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4. Unemployment
Another avenue why many people fall into the preying claws of fraudsters in Nigeria is unemployment. In this part of the world, many people who are desperately in need of jobs and active engagement to earn decent living, are enormous but their quest to work is limited to little or unavailable jobs. On this basis, many targets of fraudsters become much available to victimize the novice and vulnerable. A question someone would ask next is, 'what could an employed person offer as valuable to a fraudster whose target is to lure him into defrauding?'
An answer to such question as stated above could be put simply as: 'even the unemployed has much to give in the terms of possession.' Again, it's not every unemployed man/woman that is relatively poor. Not gainfully employed at a particular stage in life does not connote to abject poverty or outright poorness. People in this bracket could had savings from their past employment or other past financial deals. Some may be in this bracket but still have other source of income such as periodic allowances from related/concerned guardians; stipends from philanthropist; communal grants and loans, etc.
ALSO READ: 7 Reasons Why Many People Are Defrauded By Fraudsters In Nigeria
When the claws of fraudsters are directed at their victims in this category, their focus always is on tricking them to sell their already acquired household possessions for urgent cash or brainwash them to get cash from either parents, friends or loan channels. The victims on the other hand always see the avenue to acquire wealth through shortcut so as to beat poverty initiated by unemployment, hence they would always jump at the offer.
One case study about three unemployed guys in Mushin area of Lagos comes into discussion here. About 5 years ago in Mushin, 3 unemployed young men lost N400,000 (four hundred thousand naira) each to tricksters who posed as travel agents to Europe and USA. They claimed to be able to process visa for any chosen European country or USA at a cheap processing and agent fees. They had their office in Ikeja. These 3 young guys got defrauded after being convinced about their ease to get to Europe or USA. To them, they were eager to escape the aura and horror of harsh unemployment situation in Nigeria. So, they had to borrow and sell some of their furniture belongings to meet up the N400, 000 (four hundred thousand naira) demanded for the total expenses of the journey. They were however given fake passports and visas. It was on the day when they got to the airport to board their airplane that it was dawn on then that they were deceived and defrauded. Their visas were certified fake and illegal; and they were locked up in the airport police cell for possessing fake documents as visas.
Another recently invented fraudulent antic of online job consultancy has taken few thousand notes out of the each unemployed young men and women in Nigeria. They may receive an email of direct employment into NNPC; and to attain an automatic staffing in such mega corporation. Many have fallen victims by either paying the consultancy fee or deposit some few thousands into a directed bank account, and thereafter, nothing happened.
5. The Restless Desire To Travel Abroad
The most recent of all the defrauding antics of fraudsters is this sub-heading. Recently, fraudsters have developed their tricks of deception to trap or con their victims with the promise of sending them abroad, especially Europe. Many who have past through this ordeal and ended up defrauded, are those who are over-zealous to travel out of Nigeria to seek greener pasture abroad.
ALSO READ: Nigerian Wellington Jighere Now Scrabble World Champion
The fraudsters always operate at a location which they claim as offices. Such offices could be in unsuspected structure like a beautiful house or plaza which may be located at areas where no suspicion could be generated by even the wise eyes. In many cases of this which had been witnessed in places like Lagos and Abuja, the fraudsters may hire a temporary building for about a month or weeks with concrete arrangement with the property proprietor. They may also hire an office space in plazas for about a year; and recently, they have been found to be operating in proxy without letting their victims assess their operating locations. This they achieve by introducing a middleman who may be known to their victim, and who would run errands between them. But when the main deception game gets to the realm of even the victim becoming suspicious of some mischief or trickery, the middleman would disappear abruptly. Only the fraudsters would then know his whereabouts afterwards.
The victims in this category always meet the fraudsters mainly through proxy or an introducing agent who would later pose as the middleman between them. They are always told to pay their travel expenses in instalment remittance. Some would be told to pay only for their visas and air ticket and that the remaining burden would be borne by the 'travel business tycoons'. One thing that mostly form the centre of apprehension and mesmerizes the victims into quick acceptance of any decision of the 'travel agents' is the claim to have a job already arranged for them abroad. They always convinced their victims that once they get abroad, a job would already be there waiting for them. So, after hearing this, they would be blindfolded and deafening to hear any contrary views to any act of defrauding even if an experienced mind came across them to guide or oppose their intentions.
