Signed-By: yahoo.co.uk
To: [Mod edit: JF - Personal Details Removed]
Date: Jul 29, 2006 3:36 AM
Subject: Re: Loan
Hello Abby,

This is to inform you that we received your mail and would like to have some information before informing you of the status of your loan.

First we would like to have your full account information which are:

Name Of Bank:
Account Holder:
Account Number:
Swif/Routing Code:

Secondly, I would like to know the following:

Your Full Name:
Full Address:
Amount Needed As Loan:
Amount Sent As Loan Charges:
Date payment was made:

After receiving these information, we will inform you the status of your loan immediately.

Hope to hear from you soonest.
My earnest regards to you and your family,

Jenny Rolands

3rd EMAIL
From: Nigeria Tax Commission <tax@nigeriataxcommission.com.ng> Mailed-By: msn.com
Reply-To: Nigeria Tax Commission <spencer@adexec.com>
To: [Mod edit: JF - Personal Details Removed]
Date: Aug 2, 2006 8:16 AM
Subject: ATTN: Mrs. Abby Munro { Transfer Of Funds Been Held By The Nigeria Tax Commission }
NIGERIA TAX COMMISSION
23 Niel Ave, Southall, Middlesex
Benin, UB1 2QR Nigeria


Re: Transfer Of Funds Been Held By The Nigeria Tax Commission

ATTN: Mrs. Abby Munro

This is Mr. Benjamin O. of the Nigeria Tax Commission. I have been ordered to inform you in respect to a transfer of $2,500.00USD from a paying bank here in Nigeria to the following account information:

Name Of Bank:
Account Holder:
Account Number:
Swif/Routing Code:

The transfer of the said about which was supposed to leave the bank today been the 2nd day of August, 2006 was held by the Nigeria Tax Commission asking for the tax clearance certificate.

My superior has ordered that the transfer to your account of the said amount should be stopped until you are able to provide the Nigeria tax clearance Certificate showing that the transfer/funds has been cleared by the commission.

In respect to this, I would like you to contact your lender for further information because all means to contact the lender through the bank failed.

We would like to have the clearance certificate sent either by email attachment so the transfer of the said amount can be initiated. If reverse is the case, what i mean is, if you have not cleared the funds from the Nigeria Tax Commission and do not have a clearance certificate, I would advice you to notify in your mail so as to advice you on how to get a clearance certificate from our commission.

We would like to hear from you soon.

Best Regards,

Mr. O Benjamin
Nigeria Tax Commission
23 Niel Ave, Southall, Middlesex
Benin, UB1 2QR Nigeria

[John Fairheart]

I responded to an ad for a personal loan. They claimed to be here in the US. Here is the email I got from them. I then got approved for my loan..no personal information was given yet at this point. Just name address,etc. No banking information, ss#. I then got an email stating who would be the lender. She then sent me an email. I did sent my bank information at this point (which was probably stupid). Anyway, I get the next email. So they say the funds have been transferred but until they get the tax fee, it won't reflect in my account. Does anyone know if this is a scam?

1st EMAIL
From: Del/Hill Investments <cdel.investments@gmail.com>

2nd EMAIL
From: Jennifer Rolands <jenny2rolands@yahoo.co.uk>

3rd EMAIL
From: Nigeria Tax Commission <tax@nigeriataxcommission.com.ng> Mailed-By: msn.com

Reply-To: Nigeria Tax Commission <spencer@adexec.com>

My superior has ordered that the transfer to your account of the said amount should be stopped until you are able to provide the Nigeria tax clearance Certificate showing that the transfer/funds has been cleared by the commission.

Nigeria Tax Commission
23 Niel Ave, Southall, Middlesex
Benin, UB1 2QR Nigeria

Various bits of info scream scam here:-

cdel.investments@gmail.com = Free Webmail
jenny2rolands@yahoo.co.uk = Free Webmail

This is sneaky - tax@nigeriataxcommission.com.ng - But it was mailed from a free webmail account 'Mailed-By: msn.com' (Spoofed). nigeriataxcommission.com.ng doesn't exist by the way!

spencer@adexec.com = Free webmail (Mail.Com)

Nigeria tax clearance Certificate request is the start of the scam. There will be a fee to pay for it. The fee is the sting as the documentation is completely fake.

'Southall, Middlesex, Benin' = Last time I checked Middlesex was in England not Benin, West Africa.

100% Scam, walk away!

[alkmunro]

I figured it had to be a scam...I checked names on the internet, including the tax comission. They want 10% of the loan amount which would be $250.

Also you should see the letter "Jenny Rolands" sent me from your attorney. His email was "lawyer.com".

She also sent me a scanned Transaction slip. Which made me wonder, because of the fact the address looks to be in UK, but they have Nigeria at the end. That through up more red flags.

[Frazzle]

A couple of general comments, prompted by this thread, but not aimed specifically at alkmunro:

Firstly, I think it is interesting to reflect that almost every "Is this a scam" message here has been an actual scam. I think this indicates that (for those people who do actually post here) if you're suspicious of an email, it is probably a scam. And perhaps that people aren't suspicious enough... there must be many scams that don't get posted here.

Secondly, I am continually amazed at how credulous people are on the Internet. How would you react if someone walked up to you on the street and told you that you had won a lottery? What about if they were wearing a wig and false moustache? And then asked you for $250 in fees?

Thirdly, I am also amazed at how open people are with personal information on the Internet. If someone walked up to you on the street and asked for your name and address, how would you react?

no personal information was given yet at this point. Just name address,etc.
Name & address ARE personal information... they can be used with fake ID to open bank accounts in your name, for example. They can be used to find your phone number.

[clangriff97]

I can relate personally - I did somehing similar about two years ago - my job falling into bankruptcy & bouncing payroll checks turned me into someone desparate to keep us afloat...I found an ad in my local paper stating personal loans and such for a small set up fee - blah-blah-blah - they even faxed me documents with the Better Business Bureau stamp on it - supposedly! So I fell for it fearing we would lose our truck and such - I ended up sending $400 dollars Western Union to a company that was supposedly located in the USA - Oregon - and found out that these people - crooks who stole my money and could not be contacted after the fact - were actually in Ontario, Canada and the money was picked up at a Western Union in Barbados! I found this out after contacting the BBB because I gave out my personal info and was scared to death! They in turn stated that it was the Canadian BBB that I had to contact - that is how I found about the who and where and filed an identity theft report...be very careful with your personal info and anything you think that may be personal info - report it right away to authorities! Thankfully I had some really good friends and co-workers who weren't as bad off as us and helped us out.

[alkmunro]

I found another one from craigslist....

Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 12:21:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: Send an Instant Message "Fast Funding" <fastfunding14@yahoo.ca> Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was sent by yahoo.ca. Learn more
Subject: Re: Loan
To:

There is an Upfront Fee of $51 paid to our Verification Agent in NY, Let me know if you want to proceed and I will forward you the Online Form. Regards



I'm looking for a loan....do you require any upfront fees that are sent to Nigeria?

[Unregistered]

SCAM BIG BIG SCAM I WAS TAKEN TO THE AMOUNT OF TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS