Nigerian Cheque Fraudsters - Truth From The Horses Mouth (Part One)

#1 24 May 2012, 17:58

Nigerian Cheque Fraudsters - Truth From The Horses Mouth

INTRODUCTION

Some people reading this article may have heard about "The Nigerian Cheque Scam", where someone from Nigeria sends a cheque for more than the value of something that is being offered by a seller. Likewise, cheques to be "processed" as part of some employment scheme are also included in this bracket. The premise is to get the victim to cash the cheque, and send part of the proceeds somewhere else. Later the cheque bounces, leaving the victim with a large debt to pay, and possible prosecution.

The cheques are not always sent from Nigeria though. They may actually be sent from somewhere within your own country, maybe even your own state, province or county. It could be confusing to be dealing with someone who says they are an American in Nigeria, but you are in Britain, and you get a cheque post-marked London.

Ever wondered how this is done? What goes on beneath the surface? Read on to find out more.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

The compilation of exchanges below have been provided to us by a potential victim of a fraud. The communications, though not totally complete, have taken place between an innocent and a Nigerian criminal. Readers are reminded that communications with criminals is hazardous to your status as a living member of society. Giving personal details to a fraudster places you, your family and your friends, in the firing line if a scammer wants retribution against you.

Whilst it is not always easy to know that person x is a fraudster before you start to communicate, anything that follows that indicates that they are a criminal should be enough to cease any further communication.

There is a saying that "Curiosity Killed The Cat" [link], and this is a warning for everyone to take heed. Our potential victim was so curious that he could very easily have been mistaken for a willing participant of an international bank fraud.

In short, DO NOT attempt to "find out what it is all about", simply walk away and do not look back.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VICTIM - (PART ONE)

I interviewed the potential victim over a number of days during the compilation of this article. Below is part one of our interview, which covers the initial part of the scam.

Quote:

James Bigglesworth: Hello Pat, thanks for coming to talk to us.

Pat: Hi James, glad to be here and thanks for allowing this story to to be told via your forum. I hope that many people will read and learn from it.

James Bigglesworth: You are quite welcome. Let's start with some basics; Who are you and what do you d for a living?

Pat: Sure, I'm Pat [censored], forty something guy from the Manchester area of our fair land of England. I'm a Vetinary Surgeon and have a small animals practice in [censored] that has been around since my grandfathers days.

James Bigglesworth: Great, thanks for that Pat. Tell us how you came into contact with the Nigerian fraudster.

Pat: Well, our surgery isn't doing so great, so I was in need of a quick way of earning some extra cash. I know I should not have done it, but I actually responded to a spam email in my account. It was the only one I have ever answered, and by heck the only one I ever will. I didn't actually expect to get a reply, but I did.

James Bigglesworth: What was the original email all about?

Pat: To be honest it was a bit vague, which I suppose piqued my interest. The subject was "Program employment for all", but the email address that it came from was curious "employment_deaf_govemployment_d@yahoo.co.jp". The email was very short but said it was for helping unemployed people in their free time. I guess it was cheeky of me to reply, since I have a full-time job, but I was curious. That's when this "Samuel Morcas" responded to me.

James Bigglesworth: What did you find out from the reply?

Pat: Sam got back to me on the 8th June 2009, day after I first replied to him. He said that he was from New Jersey, but now in Nigeria, and that he was looking for someone to help him distribute his payroll cheques.

James Bigglesworth: Did he say how you were to do that?

Pat: Eventually, though his initial reply asked me if I have a good printer. I replied again saying I did, and basically asked him to tell me what he wanted.

James Bigglesworth: Did you get any further details when he got back to you?

Pat: Yes I sure did. Basically he wanted me to purchase some computer software which he called "verser check", and to buy paper and ink for printing of the cheques. Then he would send me a list of people to send cheques to. I would print out the cheques at home, using the special software, and send them out to the people he gave me.

James Bigglesworth: So, why do you think he couldn't do that himself?

