Beware Of Nigerian T-Shirt Buyers!
21 - 40 of 45 Posts
hello there
I am a nigerian and i do know that there are scams out there that originate from Nigeria.
It is unfortunate that these few criminals give us all a bad name.
Heck, they send me scam emails all the time too.- i just let them know i am familiar with their Modus Operandi so, ....
i usually get an insult back as a reply or they don't even bother to write back.
My point is, Nigerians as a whole cannot be seen as scammers because a majority of the 140million nigerians are legitimate.
Its quite easy to deal with this sort of things- ask them to transfer the money to you and have your bank verify first before you ship. EASY.
Thanks,
Fantis
I am a nigerian and i do know that there are scams out there that originate from Nigeria.
It is unfortunate that these few criminals give us all a bad name.
Heck, they send me scam emails all the time too.- i just let them know i am familiar with their Modus Operandi so, ....
i usually get an insult back as a reply or they don't even bother to write back.
My point is, Nigerians as a whole cannot be seen as scammers because a majority of the 140million nigerians are legitimate.
Its quite easy to deal with this sort of things- ask them to transfer the money to you and have your bank verify first before you ship. EASY.
Thanks,
Fantis
Joined
·
4,870 Posts
I feel sorry for the honest Nigerians, but you will find that a lot of these scams originate throughout the world - US/Europe/E.Europe & Russia included. But W. Africa, including Nigeria, is a hotbed.
You can tell the real interest if you use Statcounter to monitor your site - scammers hit your site and email as soon as they harvest your address, real buyers look through your site then enquire. Sometimes they ask for a product we sell, mostly they don't.
A four year old thread - still relevant.
You can tell the real interest if you use Statcounter to monitor your site - scammers hit your site and email as soon as they harvest your address, real buyers look through your site then enquire. Sometimes they ask for a product we sell, mostly they don't.
A four year old thread - still relevant.
Joined
·
10,512 Posts
Like Dave I feel sorry for the innocent businesses that are affected, but...
From a practical standpoint, this doesn't hold true. I'm sure the majority of citizens are legitimate, but the majority of those who will contact a foreign small business owner are not.
I'm sure each and every one of us has received dozens of these sorts of scam letters, but I doubt that even between us we could come up with a handful of legitimate customers.
Personally I don't think it's easy at all. There are many, many ways for scammers to follow through on these frauds if you choose to engage with them, and they often take a significant amount of time to be uncovered. It's just never worth the risk.
It's up to every business owner to make their individual decisions, but personally Nigeria as a whole is blacklisted to me. It's theoretically possible that an individual could convince me to make an exception for them, but it's extremely unlikely. Even if I knew them personally I would probably assume something somewhere would go wrong (like a missing shipment due to corruption - the same reason Italy's postal service can't be trusted).
In my opinion the odds are greater than 1000:1 of any given Nigerian business deal the likes of us would encounter being legitimate. I'm not a betting man, so I just don't think that's worth it - especially when those 1000:1 odds pay out at 2:1.
So yes, sucks to be the legitimate ones who've had your entire country's reputation trashed by its enormous criminal networks and systematically corrupt officials who allow it to happen (because let's face it - it's more than a few bad apples who are ruining it for everyone). But I'll give sympathy, not product.
Joined
·
2,504 Posts
Lewis,
I believe you nailed it. Fantis seems to think that it is easy to verify funds but in reality...it is not easy at all!!
I had a friend that sells printing supplies that took an order from one of these scammers. They sent the check, the bank put a 10 day hold on the check, the check finally cleared, he shipped the merchandise shortly afterwards, days later the bank informs him that the check was bogus. It took 14 days for this transaction go bad. It sucks for those that may be legitimate but how can you trust them.
Why take the risk?
Katrina
I believe you nailed it. Fantis seems to think that it is easy to verify funds but in reality...it is not easy at all!!
I had a friend that sells printing supplies that took an order from one of these scammers. They sent the check, the bank put a 10 day hold on the check, the check finally cleared, he shipped the merchandise shortly afterwards, days later the bank informs him that the check was bogus. It took 14 days for this transaction go bad. It sucks for those that may be legitimate but how can you trust them.
Why take the risk?
Katrina
Our factory gets emails from Nigerian Scammers all the time and other parts of Africa, however we do have a few customers from the before mentioned countries and have been doing good business with them for years. I might add most of my customers from this region did not contact me through an email only. I would recommend if you have a customer from any place in the world to always have a deposit before manufacturing anything, and full payment before shipment. Letter of Credit from a Bank in your area is always good to.
Joined
·
217 Posts
the best way to deal with scam emails is to exercise a little common sense. though there are quite a few individuals out there from nigeria perpetrating fraudulant orders there are others from places like Indonesia and a few other random locales around the globe. the first indicator to watch for is people who want large orders or orders for odd sizes like 30 2x tees. how many fat people can there possibly be in in poverty stricken countries like Nigeria or Indonesia?
Very funny on the 2x's, but some truth to it. Just be ready to stick to your guns when they say ship it to our port and once the Bank confirms it's at port they will pay you. Nothing should ever go to Cargo until your paid in full or you need a ship captains signature to collect on your LC (Letter of Credit) from the Bank your going to collect from. Also nothing should be manufactured unless you have a deposit 50% of a LC. Stick by these rules and you will never get the short end of the stick.
i agree with thaitex- never agree to anything from anywhere till u receive atleast 50%confirmed payment
katrina and lewis,
You should never accept cheques. i definitely wont accept credit cards that have a delivery address in nigeria (or anywhere) and a billing address elsewhere.
