Have you received a good sounding job offer with a Nigerian company? It could be a Nigerian employment and money scam targeting not only seamen but also offshore professionals, probably mostly older captains, deck officers, and engineers.

This page gives an example of a job offer and money scam letter I received middle of July 2005. I have further added more details as reported by other "targets". Even this example is an old one, I still show it, because it's "typical" and the checking on it that I did can still be done for other similar fake offers.

Please note: Every link on this page opens in a new window. If your "Pop-up killer" is too efficient it can also stop new windows. When this happens, please press "Ctrl" and click on the link you want.

Customarily this kind of fake job offers with a request of an advance fee for visa / work permit is called a "Nigerian" scam. The reason for this is that a majority of the scams have been traced to Nigeria or as long as Western Union was used as money transfer media the receiver was always in Nigeria. But as the companies' and peoples' names and addresses are all fake, one can never say who has sent the offer and who finally receives the money sent. I know personally some normal honest Nigerians and it's unfortunate the country's lousy / non-existing Internet security gives all Nigerian citizens a bad name. I do not believe all Nigerian are crooks and it's sure the great majority of Nigerians are people with other occupations than sending fake job offers.

Money Scam Background

In 1999 I was very new and inexperienced with email and gave away my new email address too freely. At the beginning of year 2000 I started getting those "old" Nigerian money scam letters. Usually it was a widow of a Nigerian general or government minister who had stashed away 20-25 million US$. The widow was asking my help to clear this money for a commission of 2-3 million USD. This was clearly "too good to be true".

Anyway, the first one I followed up to see where it would lead. The correspondence ended on my part a couple of months later when I was asked to transfer USD 700 to Nigeria to pay for an air ticket for the widow to meet me in Berlin in order to transfer the cash via my account to a new account in her name.

Since then I have received about 3-4 letters per year, until now I got this very professionally done job offer cum scam letter. There is a strong possibility also other ship officers and engineers already have or will receive a letter like this. Beware!

To the story must be added that all those earlier scam messages came to my very first e-mail address. When I first put up this website in 2001 I started getting a lot of dirty or nonsense messages so I had to change my e-mail address and put up the new address in an encrypted form.

The first message I received came to that same old email box and was an inquiry whether I would be interested, stating my email address had been found on the internet. That address, however, is not present anywhere on this or any other website. This was the first reason to get suspicious.

Second point is this American Recruiting Agent is using "gmail" which is a free email service like Hotmail. Gmail is Googles version and very new so it's not likely for an American company to have this kind of e-mail service.

Note the time e-mail sent: 08.06 PM. This is local time in receiver's time zone, in this case Philippine local time and that would be just after one o'clock in the afternoon in Nigeria but 5 o'clock Monday morning in California (See Don Pedro's Time Zone Explanation). I don't think even an American work alcoholic would work at five o'clock on a Monday morning. What do you think?

Beginning of 2007 the fake employment offers have moved strongly over to target offshore job applicants. May be because there are so many hopeful candidates who don't know about employment requirements and recruiting procedures (see Offshore Job Links). The Woodworth Recruitment, from where I received the example below hasn't been so very active anymore. I still show the offer because it's well made and quite typical.

Please note: Every link on this page opens in a new window. If your "Pop-up killer" is too efficient it can also stop new windows. When this happens, please press "Ctrl" and click on the link you want.

Dear Capt Per Peter Forsberg,
With reference to your application for employment in pursuant to the service contract, we hereby notify you that your qualification was found suitable for the requirements of Avon Shipping Lines Nigeria Limited, after evaluation of details as contained in your CV. Hereinafter, you shall be required to serve as Master onboard MV Hamm for the fulfillments and requirements of Avon Shipping Lines Nigeria Limited in Nigeria.

Your salary shall be US$8,000 per month and your leave rotation shall be 3 months on and 4 weeks off and it's a one year contract, you will be expected to join the vessel on the 16th of August 2005. We recommend the following Vaccinations if travelling to Nigeria for the first time as required by the Health Authorities of that country, yellow fever.

Do provide us with the name of your nearest airport and copy of your international passport, as this will enable our Nigerian representative's process your travel documents, which includes your return flight tickets, visa and working permits.