Many victims had borrowed or sold properties belonging to relatives to raise certain amount of money as demanded by 'travel agents', but afterwards lost such amount to the same people whom unknown to them were fraudsters. Some victims had committed suicide after spending much money than what they could actually earn but later discovered that they were defrauded.
Today, fraudsters had developed the strategy of always getting in touch with their 'clients' via telephone conversation and give them all directions such as; the bank accounts to deposit cash into, the names of particular people they should go meet at any chosen embassy, amount to be paid to a certain embassy official, where or how to get the photocopies of their travelling documents...all these may ensue without the victim ever seen the faces of the fraudsters. What actually barred them from seeking the face or physical appearance of the fraudsters is the reechoed usual warnings by the fraudsters not to reveal the secret of their movement to anybody even if it is their close relative. The only aspect they are allowed to discuss with their relatives is when they in the quest for money to be given to them(fraudsters) as travelling expenses, but they are only to tell their relatives that they are processing their papers to abroad without mentioning anything about the 'agents'.
In this case of anonymous or proxy 'agents', the victim always endure a long process and proceedings that may translate the entire scenario spanning over a long period of many months, all with the claim or conviction of processing the papers for travel with hardship or legality obstacles. Mostly to note is the continual recurrence of hiccups at every step of the entire process. There is never a successful accomplishment at each step of the process. Something always goes wrong. This is how the whole scenario would continue until the victim is frustrated and may back out dejected or attempt to involve the police which in either ways, may never lead to the arrest of those clever fraudsters.
6. Online Quick Money
Another recent means which the fraudsters employ to prey their victims is the current online quick money making wave. This is now an everyday occurrence in the new world of technology where internet now rules every section of the society. The reason they do succeed here is the tendency and eagerness of internet users to make quick and big money online. They discovered this eagerness as a current phenomenon, so they had develop strategies to snare victims.
ALSO READ: Strange: Live Rainbow Descends And Appears In Front Of Villagers In Edo State
Many internet users have been conned through different online publications simply because they have heard that it is now easy to make a fortune through the use of internet as business connections and transactions. Basically, somebody surely needs a training to gain the knowledge to execute any kind of business transaction. But many publications that pervades the internet day in and out, portray the simplificity and ease to execute online business transactions without any essential training. Even as it obvious to an average mind that this is almost impossible, nonetheless, people still fall victims to such snare of defrauding.
Now, to the conviction of online business ease as expressed above, ask yourself one simple question. If really huge amount of money could be made with ease over the internet, how come 95% of internet users especially the teeming employed youths in Nigeria are still ignorant of this 'Santa Claus' opportunity and still living poor? Again, ask yourself: why is it always difficult to see the real person (not over the internet) who can easily show you how this task of making huge money on internet daily or weekly is achieved in the easy manner or means as portrayed even if such guide or training would cost a direct fee?
The above questions are the centre to realizing that most of the online publications for easy online money making waves are fake! Bear in mind, this confirmation is revealed out of past experience. Initially, the likes of the writer of this piece were defrauded in his quest to assess the easy and simple online business transactions. He ended up paying the sum of N4, 500 to an internet 'acclaimed' guru's account only to receive an ebook which had almost the same junk information as what was initially published in their apprehending publication. But on calling their so-called office lines for complaints, he was directed to do the same to others as was done to him by the 'online business guru'.
ALSO READ: NEWS IN FLASH: Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki Triumphs At Supreme Court
Ask yourself again: why is it that in an attempt to convince you so as to buy their ebook, you are take up and down, sideways and straightrays, Jerusalem and Mecca, all in explanations to make you believe what they are offering to you is real? Consider the old credence or adage that says: 'a good thing doesn't require much advert or eulogy, its effects will convince people'. So why always the prolonged pages to pages eulogies just to sell a 'simple' knowledge? Why are you always amongst the first 20 or 50 subscribers to get a price cut? These are all gimmicks and fraudulent antics.
