any money and the end result is generally a gratified con man with a big grin.
A science researcher at a southern university in need of research funding was among a diverse number of people who received an opportune overture from a man who identified himself as Dr. James E. Lipton, chairman of the Lipton Trust. He explained that he was the heir of Sir Thomas Lipton, who developed the Lipton Tea Company and died in 1931. The Lipton Trust, he elaborated, gave grants for worthy endeavors and was considering the scientist for funding amounting to $200 million. However, if he wished to hold a spot as a potential recipient while final decisions were being made, he needed to put $350,000 in an escrow account. Others got similar come-ons, including a lumber executive looking to do a real estate investment in Asia. Some of those contacted were resourceful enough to call Unilever, the conglomerate that owns Lipton Tea. They discovered there was no Lipton Trust and no Lipton heir. Sir Thomas Lipton died without heirs and left much of his fortune to the city of Glascow, Scotland, where he was born, to aid the poor and build hospitals. The professor managed to avoid losing his money, but others weren't as lucky. Always be suspicious if you're asked to put up money to get money. It's almost always a ruse.
Small and simple scams can escalate and, if they work, become massive in scale. For years, one of the most ubiquitous scams going has been the Nigerian Letter Fraud, a swindle that has become so large in scope that it has been said to rank as Nigeria's third-largest industry. It's actually a new construction of one of the oldest scams on record, the Spanish Prisoner. In that old con, a man shows the dupe a picture of his sister, a beautiful young woman who he says is being held captive, along with their fortune, in Spain. If the person would be willing to front money to get her out, he would reward him with a portion of the fortune, as well as the sister. There is, of course, no sister and no fortune.
The Nigerian Letter scam takes myriad forms, but the basic idea is that you or your business get an unsolicited "top secret" letter from someone identifying himself as a functionary of a Nigerian company or government ministry. Usually it's something like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company or the Ministry of Mines. The writer asks for your help in getting "trapped" money out of Nigeria. He would like to use your bank account to park something in excess of $20 million. Typically he'll name an imprecise sum like $30.3 million for credibility.
For your help, you'll be paid anywhere from 15 to 40 percent of the sum. You're told the arrangement is "risk free." All you need to do is furnish your bank account information so the funds can be transferred. Sometimes the letter will inject an added sweetener, as if millions of dollars for doing nothing were not enough. One version offers "as a token of our appreciation" as much as 500,000 barrels of automotive oil at less than market price.
Needless to say, there are no funds and no oil. It was the account number that the Nigerians wanted. They proceed to use it to illegally withdraw your money or your company's money.
Other variations target members of religious organizations. The letter writer will claim to be of the same faith and will say that he is being persecuted in Africa for his religious beliefs. He explains that he has made considerable profits, some of which he wants to entrust to you to do good work. Just send the necessary bank account numbers. Yet another version goes to veterinarians and is supposedly from a fellow Nigerian veterinarian, though it's often the same guy who works at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and at the Ministry of Mines.
Too often, greed overwhelms reason when these letters arrive. Millions of dollars have been lost to the Nigerian enticements over the years, despite the fact that law enforcement authorities have heavily publicized them and warned against giving out your bank account number. I can't stress that enough. Never, ever, give out banking information in such a carefree way. And I would also be careful about what you do about getting your money back. Some of those fleeced have taken trips to Nigeria in pursuit of their money, and some of them have been killed.
So have the Nigerians