You are requested to cover the cost of the following fee for the arrangement of your travel documents;
Temporary Working Permit (TWP):
Visa Fee:
Processing Fee:

The total cost for the above mentioned documents: US$300. This fee shall be used for your travel and arrival co-ordination that will be undertaken by our representatives in Nigeria, Slok Travel Agency Inc. which you can know more about at http://slok.bloombiz.com/ they will process and arrange your travelling documents including your visa, working permits and send you your prepaid return flight tickets to arrive at your port of joining in other to resume duties onboard the vessel on the given date and they will also welcome you upon your arrival to Nigeria and take you to your port of joining.

It is now due for you to remit this fee, which is US$300 to our representatives in Nigeria for the processing of your said documents as you have limited time to join the vessel. Make the Fee payable to the accountant of our representatives in Nigeria, MR.EMEKA OKECHUKWU through Western Union Money Transfer, and send us the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) and the Transfer Test Question & Answer for onward transmission to them in Nigeria, to enable their accountant retrieve your payment. The payment destination should be;
Name of Receiver: MR.EMEKA OKECHUKWU
City of Destination: PORT HARCOURT
Country of Destination: NIGERIA

As soon as we receive your payment details, We shall then send you your letters of contract and employment, and also authorize our Nigerian representatives to proceed with the copy of your international passport and the name of your nearest Airport you are to provide in the arrangement and processing of your Visa and working permits, then send you your prepaid return flight tickets to enable you arrive Nigeria to the Port of joining in other to resume duties onboard MV Hamm on the given date.

You shall be sent a pin code which you shall use to collect your electronic prepaid flight ticket from your nearest travel agency in your country.

We hope you understand our position and act accordingly to resume duties onboard the vessel on the given date.

Thank you for your attention and congratulations for your new job from us here at Woodworth Recruitment Agency.

Regards,

Anthony Flynn
Recruitment Officer Woodworth Recruitment Agency
4814-B Long Branch Ave
San Diego, Ca 92107
USA
Fax: 419-574-7686

Further Suspicions Confirmed

Let's check the small details:

1. My name: Per Peter Forsberg, was before written thus: (Peter). The name is not found in this form on the net, only as Peter Forsberg. Suspicious.
   
   
2. Language: I have received many messages and newsletters written by Americans with worse spelling and grammar errors than in this message, so faulty language is no indicator. On the contrary, it like assures the message was written by an American.
   
   
3. In my first answer I said I would be interested in the job and gave the internet address for my net C.V. Current message is the agency's response to my answer.
   
   
4. Avon Shipping Lines: I went to Lloyd's Register and searched for this company in the Shipping Directory which gives limited information on shipping companies, brokers, and agents for free. It was not found in that shipping directory.
   
   In their next message they gave particulars on ship and company, saying the company had 97 ships with 2 gas tankers on order. Not exactly any small company - should be found. Next I searched in Google and Yahoo, couldn't be found there either. Added suspicions.
   
   
5. The ship MV Hamm: I went to ITU (International Telecommunications Union), which maintains a register of all ships' radio call signs and Inmarsat numbers. I found one MV "Hamm" registered in Germany and many other different versions of the same name. No ship of that name was registered in Liberia. To be absolutely sure I typed in the name of my last ship, the correct call sign and flag came up. In other words, both company name and ship's name are fake. Now I'm not just suspicious any more, I'm getting sure.
   
   
6. Salary: In the upper range for an old general cargo ship, even with American owners. Still not totally unbelievable.
   
   
7. Passport: Earlier they said having checked my C.V. A copy of my passport is available there, but still the agency asks for it. Have they really checked my C.V. or not?

Now it's not necessary to number the checks anymore - does anyone still think this is a real offer? I am already sure it's a scam. Let's still anyway check also rest of the points.

• Work permit in Nigeria: In the first inquiry I was informed the ship is under Liberia flag. With a good national licence, like what I have, the employer gets a one year temporary licence from the nearest Liberian Embassy or Consulate issued on the basis of the national one. The employer or his agent always pays for this. In the case of a small company it's possible you are asked to pay for it yourself, but the fee is then deducted from your salary.
  
  I have myself had both Panamanian and Liberian licence before (when it was needed). I do not need a Nigerian work permit to work on a Liberian flag ship. The smell of scam is turning to a stink.
  
  
• The agent asked for a passport copy, which is available on the net but did not ask for a copy of my Captain's license, which would be needed for the Liberian licence.
  
  On Aug. 16 when I should join the ship I would be a few days past my 65^th birthday. According to the particulars I received the ship is insured, but they didn't ask for my current medical.
  
