Shalom! Information security researcher Salvatore Lombardo has detailed a new scam scheme involving so-called "Nigerian widows".
This is followed by a long correspondence in which she describes her story in detail: how I was left all alone, lost my entire family, lost my home and my livelihood.
According to the widow, she barely makes ends meet, eating on donations. She is unable to return to her homeland and pay for paperwork, as access to her husband's bank account is blocked.
And then the woman makes a business offer to the shaggy man: to become her representative and help him get an inheritance for a generous reward. At the same time, certain conditions are set: keep all information and correspondence secret, do not deceive it, and so on.
However, to do this, the representative must undertake to send an official letter to the bank requesting a transfer of funds, enclosing a number of documents that are available only to the widow in paper form.
And to scan these documents, she needs money for a trip to a remote locality, since the refugee camp does not have the necessary equipment. And this is where the fraud itself begins…
This is followed by a request to transfer a certain amount to a bank account allegedly belonging to a certain humanitarian organization employee. They say that refugees are not allowed to have their own accounts.
In fact, the specified account is controlled by fraudsters, and any money sent to it will end up in the pockets of scammers. After that, they are likely to demand even more money to pay for "legal services".
As you can see, the scheme is typical: first, a desperate letter about a large inheritance, then requests for personal information and financial assistance to resolve the formalities.
According to Lombardo, at the moment the fraudulent account, where all the proceeds from this scam flow, has already collected approximately 1,371 euros.
It all starts with a fake letter from a widow living in a "refugee camp". A woman with tears in her eyes asks for help in obtaining a large sum of money bequeathed to her by her husband who died in the war.
This is followed by a long correspondence in which she describes her story in detail: how I was left all alone, lost my entire family, lost my home and my livelihood.
According to the widow, she barely makes ends meet, eating on donations. She is unable to return to her homeland and pay for paperwork, as access to her husband's bank account is blocked.
And then the woman makes a business offer to the shaggy man: to become her representative and help him get an inheritance for a generous reward. At the same time, certain conditions are set: keep all information and correspondence secret, do not deceive it, and so on.
However, to do this, the representative must undertake to send an official letter to the bank requesting a transfer of funds, enclosing a number of documents that are available only to the widow in paper form.
And to scan these documents, she needs money for a trip to a remote locality, since the refugee camp does not have the necessary equipment. And this is where the fraud itself begins…
This is followed by a request to transfer a certain amount to a bank account allegedly belonging to a certain humanitarian organization employee. They say that refugees are not allowed to have their own accounts.
In fact, the specified account is controlled by fraudsters, and any money sent to it will end up in the pockets of scammers. After that, they are likely to demand even more money to pay for "legal services".
As you can see, the scheme is typical: first, a desperate letter about a large inheritance, then requests for personal information and financial assistance to resolve the formalities.
According to Lombardo, at the moment the fraudulent account, where all the proceeds from this scam flow, has already collected approximately 1,371 euros.
