Visa Lottery

The desire to travel out of Nigeria in search of greener pasture is a weakness which fraudsters prey on. Visa lottery is one of the opportunities available to travel to America and Europe. These fraudsters open fake websites or adverts for Visa openings asking people to apply and pay a token. The string of payment begins when they inform you that you are close to securing a visa to the country of your choice. If you are not careful, you might end up paying more money than you would have if you were following the due process to secure a visa. At the end, the 419ers don’t even have any visa to provide.

Money Doubling

This trick involves being asked to provide any amount of money with the promise that the mo ney would be doubled. The elaborate drama involves the supposed money doubler ‘successfully’ doubling the money provided by random persons. The idea is to get you interested especially if you are the greedy type. If you put in a little money and you get double the amount, you are likely to try with a bigger sum which is when you will be scammed.

Prophet Of Doom

This scheme is meant to prey on the weakness of those who subscribe to religion. These fraudsters are aware that most people in Lagos believe what they are told by religious leaders and thus pretend to be one. The fake prophet approaches and tells you he can see through some imaginary means that you have a spiritual problem and randomly mentions one or two problems you might be going through. He is likely to tell you that your great grandmother is responsible for your woes and he alone has to key to unlocking the bondage. If you believe him, you are likely tospiral down a tunnel of lies.

Small Investment; Big Reward

Investments, especially in Lagos is expected to yield big financial rewards but you should be wary of the ones were little is known about the ‘business’ except that you are only asked to provide some money and wait for your money to grow. The scammer might give you list of names and people ready to testify that the business is the only way you can make it big in Lagos.. as soon as you are in, you are likely to be in the scheme until you have sold all your things and borrowed more before you are left alone. By then, it is already too late to do anything as the scammer will disappear to the underground.

Familiar Face

This form of scam is activated and completed in less than a minute so you need to be careful and smart. If someone suddenly grabs you in a friendly bear hug and says it has been a long time you last saw each other while you are struggling to see the person’s face, then you have been hooked. It is likely the person will release you from the grip, look at your face and apologise that you look very familiar and makes a comment that people are created in twos. As soon as the person goes, he is sure to have disappeared with your mobile phone, wallet and other valuables you have. How this is done remains a mystery but as soon as someone hold you in a deadlock, better push away and apologise later if the person is someone you actually know. It is better than being squeezed dry.

Lagos… be very watchful in Lagos.