Police warn of the latest Nigerian scam

A Nigerian overpayment scam is currently targeting people worldwide, including several people recently in the Annapolis Valley area, say local RCMP.

The scam involves someone legitimately selling an item on the Internet on a site such as Ebay, Kingston Cst. Geoff Peters. The suspect tells the person they are interested in buying their item, and promise they will send them Canadian money orders. The payment is sent in the form of a money order or bank draft, which is forged, but appears to be a legitimate document.

The "overpayment" part is that the amount on the money order is usually several times the amount of the item, Peters noted. In most cases, the suspect provides instructions for the victim to use some of the "extra" money for shipping (usually to an address overseas), and to wire transfer the rest of the money to an account in Europe.

Once received, he said, they will frequently contact the victim either through e-mail or phone calls to pressure the victim to act quickly. They will send the counterfeit documents using a traceable item (i.e. registered mail) and will know when they are received.

The easiest way to recognize this scam is receiving a large sum of money for an item. For example, Peters said, a local woman was selling a bed valued at $100 - $200 and received almost $3,200 in money orders. Also, legitimate money orders have several security features, including a watermark of a beaver, which can be seen when holding the money order up

to a light.

A legitimate Canadian money order cannot exceed $999. All legitimate money orders contain micro printing or horizontal lines on the front bottom portion of the money order, which read: *CPCSCPCPC*. Also, the only phone number to verify validity of amounts is 1-800-563-0444. The suspect may alter their counterfeit copy with an alternate phone number and provide false validation codes.

Should you suspect that a money order may be counterfeit, always call and verify the validity of the document by calling: 1-800-563-0444.

Anyone who is concerned they have received a fraudulent or forged money order or bank draft, please contact your bank, any Canada Post outlet, or your local police office.