NIGERIAN SCAMS - SELLER BEWARE

To avoid getting scammed, you need to know who you deal with. If you are a SELLER of high price items, You will deal with NIGERIAN SCAMMER once.

NIGERIAN SCAMMER are mostly act as a BUYER while ROMANIAN SCAMMER are mostly act as a SELLER. Please read more below.

You may also CLICK "ME" next to my ID or under the picture on the right after reading this guide to see sample of a FAKE paypal and a FAKE ebay e-mail, also a sample of  ebay fraudulent items.

First of all, please be noticed that not all of readers voted that this guide is useful or helpful. As of today 09/30/07 (when this guide was revised): 30 out of 32 people found that this guide helpful. 2 of the readers voted that this guide is not helpful. You can see that mostly guides about NIGERIAN SCAMS were got minor votes. For example: 27 out of 51, 9 out of 17, 21 out of 36 people found that the guide helpful. Must be something wrong here. Those guides were written to warn other ebay members/ users to avoid getting scammed by these crooks. So, Who and Why voted not helpful? Who were they?
 
It is clearly detected that these NIGERIAN SCAMMERS are still exists, alive well here among us and they read this guide as well. This is an obstacle for them; need to be deleted from ebay page if possible.  I don't understand how this simple scams goes on years after years and took so many victims.
They bought your item, You got a FAKE paypal e-mail told you that it had been paid for. You got e-mail to send the item to their niece, grandma, nephew, grandpa, sister inlaw or whatever who living in NIGERIA.
If you send the item to these crooks, you will never see your money and your item again because it was FAKE paypal payment and there is no way to track down these crooks. End of story.
Not many people on this earth can do this kind of crap because of some reason:
Education, Religion, Local Law, The way of life and so on. Imagine that this kind of scam was going years after years and took so many victims.
I did some research about it and found that many ebay ower sellers who got thousands of feedback still got scammed by these crooks! Amazing, unbelievable.
This is all about NIGERIAN SCAMS; we can't call it only "SCAM". It is not Timbuktu Scams, not Yadayada Scams, Not Blablabla Scams. It is NIGERIAN SCAMS. This scams is so simple, so specific, it is so different from other scams. It is not the arts of scams. So easy to detect these kinds of scams but why a reputable ebay seller with thousands of feedback still got sammed? Are they so stupid and dumb? maybe they never read about this scams? I am not sure. But one thing in my opinion: they are greedy in some degree, they feel lucky that they can sell a used canon EOS 20D for a $1,400.00 or a used leica M8 for $ 8,000.00 and get $150.00 to $200.00 shipping cost to NIGERIA or for some other unknown reason.
You may think that I am out of mind. Wait a minute: Thousands and thousands of (expensive) goods were sent to these crooks in NIGERIA so far. We are talking about photographic equipments here, they will not carrying those $6,000.00 CANON EOS 5D, a $7,000.00 SONY DSR570WS or a $6,500.00 LEICA M8 and using it on their gravel street. So, where those stolen items go? I guest they were re-shipped to the US, EUROPE, CHINA and some other countries. BUT, Where and how they sell those items? Do they own a retail store? I don't think so. You guest.
Think about it. You are a pro power seller with thousands of feedbacks or new ebayer that just selling something for hobby. You opened your ebay account and found that  someone juat bought your item. You got an e-mail as attached below (sample of a scammer's e-mail):
Hi friend,
