Nigerian Money Scam - need help

[Hanrob86]

hi, my brother was scammed into transferring money via Western Union to a Nigerian bank account. This was supposed to be for a motor bike which never turned up! 1300EURO's
They are not supposed to be able to access the money without a passcode, which my bro never gave them! however the money was withdrawn from the other end.
they have reported this to the local police (France) and have been given a crime reference report. They have been told they need to write a letter the Western Union Fraud dept in the UK explaining.
I have been looking online for letter templates to help start me off, but cannot find any suitable ones. is anyone able to help or point me in the right direction??
PLEASE HELP!!

[notorial dissent]

Contact your local WU office, they will point you in the right direction or give you the contact information you need to file the fraud report.

[Hanrob86]

i know where to send the letter. just need help finding a letter template to send to them that i can fill in the facts.

[fortinbras]

I would suggest that a Western Union office wherever you are can help you with the letter.
You should (or rather your brother should) provide copies of all the e-mails and other messages in both directions.

It is very possible that this is "Nigerian" in name only; evidently just about every crook on the internet knows how to reroute stuff thru (or apparantly thru) Nigeria, without actually setting foot there.

I will also express the opinion that your brother learned a very expensive lesson. Considering how notorious Nigerian scams are, he evidently is a slow learner.
The Nigerians are almost totally inert about catching these crooks, so it will remain an expensive lesson.

[cdj1122]

The Nigerians are almost totally inert about catching these crooks, so it will remain an expensive lesson.

I would not be the least surprised if whatever Nigerian authorities your brother contacts seek payment of some investigation fee to cover the cost of them searching their non-existant records or processing the reports.

[fortinbras]

Many of these scams include in their opening message some sentence which boils down to: I want you to help me move this money around in such a way as to evade Nigerian taxes.

The Nigerian govt is - surprise! - somewhat restrained about helping someone who was trying to screw it.

[Rat River Trapper]

One of the best sources for information and assistance in dealing with 419 schemes is the 419 Coalition. It's been around for a number of years. Their website is here, although some of the links may be outdated. http://home.rmci.net/alphae/419coal/

Also, the U.S. Secret Service is charged with enforcement of 419 scams, but it's a low priority for the agency. The agents have full plates, and unless your case meets certain criteria established by the agency and the local U.S. Attorney's office, it's not likely to get prosecuted.