  
• USD 300 for a work permit that's not needed. Now it's clear this is a scam, but lets check the rest.
  
  
• Money transfer by Western Union: this is not as suspicious as it sounds as bank to bank transfer in developing countries can be extremely slow. But, it makes the person receiving the funds untraceable.
  
  
• Slok Travel Agency: I went in on the web site given. On my computer I have Netcraft's toolbar, which shows me the site is on an American server owned by The Planet.
  
  Little bit irregular I would say, even if my own web sites are in USA and Canada respectively. This is because of unreliable power supply at the Philippine country side. But Port Harcourt is a big city, so there shouldn't be any problems like that. The agency's email address is not to be found in any form, not even when checking the code.
  
  
• The travel agency says they are river travel and excursion experts. The site contains just nonsense, except a note they have been in business for 18 years (since when?). Not a single picture from the Nigerian rivers. One picture shows a cruise liner, which has "Star Cruises" painted on the side. Star Cruises are based in Singapore and Hong Kong. There are no connections with Nigeria as I strongly doubt those ships goes up the rivers.
  
  
• The travel agent further states on their web site they are members of the "very exclusive" ASTA. This is the American Society of Travel Agents, the worlds largest travel agent association. On their web site you can check who is a member. Slok Travel Agency is not a member!
  
  
• Their email is not directly available on the site (not even in the code), but that is not in itself suspicious. Only I wasn't able to check whether their e-mail is also on "gmail".
  
  
• To be sure, I asked my own travel agent, who is the best in town, to check the travel agent in her International Directory of Travel Agents. Both she and her assistant checked every way they knew. Slok Travel could not be found anywhere.
  
  
• In November the employer finally got a website: www.avon.xaper.com/. My Netcraft toolbar tells me it's an American server (for a big Nigerian ship owner!), the server is owned by Mega Web Services (= United Online), which is a free web site service. There is a Home page with 2 (two!) paragraphs of text extolling the excellence of the company plus three more very short pages. This for a ship owner with 97 vessels and recruiting world wide!
  
  The Home page states the company started in 1978 but the page "About Us" states they have 5 decades (= 50 years) experience. There is a picture of a office building, with just a number only showing - No Company Name!. You can also find a picture of one (1) cargo or container ship . When zooming in on that picture the name seems to be either Pancaldo or Fancaldo. No ship by either name can be found in ITU (see above) register. This would be possible if the picture has been taken before the ship was sold for scrap and de-registered.
  
  
• The Woodworth Recruitment Agency have a web site, same server as Slok Travel: www.woodworth.bloombiz.com. On that site they say they have offices in 10 USA cities and they are doing recruiting for ships. But that's only their home page. The rest of the pages are same nonsense as the Slok Travel Agency's pages. At one page you can find: "Aim and Objectives: Price/IncotermsConditions: Not Specified" ??

Case closed.

I answered the recruiting agent that I don't need work permit in Nigeria etc. In addition, I asked the agency to contact the American Embassy or Consulate in Philippines to verify, for instance by e-mail, that this is a real legitimate American company.

I haven't heard anything further.

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If you or your friend have received anything similar, please send me some details like: company, agent, and ship name. I will add those data to this page for other "targets" to be aware about this scam.

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Further reports:
To keep this page within reasonable limits I have moved the abstracts from August 2005 to July 2008 reports (including some job offer copies ) to a new page: Nigerian Money Scam Example, Page 2. Below I'm giving only the specific details (the salient points) from the reports moved.

• Targets: Captains, Chief Officers, Dynamic Positioning Officer, Chief Engineers, Personnel Consultant, Oil Rig Instrument Technician, Naval Architect, Asian Recruiting Agent, Russian Recruiting Agent
  
  
• Ship names used: MV Anabel, MV Hamm, MV Light, MV Anable, ROVSV Merlin, MV Ken, MV Harrier
  
  
• Recruiting Agents: Woodworth Recruitment (USA), Synergy Recruitment (Canada)
  
  
• Employers: Avon Shipping Lines (Nigeria), Marine Dredging (Nigeria), Deckline Boats (USA), Cal Dive International (Helix Energy Solutions), Elf Petroleum UK (Jack Daniels), Shell Petroleum Development (Clifford Lewis), Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, Premier Oil Plc (UK), Nova Shipping Lines.
  
