This one is nothing new but the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver felt it important enough to send out a warning to a all its members about it. Here is what they said:
EMAIL SCAM ALERT!
A few of our members have alerted us to a potential email scam. They have received emails from a woman named Joan Ibori, who claims to be the wife of the ex-Governor of Delta State in Nigeria, James Ibori. In the email, she says that she wants to purchase a house for "$500,000 to $1 million with 3 to 4 bedrooms," and asks for a procedure for payment and a picture of a house, noting that she must relocate her family immediately.
Our research shows that James Ibori is currently in a Nigerian prison facing 103 counts for crimes committed while he was governor, including theft of public funds, abuse of office and money laundering. He is also facing corruption charges in London over his now-frozen $35 million in assets there. His wife, who is not named Joan, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in connection with the charges, questioned, and released.
This is cause for concern. We are asking any of our members who receive any emails of this nature to exercise extreme caution - never give away personal information or send money to strange or suspicious persons.
It never hurts to be too aware of this stuff.
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Matthew, sad that people can come up with that kind of a scheme in the first place. Great warning!
Good information! Thanks
With all of the recent press about scams originating from Nigeria, I've recently read that some "scammers" are now moving a bit and using other locations. I think the main RED FLAG is the e-mail itself. In my years in real estate, it's been pretty rare that an "Out of Country" lead just comes across my inbox in that manner.
The trouble is, I was contacted by a client from China who saw my contact info while doing research. He and his family eventually came to the states, met me and bought a home. There are legitiment leads out there so do your homework and be careful. Great Post.
These types of internet scams have been around for years. Always treat something like this with some a trip to snopes.com
Thanks for your comments everybody. Have a great weekend!
Jacki, NO problem. I am still waiting for my check from Nigeria.... LOL!!!!
No problem Jill, I am so impressed with Active Rain that I am the number 1 Google result for Joan Ibori.
I had no idea this post would become so useful and remain so nearly 2 montly after I wrote. Take care with all the scams out there folks.
Oh man, these scams just seem to go on forever. I am glad you are bringing it up to people that might not have heard of it before. I thought everyone had heard of them, but judging from posts above, it never hurts to remind people just in case! Good Work!