Pat: Actually I never did ask him that, I just assumed that because he was in Nigeria it would take too long for the postal mail to get to the UK. If he was paying payroll, he wouldn't want to keep people waiting for their pay too long. He did also say that he would set up a FedEx or DHL account for me to get the cheques delivered, which I guess would be very expensive to use from Africa.

James Bigglesworth: Did you start to suspect anything was wrong with the offer?

Pat: Well yes and no really. I knew that I was talking to a spammer, but I really didn't think much about it. Looking back I was an idiot, and actually gave him my full name and postal address.

James Bigglesworth: Hindsight is a wonderful thing Pat. What happened next?

Pat: I was curious about the software he talked about so went on Google to see what I could find out. I managed to locate software called "VersaCheck" and the Ink he talked about called "VersaInk". It was American, so I wrote back and told him that it wasn't available for the UK.

The Ink is designated as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition which is used on cheques for compliance with US Federal and Canada Bank regulations.

James Bigglesworth: What did he say to that?

Pat: He seemed to accept it, and said he would send me the cheques in the postal mail. The last communication I had with him was on June 18th, 2009, about a week and a half after his original spam email.

James Bigglesworth: When did the cheques arrive?

Pat: Actually they didn't arrive, and I began to forget about it.

PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTING CHEQUES

If some unknown individual offers you some form of employment and asks you to print cheques for distribution, there is only one thing to do.

WALK AWAY!

It is accepted that a business will print their own cheques for the purpose of payroll. This seems to be what these scammers are hooking into for their illegal activities. If you are recruited online to participate in such a scheme you can guarantee that it is 100% illegal.

The abuse of payroll cheque printing appears to be centered around the USA. It is also quite common for US based cheque fraud to involve charities, or at least a stolen version of their cheques. This abuse is simply down to the unfortunate writings of Federal Law, nobody wins, but the victim is usually the one who pays the price.

I find that banks in the USA always blame the customer, and never accept any responsibility for a bad system. They won't fix it, because they are protected by Federal law, so why should they. Changing the law is the only way to change the lax and hugely arrogant banking attitudes, and we all know how quickly that is going to happen.

References and Further Reading

Wikipedia - Curiosity Killed The Cat [link]
Wikipedia - Magnetic Ink Character Recognition [link]

The full name of the potential victim has not been shown for privacy reasons but he has accepted that the text of exchanges displayed here may identify him to the fraudster. Under normal circumstances we would never condone the posting of information that could identify a victim to a fraudster. However, we are 100% convinced that this potential victim is in no danger of any physical harm as a result. We will not discuss how we came to that conclusion.

#2 24 May 2012, 18:05

INTERVIEW WITH THE VICTIM - (PART TWO)

In the posting above, you have seen how Pat was almost duped into becoming a participant in a very common scam, by accepting cheques for posting to others. In addition Pat almost made himself into a potential target for a criminal prosecution, should he actually get caught doing that.

Fortunately for Pat nothing arrived at his address, but as we will see below, this story is far from being finished.

Quote:

James Bigglesworth: You didn't forget about Sam and his offer did you Pat, so how long did you wait until you contacted him again?

Pat: I contacted him again on July 5th, 2009, some 17 days later. I wanted to ask what was happening about the delivery of cheques to me. He got back to me 2 days later.

James Bigglesworth: Sam's reply came to you as a surprise I understand?

Pat: Oh boy did it. I was floored by what he said.

Sam's email to Pat:-

Quote:

Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009
From: <samuel_things_4good@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Details !!!!!
To: Pat [censored]

Let me be honest to you. I am a scammer. I am Looking for some one that i can work with to make Money. But since i got you. I never had Money to set up the checks to send to you fr you to be able to mail out to the respective owners. that is why you have not heard from me. well now you know what i do if you dont mind . you can reply me so that we talk more better about this game.