  
• Charterers: Klime Shipping Lines (KSL) Mr James Parker (UK)
  
  
• Representatives: Slok Travel Agency (Port Harcourt), Tapinok Consulting (Nigeria), Tapinok Consulting (UK), Kovalent Automation (Sweden)
  
  
• Person receiving money: Always Mr Emeka Okechukwu, always by Western Union Transfer (Nigeria), Ebi Bipella (Sweden)

September 2006

• Jack Daniels from Elf Petroleum (UK) sent a job offer to an Indian seafarer, who continued the correspondence until he was asked for advance payment - "placement fee".
  
  
• In September I also received a fresh employment scam letter from:

THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM COOPERATION ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT

The first offer gave as address: "Glass House Abuja". The same "COOPERATION" sent me a new copy in January and again in February 2007. The second and third copies say: "N.N.P.C. House Abuja" as well as giving a slightly different tel. number: 234-8061118154. The country code "234" is for Nigeria and "80" is a Nigerian mobile number.

There is a real Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Note the real name is Corporation. The second offer was received on Saturday at 2:49 AM (morning) in the Philippines, so IF sent from Nigeria, that would be 6 hours less = 8:49 PM (evening) on Friday. In the first letter I was given 7 days to respond, that sentence was later cut out. Otherwise the text is a complete copy of the first one, see the copy on: Nigerian Money-Employment Scam Example, Page 2.

More information on the "Cooperation" scam, although it was in 2006 called Corporation - without LTD. At that time the "author" asked for USD 620 and referred to Nigerian Immigration Services, which is a Government Agency. E-mail address to the Immigration was on "@myway.com", which is a US search engine and free e-mail service. No Government Agency anywhere have their e-mail on a public free service, especially not in another country.

The "Head" of the Immigration was at that time Dr John Adenuga, who in his turn was already in 2001 involved in the scam business as "Credit Control Manager" at Ecobank, Victoria Island branch in Lagos (Nigeria). Now he is again involved in a new "Project": Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas - see below.

October

• "Soku Gas Project" added a new "consulting company": Engineering Consulting Inc., Hennekijnstraat 37-B, NL-3012 EB Rotterdam in Holland. "Inc." is an American company designation (Incorporated) but the company is in Holland (where there are many Nigerians). No phone, no fax, yahoo e-mail.
  
  
• A new scam letter from "Shell Global Employment Program", "signed by" shellnationalsecretariat@usa.com. No names, no telephone numbers or addresses. The real Shell is a Dutch (Holland) Company: Royal Dutch Shell. On Marine-Maritime Job Links there is a link to the real Shell Corporation employment vacancies.

November
Early November I again received a new employment scam letter from Premier Oil Plc (UK) - Copy on Page 2.

Summary year 2006:
During the whole of year 2006 Woodworth Recruitment and Synergy Recruiting (Martin Moore) were active with Avon Shipping and Klime Shipping (James Parker), the ships MV Anabel and Merlin still looking for crew - occasionally using Ebi Bipella in Sweden for money transfer.

The Dutch Engineering Company at Hennekijnstraat as well as Tapinok Consulting were still going strong.

All the others: Elf Nigeria, Elf UK, Shell Gas UK and Soku Gas Project as well as Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (Harry Browning) and Premier Oil (James Coker)were all active.

2007

In January I started seeing some small changes. Woodworth Recruitment seems to be exchanged for Tapinok Consulting UK and Synergy Recruitment, Canada. The others: Shell / Soku Gas and Shell Global together with Elf Petroleum were as active as before.

At end of January I received the following offer:
QUOTE:
From : bintulu port <bintuluport@yahoo.com>
Sent : Saturday, January 27, 2007 1:46 PM
To : (address deleted)
Subject : port offer

TO:HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER/ CREW MANAGER
Copy of this message is on Page 2

The e-mail again is again at yahoo and the message is sent on a Saturday with no address or telephone mentioned, plus it came again to the same old box where all scam letters have come, I don't hesitate to make this a scam too.

In February a new scam letter was send to some Indian Engineers, the copy is on page 2 - it was sent by:

QUOTE:
NIGERIAN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS,
Plot 23, Engineering Close,
P.O.Box 2348,
Victoria Island,
Lagos, Nigeria.

And a second fake offer on January 2007: A fishing letter, clearly intended to collect CVs / résumés from unsuspecting seamen. It was sent from: heniking@aim.com with Subject: Marine Job Offer. See Page 2

February 2007 reports:
Woodworth seems to still be running their employment fraud but mostly using Slok, Klime Shipping, and Helix Solutions (now using new correct name) and offering jobs on MS Fancaldo.

