The Nigerian Scam gets even better. I received an invitation to attend the "2nd International NGO/CBO Workshop". Sounded great, all expenses paid trip to New York for up to 4 members of my organisation. Funded by the real Jacobson Foundation, and in part by the Bill Gates Foundation, and the invite was a 'glossy' PDF brochure. Only catch was, to attend you had to Western Union $300 per person to a post office in West Africa....
If they'd have had you wire the money to the US it would have been perfect. I know of a case locally where a whole group were invited to West Africa only to get there to find it was a scam. Our Government even contributed air fares. At least the group got to see Africa.
But like I did with this scam, Google the event. If there's not a whiff of the event, take a closer look. Especially given it was supposed to be the 2nd of its kind, why nothing online about the 1st?!
ALERT: watch out also for the 'Forum on Human and Community Development Financing'!
4 comments:
This may amuse you - I just got (1 May 2008) the same invitation but its for the *3rd* International NGO/CBO Workshop. You'll be happy to know the 'registration fee' for this one is a bit cheaper - only $210.
Some of these scams are getting pretty good and a lot more carefully targeted.
I am from the Diabetes Association in St. Lucia West Indies. Last week I got this same invitation to the 2nd NGO/CBO workshop from June 16th - 20th,in the US. The fee was US$200.00 per participant, Up to four participants from my organization could attend, but one person had to send the money for all.
Too good to be true! I thought, so I started my own investigation. When I googled jacobsonfoundation, there was an invitation to the same workshop but in April 2008. Only the coast was then US$300.00. I requested more information which came back with the only difference beibg date for registration which was changed from May 20th - 15th 2008.
These scamers are looking out for us people, let us be on our guards, they are even more convincing now.
They do seem to target our small islands!
Another very similar scam is circulating: See http://steves-dominica.blogspot.com/2008/06/scan-alert-forum-on-human-community.html
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