RIYADH, 12 May — Osama Kurdi, secretary-general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, cautioned Saudi businessmen against striking deals with online swindlers based in some African countries.
Kurdi urged the businessmen not to travel to these countries, send invitations to the fraudsters to visit the Kingdom or negotiate business ventures with them. Many of these well-dressed swindlers, who claim to run non-existent business activities, are skilled in managing things on the Internet, are able to speak several languages and have been producing forged documents to convince any investor. They are also proficient in shipping and international banking operations.
Kurdi appealed to the businessmen, who might receive e-mails or fax from African countries or even from London or some Arab countries to hand the letters to the council for further inquiries.
Some typical business propositions of the African fraudsters include proposals for import at heavily reduced prices but with advance payment. If the advance is paid, then there is every likelihood that the money would be lost for good with the African businessman too disappearing, Kurdi warned.
In some cases the swindler would ask a businessman to send in signed blank papers with the company seal. If the offer is to export goods from the Kingdom, they will ask for delayed payment with forged guarantee documents. Visiting these countries is extremely dangerous because the swindlers, in several cases, would be in collusion with the police and other officials, thus leaving the Saudi open to further exploitation. He could be physically assaulted and financially exploited if the unfortunate victim went there for redress.
The latest sting put in place by some tricksters in their bid to cheat unsuspecting Saudis is to forward an appeal on e-mail for donations to rescue Muslim minorities oppressed by Christian majorities in the name of some non-existent organization or liberation army.
Several Saudi businessmen recently received e-mails from the wives of former leaders of Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Congo and Sierra Leone offering to transfer millions of dollars to the private accounts of these businessmen on a fixed commission. The wives are, ostensibly, afraid of the hostile governments in their own countries of confiscating their husbands’ wealth.
The businessmen were offered tempting commission rates of 25 to 35 percent. In fact, what the swindlers are really after is the account numbers and addresses of the banks of the Saudi businessmen. They then use these information in their swindling operations. The con artists also demand that these matters be shrouded in secrecy, as any leakage would result in the confiscation of their assets by their government.
According to council’s information, several fraudsters in those countries operated with official support. The swindlers arrange interviews with high officials with their prospective victims, apparently to convince the victims of the credibility of the operations.
Certain African media even portray such criminals as heroes, fighting to retaliate at the Westerners while bringing back some of the money plundered by the former colonialists. Even officials of some central banks, in one of these countries, have reportedly helped these conmen to gain forged documents.
A German investor, reportedly, was cheated recently by a Nigerian who offered the German a lucrative deal wherein the latter was asked to invest in a company dealing in military project in return for a profitable petroleum deal.
The German was then met by a high-ranking military official in the Nigerian Defense Ministry. The fraudster also took his victim to a port where the crude was stocked. The German learned about the swindle only after he had made a huge advance-payment to his Nigerian counterpart.
