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Valencia James is a young woman from Baltimore who carries many amazing experiences in her heart from her time in the African nation of Madagascar, where she worked with the Peace Corps from 2000 to 2002.
Special to the NNPA from the Afro Newspapers
BALTIMORE (NNPA) - Valencia James is a young woman from Baltimore who carries many amazing experiences in her heart from her time in the African nation of Madagascar, where she worked with the Peace Corps from 2000 to 2002.
In addition to her work in Madagascar, she traveled extensively throughout Ethiopia and Kenya in 2002.
So, when she received an e-mail message, presumably from a young Nigerian woman yearning to make a life for herself in the United States, James' heart was touched.
''Hello, utmost greetings to you. I just got your email now about the room ... I am much interested in it and I am ok with the price,'' read the e-mail from someone calling their self ''Tinuade Johnson.''
''I am international model honest, kind, loving, obedient and reliable,'' she added in broken English.
James, who purchased her home in May 2004, rents out a room to supplement the cost of her mortgage and earn extra income. She advertised for a roommate on the Internet and Johnson was making her bid to be James' next tenant.
''As it [Internet dialogue between James and Johnson] moved on, the compassion set in. When you live in a developing country, it's difficult to get to the states. So, I wanted to help,'' said James. ''It kind of pulled on my heartstrings, I guess.''
But the person pulling on James' heartstrings was actually pulling a scam that cost her more than $2,000.
Johnson sent James a postal money order for $2,800, through a ''modeling agent,'' to pay for the cost of the room. James was instructed to deduct $600 from the $2,800 and send back the balance of $2,200 via money wire.
But the ''postal money order'' that James deposited in her bank account was counterfeit and the money she sent Johnson was real. ''It never, ever dawned on me,'' said James.
''Tinuade Johnson,'' is one of thousands of thieves who use the Internet to run an illegal hustle known as ''advance fee fraud,'' or ''419,'' named after the section of the criminal code of Nigeria pertaining to fraud schemes.
It is a ''worldwide scam, which has run since the early 1980s under successive governments of Nigeria,'' according to the 419 Coalition Web site, which claims that 419 victims have been swindled out of more than $5 billion.
The 419 scheme usually involves an invitation from an ''official'' of a foreign country to transfer large sums of money (sometimes in the millions) into a personal bank account in exchange for an ''advance fee.'' What happened to James was a modified, but very popular version of 419.
''They will tell you that they are interested in renting your room. They will send you a cashier's check to pay for three months, for instance. The cashier's check is written for a large sum, and the person who sent it asks that the balance is sent back minus the rent and deposit,'' according to the Web site EasyRoomate.com.
''There are losses all over the country. There are indications that advance fee fraud nets hundreds of millions of dollars annually,'' said Laurie Lewis of the U.S. Secret Service. ''More likely than not, there are victims who do not report their losses due to fear and embarrassment.''
''If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,'' said Denise Backus, a U.S. postal inspector based in Washington, D.C., who warns that the scam is not confined to postal money orders.
''It's corporate checks, money wires and other types of money orders. All kinds of financial institutions are being affected by this scam. It's not just a postal service issue,'' said Backus.
In fact, the same brazen crook(s) that ripped James off attempted to stay in contact with her by phone and by e-mail, and this week sent her a check via UPS. She purposefully never revealed to them what transpired with the fake money order, hoping they could somehow be tracked down.
But a source close to these types of cases said that it is almost impossible to apprehend international Internet thieves because of foreign laws and regulations. James says it has been extremely difficult to obtain help and useful information from government agencies.
''That makes me even more frustrated," said James. 'They say, 'Oh, we won't charge you with a crime.' That's the first thing they say. I strictly was trying to complete a business transaction and help someone out at the same time.''