Before now, you much have understood the whole expression and direction, if you had fallen a victim to this recent online deceit and fraud. But for those who are yet to experience this fraud, kindly take these few following precautions:
- no shortcut or easier way to make $1, 000 (one thousand dollars) or more in online transactions daily especially when they tell you that it requires about 2 to 3 hours of your a day or a week;
- no online robot that can be filling in your bank accounts with over $100 (one hundred dollars) a day while you do virtually nothing;
- the e-book you are always compelled and convinced to buy online to get all the tricks or knowledge of online business transactions are junk and are immaterial to that effect;
- all online commercial activities that are financially rewarding, do take much time and knowledge to accomplish;
- on the whole, it's not possible for illiterates or lowly educated person to earn income via internet because the business on internet requires appropriate skills, time and intelligence.
ALSO READ: A Car Which Moves On Land, Air And Water
7. Ignorance and Inexperience
This category is virtually the very one that touches everybody in the Nigerian society and thereby rendering everyone vulnerable to being preyed by potential fraudsters. This is where the impetuous yearning for education and societal versatility come to play. In this sense, it doesn't reflect on being educated alone, because you can be educated yet remain ignorance to certain occurrences and activities happening around your country or locality. It doesn't also means you have to be versatile alone without the knowledge of nitty gritty about the activities or occurrences in your society.
However, somebody can avoid being victim through wide knowledge and experience in the various societal happenings in the country. You don't need to be defrauded before you realized such tricks the tricksters used or are using to defraud others. A simple survey, public opinions, research etc, can reveal this. Thus referring to experience as avoidance yardstick has been corrected by this preceding sentence.
If you are versatile in-toto in the society, whether literate or illiterate, you can easily escape the claws of fraudsters as you are already aware of all their defrauding skills and styles. This is achievable via conversation with friends and the inhabitants of localities. Sometimes, it would be unbelievable what a single conversation with an experienced victim may expose.
Below are the case studies of victims who were victimize by fraudsters due to their ignorance of the happenings around their societies.
- In 2013, a young graduate from UNN, an Enugu resident who just completed the mandatory NYSC programme, came to a spot (under a tree shade) where his friend and 2 strangers were conversing on societal issues. He arrived the spot with smile and happiness, to express his recent achievable employment move to his friend. Meeting him with 2 strangers, he was reluctant to express his mood. However, too much anxiety in him couldn't hold him back too long, so he exploded his restless excitement to the 3 men. According to him, someone he met during their days in NYSC programme, sent him a text message to contact another person in the NNPC in Port Harcourt for a job opportunity. After some days of communicating with the latter, he was mandated to pay the sum of N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira) into an individual account as facilitating fee. He was assured of full employment after the payment. Nobody suspected any fowl play until he showed the text message which conveyed the bank account details and the email address where he was mandated to send his CV and his certificates. Understandably, it was a norm then that in the Nigerian employment arena, applicant must give a tip or bribe before employment is granted. But, when the email address which he claimed was NNPC officials email read: nnpc.info@gmail.com, then the captivated cats escaped from the basket! The 2 strangers who were already aware of such fraudulent activities using the NNPC as a regular employment location, exposed their own story of how 2 other people they knew got defrauded through same process...
ALSO READ: Breast Enlargement Goes Wrong? Read What Actually Happened!
- Another scenario was about a young man who fell victim to an online and telephone gimmicks in Lokoja and sent a total sum of N225, 000 (two hundred and twenty five thousand naira) to an unknown female voice on the phone in a bid to pay for the clearance of fund inheritance from Italy. He paid this amount through Western Union to a designated address in Lagos whereas the girl's voice claimed she was in Senegal, and was opportune to gain access to the church priest telephone. In a nutshell, the dazzling in his eyes got cleansed after a week he was promised to receive a container of euros currency passed and nothing happened. He tried the usual telephone lines which had engaged them in previous conversations, but the network preset voice had repeatedly confirmed that the telephone lines were out of existence!