I just came across your item off eBay and I was looking for an exactly gift to a relative of mine for a special Birthday gift. I hope that your item is as good in its condition as you have described at your auction off eBay. I will be sending it as a gift to a relative of mine that study abroad at the University Of Lagos, In Nigeria. So I will like you to get the cost (amount) for the shipment of this item to him in IKEJA LAGOS STATE 100001.NIGERIA.As soon as you got the price for the shipment, please kindly get back to me, and add the amount to the cost of the item at eBay and sent it along with the invoice at pay pal or eBay okay. So that I can direct the money to you either any means of payment. But I would to make the payment of this item via pay pal, this is because it’s the safest means of payment for an online transaction, and eBay has assured us for the using of pay pal. Pay pal protect both the buyer and the seller, so I will like you to send me your pay pal email account so that I can direct the money to your account today okay. And remember that you are to ship the item via USPS GLOBAL EXPRESS MAIL, or EMS 3 to 5-business day for the delivering. This is because they are the safest and affordable means of shipment that I can afford,and i will like youto contact me with my number so thatwe can discuss about this transanction (+447024035894).
And Below is the address that you will have to calculate the shipemt to:
NAME: ----------------------------- EMMA M. OGHENETEGA
ADDRESS: -----------------------79 MOBOLAJI BANK ANTHONY WAY.
PHONE NUMBER: ------------2348035171184
CITY: -------------------------------IKEJA
POSTAL CODE: ---------------100001
STATE: ----------------------------LAGOS STATE
COUNTRY: -----------------------NIGERIA
Best Regards...
Lopez Villa.
WHAT THE &$*^ IS THIS? Absolutely you don't want to send your item to some body's GRANDPA, MOM, DADDY, UNCLE, BROTHER, SISTER, GRANDMA or NIECE in NIGERIA. This is crazy. Yes it is.
You can find more about NIGERIAN SCAMS by go to Google and type: NIGERIAN SCAMMERS or NIGERIAN SCAMS, EBAY SCAMS. Even just type CROOKS, FRAUD or SCAMS. It is Amazing isn't it? I meant about their Scams popularity. Scams for life. Scams for living.
More interesting, go to youtube, type in NIGERIAN SCAM, you will see some of their face there!. cool.
Here are what you have to do:
DO NOT EVER CLICK ANY LINKS PROVIDED IN THEIR E-MAIL. Those link(s) are fake (fake paypal website, fake ebay website, fake etc). Once you click to their provided link, and sign in to that fake paypal or fake ebay site, you will get a trouble. A real trouble. Usually they will get your password, ID, etc right away then TAKE OVER your account. Once your account hijacked by these crooks, you will not able to open your ebay or paypal acount. They will use your ebay account to sell (in one day auction) hundreds even thousands expensive item, and receive thousands of dollars from the buyer(s). Now you are really in trouble. Contact ebay? Try to send e-mail, you will get answer within 2-4 days later. Am I kidding? NO. You can find even many ebayer with thousands of feedbacks got their account hijacked by these crooks and can't do nothing. please click "ME" page (next to my ebay ID) for more info.
DO NOT SEND/ MAIL/ SHIP the item for any reason, EVEN you got their paypal payment. Their paypal payment is FAKE! Does not from real paypal. It does not looks like real to me but for some people, it does.
In some case, these NIGERIAN SCAMMERS are will more aggresive by threatening the seller. hope that the seller will backed out and send the merchandise. the threatening emails supposedly from the FBI but actually sent via a free webmail address (e.g."head_fbi_investigation_at_public.lagos_dot_com"). The scammers told the sellers they were being investigated by the FBI for fraud for not shipping the goods to Nigeria. Don't let yourself be intimidated, contact the police if you have any doubt! or just don't pay attention to it. it just another bogus anyway.
DO NOT EVER REPLY TO THEIR E-MAIL, by reply to their e-mails, they will get your e-mail address. Using your e-mail address to sign up many things on the net from porn site to gambling site or send you a fake paypal or ebay e-mail, you name it then you will get thousands spams e-mail!.
REPORT TO EBAY ABOUT THIS SITUATION: OPEN A NEW INTERNET BROWSER, SIGN IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT, CLICK "HELP" - Locate on RIGHT TOP ebay page, then click "CONTACT US" on the LEFT MIDDLE ebay page, then choose ACCOUNT SECURITY.
 
-By reporting this crook activity, you will avoid many ebay members from being scammed.
 
If you found that this guide the least bit helpful, please take just 2 seconds to click the "yes" button below. The more people click that button the more chance other people will get to see this warning as well. Please see my other guide about ROMANIAN SCAM - BUYERS BEWARE.
Thank you, and safe bidding or buying for everyone.