When cash is transfered to your bank and your bank verifies the cash has hit your account, it cannot be recalled.
Anyway, be smart and always be cautious & If it sounds too good to be true or the slightest bit off, Delete!
katrina and lewis,
You should never accept cheques. i definitely wont accept credit cards that have a delivery address in nigeria (or anywhere) and a billing address elsewhere.
When cash is transfered to your bank and your bank verifies the cash has hit your account, it cannot be recalled.
Anyway, be smart and always be cautious & If it sounds too good to be true or the slightest bit off, Delete!
Joined
·
4,870 Posts
Cleared cheques are 'cleared for withdrawal', it doesn't mean that they're good. Scary!
Joined
·
2,504 Posts
I have never accepted a check and I never will. Just like you can write a check you can use your bank's visa debit card. I don't ship out of the US so I have never had this happen to me, and for the business I do here in the states 50% upfront when the order is placed, and the rest when the goods are delivered. No money, no merchandise, no excuses!
Katrina
Joined
·
265 Posts
That's not exactly true...Shipping in africa (or anywhere in the world) is ok as you get payment first. Paypal, money order, or as going postal suggests, Gold Coins
when the stolen creditcard does a charge-back,
you lose all that money AND your merchandise!
Paypal is the worst for this...
they will actually REACH into your bank account and take the money out.
Money-in-(digital)hand is NOT the final word...
unless the guy sends you CASH in the mail, you don't own that money if something goes wrong.
Don't deal with scams, you're NOT covered...
the Seller is the one that loses in the end, not the owner of the stolen credit card.
its really Bad what Nigerians have been doing on the internet and a Good number of them have actually messed up the reputations of the others.
i'm a Nigerian and I have my own clothing line.
My advice, . . Don't do any business unless you meet the person, and receive payment that you bank can confirm. It has made things hard for Honest guys like me in my country to do business online but. . .if that method would choke the fakes and starve them to death . .then let it be.
but anyway thanks for all the tips on t-**** making. it been a pleasure being in this community.
i'm a Nigerian and I have my own clothing line.
My advice, . . Don't do any business unless you meet the person, and receive payment that you bank can confirm. It has made things hard for Honest guys like me in my country to do business online but. . .if that method would choke the fakes and starve them to death . .then let it be.
but anyway thanks for all the tips on t-**** making. it been a pleasure being in this community.
Joined
·
4,870 Posts
If you follow the money trail for these scams, and it has been done, a lot lead back to the States. Dodgy medical goods (who puts pills from a stranger off the internet into their mouth?), 'financial' jobs, overpaid cheques... no country is exempt, we all have crooks. Nigeria does seem to have a lot though.
They may seem amateurish but a very small take-up yields enough to keep them going.
This is fun...scambuster419.co.uk: where 419 scam artists meet their match
They may seem amateurish but a very small take-up yields enough to keep them going.
This is fun...scambuster419.co.uk: where 419 scam artists meet their match
Joined
·
265 Posts
Wow, this thread has been revived again... OP was August 2005!!!
I just want to chime in here again and say to all the Nigerians...
be thankful that you're not Middle Eastern, as you would then likely be dealing with the same problem "in person" as well.
My point is, the entire world is filled with harmful people that ruin it for the rest of their kind... all countries.
Just ask Germany about this, as a country they're still dealing with the backlash of their previous actions...
they don't involve themselves in many global affairs, simply out of fear of ever looking like their previous selves...
it's a stigma, and it's generally impossible to live down.
This is the unfairness that is the human experience in the universe....
we all deal with these things in one way or another.
Tumultuous times we all live in.
I just want to chime in here again and say to all the Nigerians...
be thankful that you're not Middle Eastern, as you would then likely be dealing with the same problem "in person" as well.
My point is, the entire world is filled with harmful people that ruin it for the rest of their kind... all countries.
Just ask Germany about this, as a country they're still dealing with the backlash of their previous actions...
they don't involve themselves in many global affairs, simply out of fear of ever looking like their previous selves...
it's a stigma, and it's generally impossible to live down.
This is the unfairness that is the human experience in the universe....
we all deal with these things in one way or another.
Tumultuous times we all live in.
Joined
·
77 Posts
Hey all,
I have read this thred completely. Always we must be cautious when doing business. Deposit upront and balance payment when delivery of goods will be more safe. When doing business with the Nigeria, we must be MORE and MORE cautious , careful.
Anyway, thank you all. I have learned so much from this thread.
I have read this thred completely. Always we must be cautious when doing business. Deposit upront and balance payment when delivery of goods will be more safe. When doing business with the Nigeria, we must be MORE and MORE cautious , careful.
Anyway, thank you all. I have learned so much from this thread.
Joined
·
182 Posts
Not only t-shirt company. They phish everyone on the Internet.
I heard that many people who never heard about these things have been fooled by them.
Be careful.
I heard that many people who never heard about these things have been fooled by them.
Be careful.
21 - 40 of 45 Posts
Join the discussion