James Bigglesworth: That's quite an admission from a criminal in Nigeria, one that is very rarely seen. This would be enough to make anyone run away screaming, but you carried on talking to him didn't you Pat?

Pat: Yeah I did James, more fool me. I have no idea why, but I was compelled to carry on talking.

James Bigglesworth: How did you respond to this admission from Sam?

Pat: I started to ask questions about what the scam was about, how it worked and the like. I made the connection at that point between what he said and what he was asking me to do with the cheques. That worried me a lot. He responded quickly enough.

Sam's email to Pat (excerpt):-

Quote:

Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009
From: <samuel_things_4good@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: HOPE TO READ FROM YOU SOON
To: Pat [censored]

Thanks be to God that you understand what i mean. I am not trying to scam you. Or Put you in trouble. But i am trying to make you work with me in other to help in scamming People and make Money. You ent going to be in to any trouble at all . Cause your contact address or any thing about you wont be giving out to any one. So are very Much safe. And this check of a think imply s me sending check to any where in the country Like USA, CANADA, UK, AND ANY EUROPE COUNTRY. In other to make money from any part of this country. But mostly i work on UK. AND USA. don't be affrid. there is noting wrong going to happen to you. Now you know what this is about. and know what is going to happen . If you wish to call me for more details or talk to me on Phone this is my Number i will be expecting your call any time .. +2348078496842. Call me any time we talk. Pls i will like to talk to you so that we will know more update and how this will work if there be any where you can be of help in a financial aspect i will let you know so that we can talk and make it work out to be real.

The telephone number "+234-807-849-6842" is a Nigerian Mobile on the Globacom Ltd network.

James Bigglesworth: So now you are being moved from potential victim and are being recruited as a willing participant in an illegal act?

Pat: Yes James. It was that email and the simple phrase "work with me in other to help in scamming People and make Money" that really angered me. I'm not sure whether I was angry at myself, but it was the point I finally joined the dots and realised I was on the verge of being a criminal.

James Bigglesworth: You then carried on talking though, why didn't you simply walk away?

Pat: James, I simply wanted to find out how I could hurt him. How could I simply walk away without doing something? That's when I started looking more into the cheque fraud angle and I found you guys.

James Bigglesworth: As a point of interest, can you remember what it was that brought you here?

Pat: Oh yeah, I typed in the phrase Cyber Crime Cheque Fraud into Google and your site was on the first page of results. It was an entry called "Cheque Fraud - The Unseen Victims." that actually caught my eye so I came over for a look. I think I ended up reading all your articles in one sitting.

James Bigglesworth: Excellent. What did you lean from reading?

Pat: I learned that Sam was a small part of a very large problem, and I was even more determined to find out more about his scheme so that I could expose him. I replied to him to get more info, playing along as best I could.

Sam's email to Pat:-

Quote:

Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009
From: "Mr. Mario Caffy" <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: qUICK RESPONDS !!!!!!!!!!!
To: Pat [censored]

Ok Let me make this clear to you, we dont just get any check for this.I have someone that can helpme in stealing some one account in usa and in UK. With that we use them to build checks here in Nigeria. So i try and make contact notme alone i have other peoples that willlove to work with me to get contacts. And this all areunder % also. So with this checks been with you. when i get you their Contact address and Names of which is cashing the check you just write it andmailit out to them. I would have making full talk with them and make them know any check cashed they would send the money to you Via Western Union .On behave of your Name. Mind you. Your address will be changed cause i am not going to Give it to them in other for you to Gain security. So you see you are protected., So any Money sent to you Via western Union. I will be emailed and iwill farward it to you. that is why i need your Number so that i can always call you when there is any progress. So that you can go get the money from the western Union. then you deduct your 30%, I will get back to you with my own details so that you can send me my own 70%. Mind you this 70% will be shared amoung me and the other guys i have here in nigeria . that worked this out. Hope this is cleared by you.
THANKS !!!!!!!!

