Nigeria Advance Fee Fraud

You may wonder indeed why on earth I am blogging this under genealogy
well I am a member of the highly recommened, if genealogical eccentric, Genes Reunited Family Tree • Genealogy • Ancestor • Ancestry • Family History
(their own home page title)
and I received two of these spam emails there for the first time

Apart from the vagaries of user submissions there are a few main problems with the site:_

1)
you need to privatize your gedcom before you upload it - the site unlike World Connect and the rest allows full data on living people just like its parent Friends Reunited

2)
you will get many emails from newbies about hot matches which aren't, be kind, the aystem does not include locations so my Elizabeth Jones born 1825 gets too much attention
Jones, Elizabeth Susan b: 7 DEC 1825 BE KIND
on
RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: WATKINS LAPHAM updated 2007

3)
if you share your tree with strangers they may well take all and give little, which upsets some of our community, hence I always refer them to my more up to date public trees on WorldConnect instead
http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=hughw36
and I hope they explore that site too

My good news about Genes Reunited is I have made contact with some Raglan Jones cousins in Australia and tahta the price is very reasonable so I will continue indefinitely

If you can afford pay per view they also have 1841 1851 1861 1871 1891 and the PRO 1901 censuses
http://www.1901census.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
which they purchased before selling all to ITV who are developing net as well as TV advertising see foe example http://www.itv.com/entertainment/
the 1901 census footer Copyright Genes Reunited Records Ltd. 2000-2007.
All site material is owned by Genes Reunited Records Ltd

1901 Census Privacy Policy: "This is a legal document which sets out how GenesReunited Records Limited handles data which identifies you. You should read it in conjunction with the 1901 Census Service Agreement, of which this Privacy Policy forms part.

At GenesReunited Records, we believe strongly in protecting the privacy of our users' personal information. This statement describes the privacy practices we apply for the 1901 Census Service. As part of that, it also expresses our approach to complying with the data protection laws which apply in the United Kingdom. If we change this Privacy Policy, we will notify you of the changed document in the same way as we notify changes to the Ts and Cs for the 1901 Census Service."

spanish NIGERIAN SPAM - Google Search

Nigeria Advance Fee Fraud - scam - 419 - email hoax - con - confidence scheme

More information can be obtained about this fraud here:

www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml

What is the Nigerian Scam, anyway?

In a nutshell the scam works like this: you get an email from someone claiming to have access to a very large sum of money, and all they want in return is to use your bank account to transfer the funds. In exchange for your services they will give you some healthy percentage of the funds, usually 20% or more. Sometimes they request that you furnish them with blank company letterhead, and/or bank account information.

First off, they often use your letterhead to make fake Visa sponsorship requests to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to get into the US, alternatively, they use the letterhead to send recommendations to other companies that will be enticed into the scam in the future. With your banking information they will draw up false financial instruments against your account and suck it dry.

Second, as you fall into the scam, they explain that all they need is a few thousand dollars to get appropriate documents prepare, to create a will, a dummy corporation, licensing fees or what have you.

Of course, after this initial fee is paid, yet another payment is required. Perhaps this time, a bank or government official has discovered the goings-on, and requires a bribe. Finally, they convince you that the only way to close the transaction is to go to Africa personally, after all, how can they trust you with all that money?

Upon your arrival in Africa, to put it bluntly, you are screwed. They usually smuggle you into Nigeria without a visa (which is a serious crime there). Once you are in their hands, the moment you stop cooperating (i.e., paying them money), you will be threatened with arrest for illegally entering the country, your life will be threatened, most likely you will be severely beaten, and many times the victims are held for ransom. For this reason, it is common practice for the scammers to ask for the contact information of your spouse and other family members.

According to the US Secret Service page about the Nigerian 419 scheme, an American involved in the scam was found dead in Lagos in 1995. According to this State Department report on Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud (PDF file), over 25 murders of Americans have been directly linked to the "Four One Nine" fraud. This scam is perpetuated worldwide now, mostly thanks to the internet. Many people from other nations have also been killed, and many, many more are still officially "missing"....

PLEASE REMEMBER: If it's too good to be true, it is!

AKA known as

Spanish Prisoner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This scam is also contained in the movie The Flim-Flam Man.
Arthur Train's story "The Spanish Prisoner" was published in the March, 1910