Nationwide Scam Resurfaces Here

Faxes from Nigeria offering to pad Americans’ bank accounts with millions of dollars have resurfaced here and are part of a nationwide scam, warns Better Business Bureau of the Inland Northwest.

On Monday, a Spokane business owner received a fax - ostensibly from Nigeria’s “Minister of Petroleum” - requesting bank account numbers and company letterhead, said BBB president Lisa E. Stephens. In return, the ministry claimed it would deposit millions into the account.

According to the fax, the owner could then keep a hefty percentage of the money, which the ministry wanted to put into foreign banks.

The fax is similar to those other business bureaus have reported in the past year. Businesses worldwide have lost $200 million to the scam, Stephens said.

“Basically, companies who fall for this are greedy, because they’re involving themselves in something shady. But the bottom line is that they’re getting scammed,” she said.

If you have received similar propositions, call the bureau at 325-3366 or (800) 248-2356.