A sample courier message looks like this: “(NAME) your parcel on home delivery service request sent from (NAME) of 201, London, the United Kingdom is currently in our warehouse. Please contact our agent in charge (NAME) (PHONE NUMBER) to submit codes and clear goods. Terms and conditions apply”.
This is just the beginning. If you call the number, you would be asked some questions just for you to believe they are real. Whether you call or not, you will most likely get a follow-up message that looks like this: “you are to text your name and the teller number to the SECRETARY after payment ACCOUNT NAME: (NAME) ACCOUNT NUMBER (NUMBER) (BANK NAME)”.
At this point, if you forward the money that is probably the last you will hear from them, no parcel, no refund, and no traces. Note that the account number might even be sent alongside the first message. Note that the scam message content might take a different form to these mentioned here.
2. CUSTOM VEHICLES/PROPERTIES
Customs is an agency that deals with the control of the flow of goods, cars, and other properties. In Nigeria, it is under the Ministry of Finance and it’s called the Nigerian Customs Service.
Unfortunately, some potential scammers have resorted to defrauding people under the disguise of the Nigerian Customs Service.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES OF THESE SCAM MESSAGES
A sample customs scam message looks like this: “Hello Mr., your request (2006 Toyota corolla) with Auction ID 7789SEME has been reviewed you can now proceed with the clearance fee payment with the following account details... ACCOUNT NAME: (NAME) ACCOUNT NO.: (NUMBER) (BANK NAME)....”
That is the start. Once you forward the money to the said account number, you might get a response back from them but not what you would have expected.
A follow-up message may look like this: “Sir, We wish to inform you that your parcel has been permanently confiscated by THE NIGERIAN CUSTOMS AUTHORITY till further notice. Reason; Hard Currency was detected to be in your parcel which is an illegal act. Contact: (NAME) Nigeria Customs Service (PHONE NUMBER)”.
At this point, you’ve been scammed in real-time. The money is gone and cannot be traced. The scammers equally send fake employment offers into Nigeria's customs service to people. Please note that these scam message content may take different forms to the ones mentioned above.
3. BANK ALERTS SCAM
With good intentions, commercial banks send alerts to their customers to intimate them of every transaction going on in their bank account. Sad to say, some desperate potential scammers are equally using bank alerts to try and defraud people.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES OF THESE SCAM MESSAGES
A sample bank alert scam message looks like this: “Your Acct 00xxxx000 has Been Credited with NGN5, 000,000.00 on 19- JAN-2015 7:46:18 By (NAME) BAL: NGN5, 001,000.00CR”.
Why will people send scam bank alert messages you might ask? Well for various reasons. Sometimes the scam message is sent to cover up another scam. Maybe the recipient has been scammed into doing a business and the scammers said they will pay. This scam alert is then sent first to deceive the person into believing that the money has been paid in, and then he follows up with his end of the bargain, only to go to the bank account and realize there is nothing there. So pathetic.
A lot of persons have been deceived by these kinds of messages from scammers, so you need to be very careful. While some banks have their bank names registered with the network operators and therefore making it impossible for just anybody to use it in sending messages. There are still some that go through and are been used by scammers.
4. EMPLOYMENT OFFERS SCAM MESSAGES
What a fitting area for scammers to concentrate in their scamming business, and rightly so. Such is the high level of unemployment in the country. The sender ID for these kinds of messages varies depending on the firm the scammers want to paint that it’s coming from. Names of top governmental and private agencies are commonly used.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES OF THESE SCAM MESSAGES
Many of these employment scammers do have emails and some equally have sites where u can go and believe they are real. They even post adverts under the disguise of such agencies (e.g. N.N.P.C) and request for C.Vs.
A sample employment offer scam message looks like this: “Dear applicant, your CV was received and we sent you the N.N.P.C recruitment form. Print it out, fill it and send it back to us. Call Mr. (NAME) (NUMBER) for more info”.
At this point, your hopes are up and you start to believe this thing is real. Many of such messages are scam messages and lots of persons have fallen prey to them. Note that to spice this scam up, some employment offer scammers might even have a website and invite you to an office, only for you to find out in the long run that they aren’t real.
5. PROMOS SCAM MESSAGES
This is also one of the areas where scammers are making waves today.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES OF THESE SCAM MESSAGES
The sender of such messages claims that you’ve won something in an ongoing promo by a firm, industry, or organization. In a bid to redeem your prize, you have to send something across and get scammed in the process.
An example of a promo scam message is: “Congratulations. You are one of the lucky winners in the ongoing (NAME OF FIRM, INDUSTRY OR PRODUCT) promo. Call Mr. (NAME) on (PHONE NUMBER) to redeem your prize”.
Once you call the said individual, one thing will lead to another, and as long as you keep falling for it, before you know it you’ve lost a lot and end up winning nothing.
Given these major examples of scam messages so rampant today and some of the identifying marks uncovered, it is important to know that everybody is a recipient of a potential scam message and anybody can be a victim. For you not to be one, here are various ways you can protect yourself from being scammed.
At SmartSMSSolutions, we are the lead thought on signs of potential scam messages and how to guide against them. We equally have an optimized platform that checks scam messages and protects you from them. Register a free bulk SMS account if you do not have one, Free SMS units are also up for grabs after registering.
