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A US company recently posted this to all employees

BS Google

July 24, 2003

To: All Employees

Re: Fraud Alert

Company employees and associates continue to be targets of individuals attempting to carry out variations of what are known as the "Nigerian Fraud," "419 Fraud" or "Advanced Fee Fraud" schemes. Associates and employees are contacted by mail, fax or e-mail. There has been a steady increase in the number of e-mails received in connection with these fraud schemes, and it is important that this correspondence is handled consistently and appropriately.

Should you receive an e-mail or any other correspondence related to these frauds, do not respond in any manner. Notify your manager and immediately forward the correspondence to Internal Audit. The Internal Audit investigations team collects these letters and provides them to the U.S. Secret Service and/or the FBI.

The Fraud Scheme:

These schemes have been around since at least 1989 and had primarily used the postal service to reach the desired audience. The responsible parties have recently increased their use of e-mail to solicit monies and defraud their victims. The majority of these schemes have originated from Nigeria. However, recently these schemes have originated from other countries, including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Iraq.

Usually a letter or e-mail offers the target (individual or company) the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, business executive, or representative of a high-profile individual, is trying to transfer illegally out of his or her resident country or business. The target is encouraged to send or wire funds to the author to pay certain fees, transfer taxes, bribes to officials, or incorporation fees to facilitate the transfer of large sums of money to the target. In reality, the millions do not exist and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss.

The target is also encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers and other identifying information (telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address) using a facsimile number provided in the letter or e-mail address. This information is used to drain bank accounts and credit card balances until the victim's assets are taken in their entirety.

While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victims actually conspire to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label "419 Fraud."

Below is a list of indicators of the most common and reliable hallmarks of the "Nigerian Fraud," "419 Fraud" or "Advanced Fee Fraud" schemes. This list is not all-inclusive and the scam operators are constantly adding new elements. Any unsolicited business proposal, especially those from another country, should be carefully scrutinized.

Any offer of a substantial percentage of a large sum of money to be transferred into your account, in return for your "discretion" or "confidentiality."
Any deal that seems too good to be true.
Requests for signed and stamped, blank letterhead or invoices, or for bank account information.
Requests for urgent air shipment, accompanied by an instrument of payment whose authenticity cannot immediately be established.
Solicitation letters claiming the soliciting party has personal ties to high government officials.
Requests for payment in U.S. dollars, in advance, of transfer taxes or incorporation fees.
Statements that your name was provided to the soliciting party either by someone you do not know or by "a reliable contact."
Promises of advance payment for services to be provided to a foreign government.
Any offer to supply crude oil.
Any offer of a charitable donation.
E-mail solicitations where the subject line reads "Business Assistance," "I need your cooperation," "Very urgent business proposal," or "Urgent reply needed."

Actions Regarding These Frauds:

1. If you receive a fraud scheme letter, do not reply in any manner. Immediately notify your manager and send the letter with the original envelope directly to the Internal Audit investigations team.

If you know someone who is cooperating in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the Internal Audit Investigations Team, as soon as possible. If that person is reluctant, you should report the correspondence to your manager and Internal Audit.

If you have any questions, contact the Investigations Team Fraud Hotline.

Spyware Information Center Top Spyware Threats

Copy the address and forward the unwanted email to:

Report AOL users to abuse@aol.com

Report Hotmail users to abuse@hotmail.com

Report MSN users to abuse@msn.com

Report Yahoo users to mail-abuse@yahoo-inc.com

Report Netscape users to abuse@netscape.com

Report USA.NET users to abuse@usa.net

Report eBay fraud to spoof@ebay.com

Report eBay spam to spam@ebay.com

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