James Bigglesworth: So it sounds as though they may be running a phishing operation somewhere to gain access to account details. In turn those details are used to create fake cheques, you get the responsibility to mail the cheques. After all that, you get a 30% cut.

Pat: Yeah, quite elaborate isn't it. I don't think I'll ever look at cheques in quite the same way ever again. Anyway, I asked Sam how we were to proceed.

Sam's email to Pat:-

Quote:

Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:35:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Mr. Mario Caffy" <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: QICK RESPONDS !!!!!!!!!!!
To: Pat [censored]

Thanks for undertsanding how this works. The reason i have not sent this checks out for you is that i am not having anough at hand to handle all items that is to be used for he printing of he check right here in nigeria. I am not telling you o conribute to this cause it is my own part of duty to play. Your own part to Play is just to mail out the payrolls. But if you dont mind and wish to be in assistante to me let me know so that i reply you how much is been needed for the conclusion of the checks to be printed out...
THANKS

James Bigglesworth: Sounds like he's pleading poverty and is setting you up for sending him money.

Pat: Yeah I was pretty suspicious about that, but I still played along. There's no way I would ever send this animal any money, so I thought there's no harm in playing along with him.

James Bigglesworth: So where did you think this would lead you?

Pat: Well James, I had this notion that if he actually sent me a bunch of cheques, and then supplied me with people to send them to, I could hand the details to the Police. It would at least save a few victims, and make me feel better about myself too.

Sam's email to Pat:-

Quote:

Date: Sat, 11 Jul 2009
From: "Mr. Mario Caffy" <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: Ok, I'm in
To: Pat [censored]

Thanks for your responds. I see you really mean Bussiness with me, The reason why you can not make use of a versa checks is that it is only sold and used in USA. You can Other for it you think you can do that so that it can be brought to you in Uk. But if not you don't have to worry about that all you need is to surport with with this plan is by haveing send to me the sum of 300pounds. So that i can be able to use it to set up all check. UK an Usa. checks Cause i know europian country can also cash Uk Checks. So i can be able to get all datals to my Printer here in Nigeria and also pay him for his work. and with the Little i have in Hand then i can use it to mail the check out for you. So you can be able to hndle the payroll. If you dont mind you can add me on my yahoo im so that we can chat. Mine is jararegba@yahoo.com Hope i get yours so that i can add you. and we will hve a Nice chat some times when we meet online. Thanks .

My real name is Paul !!!!

James Bigglesworth: Typical. They always ask for money, even in the middle of trying to recruit someone into their scheme to scam others. We also see another name, Paul this time.

Pat: Yeah, it didn't really surprise me to be asked for money, and he did also make a suggestion for me to try the VersaCheck software. Considering the cost of the software and the fact that it's American, there's not much hope of that happening. As for his real name being Paul? I doubt that too, after all he is a liar and a thief. I told him I would not send money to fund his scam, but would accept the cheques for distribution.

James Bigglesworth: What did he have to say about that?

Pat: Well he moaned a bit, but after a few days he finally got off his useless backside and sent me a supposed cheque sample. I was supposed to use this to do a test print. I fell about the floor laughing when I opened the .doc attachment he sent.

Sam's email to Pat:-

Quote:

Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009
From: "Mr. Mario Caffy" <consult.caffy@yahoo.com>
Subject: here is the CHECK SAMPLE !!!!!
To: Pat [censored]

Hi

I finally got a sample of how most of the checks Looks Like in Usa. But this is Just a sample the ZFXCM. on the check sample is just a companies name of the check producer. and the address which is

University of Colorado at Boulder
Room 150 41 UCB
Boulder,CO 80309-0041

just the companies address that is issuing out the check. and the address below

Wells Fargo
San Francisco, CA

is the address of the bank . and Bank Name {Wells Fargo} I hope you understand this Better. Pls look into it and see if you can get a check Paper that can suit you print out this. and if you finally do. Pls make sure you write One and Print it out on your self. and have it scanned to me Via email. So that i can see for my self, And know if i am ok by that, then we can start with usa checks for the present. then if i am able to get some thing for UK .And EUROPS i am going to update you. Hope this make sence to you, Pls reply as soon as Possible. cause i know we are working out progress in here and God is going to help us. and more Over, I will like to have your yahoo im which you sue in chating so that i can add you on mine and we Both can chat some other time if we are fortunate to get each other online.