SADOH MS' BLOG
Another avenue why many people fall into the preying claws of fraudsters in Nigeria is unemployment. In this part of the world, many people who are desperately in need of jobs and active engagement to earn decent living, are enormous but their quest to work is limited to little or unavailable jobs. On this basis, many targets of fraudsters become much available to victimize the novice and vulnerable. A question someone would ask next is, 'what could an employed person offer as valuable to a fraudster whose target is to lure him into defrauding?'
An answer to such question as stated above could be put simply as: 'even the unemployed has much to give in the terms of possession.' Again, it's not every unemployed man/woman that is relatively poor. Not gainfully employed at a particular stage in life does not connote to abject poverty or outright poorness. People in this bracket could had savings from their past employment or other past financial deals. Some may be in this bracket but still have other source of income such as periodic allowances from related/concerned guardians; stipends from philanthropist; communal grants and loans, etc.
ALSO READ: 7 Reasons Why Many People Are Defrauded By Fraudsters In Nigeria
When the claws of fraudsters are directed at their victims in this category, their focus always is on tricking them to sell their already acquired household possessions for urgent cash or brainwash them to get cash from either parents, friends or loan channels. The victims on the other hand always see the avenue to acquire wealth through shortcut so as to beat poverty initiated by unemployment, hence they would always jump at the offer.
One case study about three unemployed guys in Mushin area of Lagos comes into discussion here. About 5 years ago in Mushin, 3 unemployed young men lost N400,000 (four hundred thousand naira) each to tricksters who posed as travel agents to Europe and USA. They claimed to be able to process visa for any chosen European country or USA at a cheap processing and agent fees. They had their office in Ikeja. These 3 young guys got defrauded after being convinced about their ease to get to Europe or USA. To them, they were eager to escape the aura and horror of harsh unemployment situation in Nigeria. So, they had to borrow and sell some of their furniture belongings to meet up the N400, 000 (four hundred thousand naira) demanded for the total expenses of the journey. They were however given fake passports and visas. It was on the day when they got to the airport to board their airplane that it was dawn on then that they were deceived and defrauded. Their visas were certified fake and illegal; and they were locked up in the airport police cell for possessing fake documents as visas.
Another recently invented fraudulent antic of online job consultancy has taken few thousand notes out of the each unemployed young men and women in Nigeria. They may receive an email of direct employment into NNPC; and to attain an automatic staffing in such mega corporation. Many have fallen victims by either paying the consultancy fee or deposit some few thousands into a directed bank account, and thereafter, nothing happened.
5. The Restless Desire To Travel Abroad
The most recent of all the defrauding antics of fraudsters is this sub-heading. Recently, fraudsters have developed their tricks of deception to trap or con their victims with the promise of sending them abroad, especially Europe. Many who have past through this ordeal and ended up defrauded, are those who are over-zealous to travel out of Nigeria to seek greener pasture abroad.
ALSO READ: Nigerian Wellington Jighere Now Scrabble World Champion
The fraudsters always operate at a location which they claim as offices. Such offices could be in unsuspected structure like a beautiful house or plaza which may be located at areas where no suspicion could be generated by even the wise eyes. In many cases of this which had been witnessed in places like Lagos and Abuja, the fraudsters may hire a temporary building for about a month or weeks with concrete arrangement with the property proprietor. They may also hire an office space in plazas for about a year; and recently, they have been found to be operating in proxy without letting their victims assess their operating locations. This they achieve by introducing a middleman who may be known to their victim, and who would run errands between them. But when the main deception game gets to the realm of even the victim becoming suspicious of some mischief or trickery, the middleman would disappear abruptly. Only the fraudsters would then know his whereabouts afterwards.
The victims in this category always meet the fraudsters mainly through proxy or an introducing agent who would later pose as the middleman between them. They are always told to pay their travel expenses in instalment remittance. Some would be told to pay only for their visas and air ticket and that the remaining burden would be borne by the 'travel business tycoons'. One thing that mostly form the centre of apprehension and mesmerizes the victims into quick acceptance of any decision of the 'travel agents' is the claim to have a job already arranged for them abroad. They always convinced their victims that once they get abroad, a job would already be there waiting for them. So, after hearing this, they would be blindfolded and deafening to hear any contrary views to any act of defrauding even if an experienced mind came across them to guide or oppose their intentions.