Shell Oil (Clifford Lewis) and Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation circulating together with the Bintulu port job scam, which was received by a Canadian seafarer.

In February and March 2007 most scam letters going around seems to have been targeting offshore applicants. A British Stewardess got a fake job offer from Texaco via www.oilcareer.com. Texaco recruiting is - as far as I have found out - handled by Chevron which is on Marine-Maritime Job Links.

In April and May Shell Soku Gas Project and "shellnationalsecretariat" came back, now was added a project also in Italy. Both Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation and Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas were connected to the Nigerian Immigration Services; Premium Oil and Bintulu Port were likewise aggressively out hunting for victims. Even Cal Dive with diving support vessel Merlin ( DSV ) was back in circulation.

Most big oil company names are being used: Shell, Elf, Texaco, and Caltex (the real recruiting links to these are on Marine-Maritime Job Links - see Menu to the right). Also the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (see above) and a variation on the earlier Synergy Consulting, which now has changed to "Synergy Oil". Both Bipella in Sweden and Okechukwu in Nigeria were used as money collectors.

DR (!) Adenuga's name is used although I do not believe the real person by that name is the one sending the fake job offers. Oceanic Shipping Links was still going on with some "traditional" ship jobs.

June 2007, at the very end of the month I received for me a new fake offer from Nigeria AGIP.
QUOTE:
Agip Agencies <agipagencies@hotmail.com>
Sent : Tuesday, June 26, 2007 4:57 PM
To : (address deleted)
Reply : agipagencies@hotmail.com
Subject : Employment opportunity/résumé needed Asap...

The copy of the letter is on page 2.

For the rest of June all the same scams were running full power. Those targeting offshore oil personnel were most active. Anthony Flynn from Woodworth Recruitment was back in action with Avon Shipping again.

July Report:
In July a job offer was sent to an Indian national from Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas:
QUOTE: "... based on detailed recruitment by our official recruitment consultants FIDEL RECRUITMENT INC SERVICES" and referring to "earlier forwarded application" UNQUOTE although this person never directly applied for a job from that company. Salary as "Senior Account Manager in Nigeria" offered USD 39.920 per month. This is over 1.250 USD per day, which is about what an oil rig Offshore Installation Manager ( the BIG boss ) is paid!!!

He was told (as usual) to personally pay for all expenses related to permits with Nigerian Immigration Service, Contact person: DR Mike Adenuga, Head of Visa/Permit Operations. The message was signed by Mrs Wumi Osifor with email address: wumi-osifor_1@myway.com . "Nigerian Immigration Service" was given two telephone numbers, both starting with ++ 234 80 ..., which are Nigerian mobile numbers.

Obviously "John" has changed his first name to "Mike" ( Adenuga ), can't be two brothers, can it now?

At the very end of July I received an e-mail from EYOU GAS COMPANY LIMITED asking me to send my resume (CV) to: eyou_jobs2007@eyou.com - I regard this as a "fishing" attempt. It was signed by Mike Anderson and provided a UK address: 2 Jonson Bill Street, SW1W 0NR, London plus a telephone number: +44 702 405 8126, which is a UK mobile number with a redirect. If you send your resume to this address you will receive a fake job offer with the sole purpose of collecting an advance fee. www.eyou.com is hosted by a Chinese server.

EYOU was very active all of August, and in September attacking especially Indian mariners. The "eyou producers" didn't slow down a bit even in October but were going on as actively as before until Feb. / March 2008. After April 2008 it seems Eyou has dropped their activities completely. May be a rest for a couple of years and then looking for new victims again.

At the very end of August I received another "phishing" attempt from Total Oil And Gas Nigeria Plc :

QUOTE; "There are Vacancies on our new oil field project Abuja. We are interested in international experts that can handle the post of: Mining/Drilling & Exploration" UNQUOTE plus many other very broad categories, that cover about the whole range you can find on an oilfield. It was sent from totaloilnigerplc@hotmail.com and signed by Mrs Pat Eze, Secretary. No address and no telephone number.

"Plc" is a British ( UK or Ireland ) legal acronym identifying a type of limited company whose shares may be sold to the public. It's not legally recognized for Nigerian Companies. Total Oil is not British, it's a French oil giant, one of the four biggest in the world.