THANKS SO MUCH
Mr. Sam

<< Attachment : check.doc >>

[Watermark Added By James Bigglesworth]

James Bigglesworth: That's a fine example of a seriously bad fake cheque. So after you picked yourself up off the floor, what was your next move?

Pat: I got the impression, based on this utter rubbish, that Sam was simply not capable of producing anything that would be of use to me. So, I decided to cut him loose and forget about him. It was then that I came to you with all the data.

James Bigglesworth: Wise to cut him loose I think. Interestingly, he doesn't even know what the logo (bad as it is) really means. He called it "ZFXCM", supposedly a company name. In fact the logo actually belongs to a UK Limited company called "Forex Capital Markets Ltd [link]". The "Z" is simply the shape of their logo, not part of the name. Thanks for bringing all this to us Pat, we will post an article as a warning to others.

Pat: Thank you James, I hope someone reads it and avoids being drawn in to a horrid fraud as a result.

REVEALING THE FRAUDSTERS' LOCATION

I obtained all the email exchanges from Pat to examine the headers. Whilst the fraudster has already admitted being in Nigeria, and supplying a Nigerian Mobile phone number, it is always intersting to validate what service providers are being used.

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 10:45:39 +0900 (JST) [41.219.220.200] [Starcomms, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:08:22 +0900 (JST) [195.248.241.211] [K & D Daniel Bryniarski, Poland] [whois (link)]
Mon, 8 Jun 2009 20:53:58 +0900 (JST) [212.56.203.197] [Relsoft Communications, Moldova] [whois (link)]
Tue, 9 Jun 2009 05:55:22 +0900 (JST) [41.219.239.197] [Starcomms, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:07:44 +0900 (JST) [41.219.245.54] [Starcomms, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:25:02 +0900 (JST) [41.219.205.218] [Starcomms, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:32:13 +0900 (JST) [82.128.44.30] [Multi-Links Telecommunications Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Tue, 7 Jul 2009 19:46:34 +0900 (JST) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Wed, 8 Jul 2009 20:06:31 +0900 (JST) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Thu, 9 Jul 2009 06:25:13 -0700 (PDT) [41.220.75.3] [MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, Ojota, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:35:25 -0700 (PDT) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:50:18 -0700 (PDT) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:43:53 -0700 (PDT) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:42:19 -0700 (PDT) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:52:15 -0700 (PDT) [80.250.32.49] [Skannet, Ibadan, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:07:53 -0700 (PDT) [82.128.23.228] [Multi-links Telecommunications Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:36:17 -0700 (PDT) [82.128.23.228] [Multi-links Telecommunications Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:11:26 -0700 (PDT) [82.128.23.179] [Multi-links Telecommunications Limited, Lagos, Nigeria] [whois (link)]

SUMMARY

This article should serve as an eye-opener for anyone who is approached to become a cheque printer or cheque distributor for someone else. If Pat had become involved with this scheme, he would have been liable for prosecution as an accomplice to a fraud. In any country that would be a serious offence and the accomplice would no doubt be spending time in jail.

Also remember, that because your "employer" is in another country, the authorities will hurl the law book at you, as the cost of bringing the likes of Sam to justice, are huge. Would the authorities look upon you as anything other than a willing participant? Very unlikely.

Be careful out there!

The full name of the potential victim has not been shown for privacy reasons but he has accepted that the text of exchanges displayed here may identify him to the fraudster. Under normal circumstances we would never condone the posting of information that could identify a victim to a fraudster. However, we are 100% convinced that this potential victim is in no danger of any physical harm as a result. We will not discuss how we came to that conclusion.