Many victims had borrowed or sold properties belonging to relatives to raise certain amount of money as demanded by 'travel agents', but afterwards lost such amount to the same people whom unknown to them were fraudsters. Some victims had committed suicide after spending much money than what they could actually earn but later discovered that they were defrauded.
Today, fraudsters had developed the strategy of always getting in touch with their 'clients' via telephone conversation and give them all directions such as; the bank accounts to deposit cash into, the names of particular people they should go meet at any chosen embassy, amount to be paid to a certain embassy official, where or how to get the photocopies of their travelling documents...all these may ensue without the victim ever seen the faces of the fraudsters. What actually barred them from seeking the face or physical appearance of the fraudsters is the reechoed usual warnings by the fraudsters not to reveal the secret of their movement to anybody even if it is their close relative. The only aspect they are allowed to discuss with their relatives is when they in the quest for money to be given to them(fraudsters) as travelling expenses, but they are only to tell their relatives that they are processing their papers to abroad without mentioning anything about the 'agents'.
In this case of anonymous or proxy 'agents', the victim always endure a long process and proceedings that may translate the entire scenario spanning over a long period of many months, all with the claim or conviction of processing the papers for travel with hardship or legality obstacles. Mostly to note is the continual recurrence of hiccups at every step of the entire process. There is never a successful accomplishment at each step of the process. Something always goes wrong. This is how the whole scenario would continue until the victim is frustrated and may back out dejected or attempt to involve the police which in either ways, may never lead to the arrest of those clever fraudsters.
6. Online Quick Money
Another recent means which the fraudsters employ to prey their victims is the current online quick money making wave. This is now an everyday occurrence in the new world of technology where internet now rules every section of the society. The reason they do succeed here is the tendency and eagerness of internet users to make quick and big money online. They discovered this eagerness as a current phenomenon, so they had develop strategies to snare victims.
ALSO READ: Strange: Live Rainbow Descends And Appears In Front Of Villagers In Edo State
Many internet users have been conned through different online publications simply because they have heard that it is now easy to make a fortune through the use of internet as business connections and transactions. Basically, somebody surely needs a training to gain the knowledge to execute any kind of business transaction. But many publications that pervades the internet day in and out, portray the simplificity and ease to execute online business transactions without any essential training. Even as it obvious to an average mind that this is almost impossible, nonetheless, people still fall victims to such snare of defrauding.
Now, to the conviction of online business ease as expressed above, ask yourself one simple question. If really huge amount of money could be made with ease over the internet, how come 95% of internet users especially the teeming employed youths in Nigeria are still ignorant of this 'Santa Claus' opportunity and still living poor? Again, ask yourself: why is it always difficult to see the real person (not over the internet) who can easily show you how this task of making huge money on internet daily or weekly is achieved in the easy manner or means as portrayed even if such guide or training would cost a direct fee?
The above questions are the centre to realizing that most of the online publications for easy online money making waves are fake! Bear in mind, this confirmation is revealed out of past experience. Initially, the likes of the writer of this piece were defrauded in his quest to assess the easy and simple online business transactions. He ended up paying the sum of N4, 500 to an internet 'acclaimed' guru's account only to receive an ebook which had almost the same junk information as what was initially published in their apprehending publication. But on calling their so-called office lines for complaints, he was directed to do the same to others as was done to him by the 'online business guru'.
ALSO READ: NEWS IN FLASH: Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki Triumphs At Supreme Court
Ask yourself again: why is it that in an attempt to convince you so as to buy their ebook, you are take up and down, sideways and straightrays, Jerusalem and Mecca, all in explanations to make you believe what they are offering to you is real? Consider the old credence or adage that says: 'a good thing doesn't require much advert or eulogy, its effects will convince people'. So why always the prolonged pages to pages eulogies just to sell a 'simple' knowledge? Why are you always amongst the first 20 or 50 subscribers to get a price cut? These are all gimmicks and fraudulent antics.