There is a warning against fake recruitment organizations on Total's own recruitment page [ Français ].

In November / December 2007 a European engineer in East Africa received an employment offer with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria from Wintech Engineering Limited, address:
Wintech Engineering Limited
Nolimpark 1810
Siberiestraat 10
3900 Overpelt
Belgium
For comments on this, please go to page 2

End of December a Canadian Captain informed me there was a job advertisement on Marine Link's publication Marine Technology Jobs:

QUOTE Master/Chief Engineers/ Afloat Officers e.t.c
Nigeria Abuja; Nova Shipping Lines
Nova Shipping Lines, a Shipping Company based in Nigeria, West Africa seeks afloat officers on her Cargo Vessel, MV Harrier. The Company has recently acquired a new Cargo Vessel and is currently recruiting to man the Vessel. Vacant Positions : Master, Chief Officer, Second Officer, Third Officer, Fourth Officer, Navigator/Radio Officer, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, Third Engineer, Fourth Engineer.
Further comments on this are on page 2

2008

In February 2008 I received a new fishing letter with a fresh twist. It was from " The Ideal Concepts Placement " said to have a list of 150 employers from every country in the world, which means barely one employer per country (!).

The twist is that they promise to lend you 90% of cost of airfare to relocate. Signed by Frank davis, Public Relations Manager. The letter gives no information where this agency is located, not even what country. Furthermore they use as e-mail yahoo.com. I would absolutely not bother even with answering this kind of letter at all, and absolutely not send my CV.

In February two different offers were sent to an Indian marine engineer. The first one from "Shipping Containers Limited" with a website: www.shippingcontainerssl.8k.com/ . On the website they give two e-mail addresses - one in UK (?) infouk@shippingcontainerssl.8k.com and the other to Accra, Ghana (?) infogh@shippingcontainerssl.8k.com . Basically they just ask the receiver to send their CV - DON't Send!

On the "Employment" page the company is called "Shiping Containers Shiping Line" (spelling as on webpage). They also state they control three subsidiaries: Landyang Shipping, Senator Lines, and Cyberlogitec. The website have a total of 4 pages and is on a American free server. As they point out they operate 145 ships and 11 dedicated terminal facilities world wide, it's highly unbelievable such a company would use a free website. The job offer to the engineer came from a yahoo e-mail address, not from anyone of the "company" e-mail addresses.

Further they do boast they have 200 offices and third-party agents spread across 53 countries. Main areas Africa, West Asia and the Middle East, plus Europe and US East Coast. They say they employ 80.000 staff, including 5.000 foreigners (75.000 staff in Ghana ?), QUOTE: This company is located Worldwide. UNQUOTE. Some of the text on the home page is even duplicated.

On the "About Us" page the text is an almost exact copy of what I received middle of June 2006, including offering jobs for teachers on board the ships. Same salaries as in the 2006 letter. That letter came to me from Oceanic Link Shipping Line, see Page 2.

The second offer was for a job on M.V.RABADU - I checked in ITU [ International Telecommunications Union ] Register - such name ship doesn't exist at all. Said to be owned by JDAK Shipping Company London and managed by JDAK Shipping GH Ltd - neither company could be found. Furthermore they stated his CV had been sent to them by "the global maritime academy", which (of course) also doesn't exist. He was just asked to send his CV for verification purposes.

Again a typical fishing letter, may be they sell the CV to somebody else or use it later in another "company" name. This was sent from yahoo.co.uk e-mail address - Atlantic Consultants (?) - with telephone number: 00-447045757939, this is a mobile UK number with a redirect. The message was signed by Mr Joshua Kofi, which I believe is a Ghanaian name.

There exists two different "Atlantic Consultants" named companies, neither of which I can even imagine being involved with this kind of recruiting.

In March a Philippine Engineer received a job offer from "Caltex Ltd", London. Oil Gas Company. The fake offer has been moved to Page 2 to save some space for new fake offers.

Very soon afterwards he received another offer from Corporación Sidenor Oil Espana. The copy of this fake offer has also been moved to Page 2.

In the middle of May 2008 I got an offer I reproduce below:

QUOTE : Attn: New Applicant,
We currently have vacancies for the position you require in your
resume, on board the vessel M.V. ALASKA, owned by kingdom-Shipping
Company London and managed by Kingdom Shipping GH Ltd. Your resume
was posted to us for perusal by the British Referral Service. Please
inform us if you will be able to take up the contract, and we also
have highly attractive remuneration.

