(PRWEB) March 16, 2006 -- The seemingly indomitable “419 Fraud” (named for a statute in Nigerian law) came to life in the mid-eighties and has many variations that have afflicted unaware companies and individuals the world over.
The latest version is pointed at mid to large sized wedding firms. It seems logical that they are targeted because of their visibility online and in search engines.
savvyplanners.com, this week, received a questionable e-mail and felt behooved to issue an open letter to US Wedding & Events professionals reminding them to stay aware and prepared for this ever-evolving scam. Though most of us have heard of the fraudulent e-mail scheme, some of us in the industry, because of our drive to truly help our clients and to book clients, are often naturally apt to respond to booking inquiries that appear legitimate.
In our most recent case, a male sent an e-mail to us and cc’d a colleague in North Carolina (arguably the number one planner in their region.) The letter stated that he was in Scotland and was preparing to bring his BTB to Key West for their wedding. He stated the number of guests, the location they desired. The subject was “WEDDING BOOKING”. The letter went on to say that he wanted to know our pricing and where he could send a check. This set off our alarms, but, not immediately.
We have clients from all over the world who elect to engage our Key West office, as Key West is one of the most popular wedding destinations in the U.S.A. We often get e-mails because of the expense to the client to make international calls. What set off the bell first? It was the lack of return contact information except the return e-mail address.
The text of the mail (unedited) is as follows:
“I am Walter bradley based in Scotland I and my wife are coming to in USA to do our wedding ceremony and my wife is Nigeria and based thereI need your assistance to be my wedding planner and you have to get across to me to enable me know what the requirments are for a wedding to take place and how you will help me to organise it, the cost of your services too. I urgently await to hear from you.and let me know the cost of these types of wedding and my guest are 30 guest coming from all over the Canada, USA and Africa, Let me know the cost of it becos i will prefer churche,beach wedding Or Garden Wedding, i will send you a cheque for the amount you require but i have booked $15,000 usd for my wedding packages and i want to know may be the amount will be okay and i want my wedding to take place on April 22 0r 29/2006.
Hope to hear from you now
Best regards.
Walter bradley"
The letter was immediately brought to management attention and was determined to be a fake. Note the (coincidental?) mention of Nigeria. Note, also, the short notice. The missing elements here are those of a typical 419--- the sad story of someone’s tragic demise, an immense inheritance dollar figure and a massive percentage offered for your help.
“I didn’t perceive the slightest element of European syntax or style in the letter. That raised my eyebrow so I just followed our proceedure and reported it”, said Irma Rabinowitz, the director of client care who handles inbound inquiries.
Please be aware that, though most of us have some knowledge of the “Nigerian Connection” and their ploys for twenty years, people become numb or forgetful. We extend this call for caution to our colleagues not to be less vigilant on this matter. Advise your teammates about this latest variation that now targets our industry.
If your company had responded to an inquiry like this, the result of falling for this scheme is that you would probably receive a check for far more than mentioned in the letter. Then you would be contacted again to tell you that it was some clerical error and you received too much money. Then you’d likely be asked to cash it and forward or wire the balance to the correct party (often via a very well known U.S. wire company) in this country or abroad.
By the time one realized the odd nature of the transaction, they are already invested in it. One presumably deposits the check. If you are a good-natured person or prone to believe things that seem too good to be true, you likely would continue. The problem is that the check was bad to begin with. You might have wired the money thinking that you have a check that has been deposited in your account. This is what the scammer wants.
Don’t respond to communications that are not completely bona fide. If you do get trapped in this crime, do not cash the check because it is you that will be hit with fees and will likely never get your money back. Do report it to federal officials and do make certain to talk to your staff about how to handle responding to e-mails that are suspicious relative to your typical inquiries. If you have an e-mail address, a fax machine, or a PO Box, you could be approached.
Coordinators and Planners are in this business for many reasons. However, we’re all in this together. Whether your company is large or small. If you’re corporate or home-based, let’s continue to look out for one another. Share this information with as many colleagues in your network as you can.
Best Wishes for a wonderful 2006,
MW Savant, CEO
savvyplanners.com
Northeast & Key West
Resources:
Nigeria – The 419 Coalition Website
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC)