Before now, you much have understood the whole expression and direction, if you had fallen a victim to this recent online deceit and fraud. But for those who are yet to experience this fraud, kindly take these few following precautions:
- no shortcut or easier way to make $1, 000 (one thousand dollars) or more in online transactions daily especially when they tell you that it requires about 2 to 3 hours of your a day or a week;
- no online robot that can be filling in your bank accounts with over $100 (one hundred dollars) a day while you do virtually nothing;
- the e-book you are always compelled and convinced to buy online to get all the tricks or knowledge of online business transactions are junk and are immaterial to that effect;
- all online commercial activities that are financially rewarding, do take much time and knowledge to accomplish;
- on the whole, it's not possible for illiterates or lowly educated person to earn income via internet because the business on internet requires appropriate skills, time and intelligence.
ALSO READ: A Car Which Moves On Land, Air And Water
7. Ignorance and Inexperience
This category is virtually the very one that touches everybody in the Nigerian society and thereby rendering everyone vulnerable to being preyed by potential fraudsters. This is where the impetuous yearning for education and societal versatility come to play. In this sense, it doesn't reflect on being educated alone, because you can be educated yet remain ignorance to certain occurrences and activities happening around your country or locality. It doesn't also means you have to be versatile alone without the knowledge of nitty gritty about the activities or occurrences in your society.
However, somebody can avoid being victim through wide knowledge and experience in the various societal happenings in the country. You don't need to be defrauded before you realized such tricks the tricksters used or are using to defraud others. A simple survey, public opinions, research etc, can reveal this. Thus referring to experience as avoidance yardstick has been corrected by this preceding sentence.
If you are versatile in-toto in the society, whether literate or illiterate, you can easily escape the claws of fraudsters as you are already aware of all their defrauding skills and styles. This is achievable via conversation with friends and the inhabitants of localities. Sometimes, it would be unbelievable what a single conversation with an experienced victim may expose.
Below are the case studies of victims who were victimize by fraudsters due to their ignorance of the happenings around their societies.
- In 2013, a young graduate from UNN, an Enugu resident who just completed the mandatory NYSC programme, came to a spot (under a tree shade) where his friend and 2 strangers were conversing on societal issues. He arrived the spot with smile and happiness, to express his recent achievable employment move to his friend. Meeting him with 2 strangers, he was reluctant to express his mood. However, too much anxiety in him couldn't hold him back too long, so he exploded his restless excitement to the 3 men. According to him, someone he met during their days in NYSC programme, sent him a text message to contact another person in the NNPC in Port Harcourt for a job opportunity. After some days of communicating with the latter, he was mandated to pay the sum of N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira) into an individual account as facilitating fee. He was assured of full employment after the payment. Nobody suspected any fowl play until he showed the text message which conveyed the bank account details and the email address where he was mandated to send his CV and his certificates. Understandably, it was a norm then that in the Nigerian employment arena, applicant must give a tip or bribe before employment is granted. But, when the email address which he claimed was NNPC officials email read: nnpc.info@gmail.com, then the captivated cats escaped from the basket! The 2 strangers who were already aware of such fraudulent activities using the NNPC as a regular employment location, exposed their own story of how 2 other people they knew got defrauded through same process...
ALSO READ: Breast Enlargement Goes Wrong? Read What Actually Happened!
- Another scenario was about a young man who fell victim to an online and telephone gimmicks in Lokoja and sent a total sum of N225, 000 (two hundred and twenty five thousand naira) to an unknown female voice on the phone in a bid to pay for the clearance of fund inheritance from Italy. He paid this amount through Western Union to a designated address in Lagos whereas the girl's voice claimed she was in Senegal, and was opportune to gain access to the church priest telephone. In a nutshell, the dazzling in his eyes got cleansed after a week he was promised to receive a container of euros currency passed and nothing happened. He tried the usual telephone lines which had engaged them in previous conversations, but the network preset voice had repeatedly confirmed that the telephone lines were out of existence!
SADOH MS' BLOG
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