We shall wait to hear from you within 10 working days of the receipt
of this message, and also attach a copy of resume.

Best Regards,
MR Kins Robert
         Job Recruitment officer
Kins Robert Consults, London
Tell : 00447045755141.UNQUOTE

Comments: Same ship name, MV Alaska, was used in an offer to an Indian Marine Engineer. That offer is described down on the Cruise Liner Employment Scam page. British Referral service doesn't exist and of course telephone number 004470... is the British mobile number with redirect. E-mail is @mailbox.hu, where ".hu" is short for Hungary. I don't think any more comments are needed for this one.

Still - one more comment. On May 02 I came upon MV Alaska requiring "amateur" and professional crew from among yachts people for trip from Ghana to UK.

In the middle of June I received a new fake offer. This was something of a mix up - it's not completely clear whether they are offering a job or something else. It was sent "on behalf of" Caltex ( Texaco ). The message received is reproduced below:

Quote: CHEVRON TEXACO NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION (Reply to chevrontexacogoil@live.com)?
From: Downey, Matt (mdowney@liberty.edu)
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2008 6:59:09 PM
To: (e-mail address deleted)

Chevron Texaco Oil and Gas Company,
Chevron House, 30 Raffles Place, #25-00
Singapore 048622.

Dear Sir/Madam,
Good day to you and Compliment of the season. I am Mrs. Charlene Wisher and am the Company's Secretary Of Chevron Texaco Oil and Gas Company In Singapore (ASIA DISTRICT). Please, If this Email Address Is For You, I wish to Inform you that your urgent attention Is needed at our Branch Office in the United Kingdom as We Have Good News For You. I advise you contact The Officer Incharge Within the Next 48hrs to Get the News Of this Life Transforming Offer Coming to You From this Great Company With the Information Below:
Mr. Alexander Dickson
Email: chevrontexacogoil@live.com
Telephone: +44-703-183-4818, +44-704-578-3258
I want to Congratulate you in Advance and Please do not forget to help the needy in the Society when Chevron Texaco makes you a Beneficiary of our World Of Wealth.

**Note: All replies and querries or questions concerning your claims should be sent to chevrontexacogoil@live.com

Yours Faithfully,
Dr Matt Downey
For the Chief Executive Officer
Chevron Texaco Oil and Gas Company Unquote

Comments:
1) www.liberty.edu is a (religious ?) university in Virginia, USA. I can't find any connection to Chevron.
2) No big organisation as Chevron / Texaco uses live.com e-mail service.
3) Telephone numbers 44-70... are UK mobile numbers with re-direct and the e-mail is said to come from Singapore. Chevron head office is of course in USA.
4) There is no such company ( Chevron Texaco Oil and Gas Company ) registered anywhere.

This is a definite scam letter / "fishing" attempt again. To be sure I asked for some more information about this "endowment fund". In the answer it was strongly pointed out this is no lottery winnings. It was said Microsoft had provided 50.000 e-mail addresses from which 100 "winners" were picked out to receive USD 3.000.000 each ! It was signed by Mr. Dawson Newton, Officer In-charge, COEFA ( ZoneF ).

At the end of July 2008 I received again another fishing letter. These seem to get more frequent. QUOTE:

From: BRINDEX OIL COMPANY (brindexoil.recuitoffcer@live.com)
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 8:50:58 PM
Reply-to: brindexoil@live.com
To: email address deleted

BRINDEX OIL COMPANY

Lavington
London. SE1 0NZ.
Switchboard
United Kingdom

www.BRINDEX.co.uk
Call Recruitment Office
Tel: +44 704 575 8657
Fax: +44 020 702 1331

ATTN:
INTERNATIONAL EXPATRIATE OFFICIAL JOB ONLINE INTERVIEW

Your name has been shortlisted/Choosen among the Lucky expatriates who
submitted the CV to the United Kingdom Job recuitment online directory ,before
we will issue you the Success Letter
and the Contract / Working Document, You have to fill the following
informations
and send it back to us

Via-Email:brindexoil@live.com

Full Names:
City:
State:
Country:
Zipcode:
Sex:
Phone:
Date Of Birth:
Marital Status:

Get back to me as soon as possible.
BAR.DEREK KIDD,
Head of Recruitment Service.
BRINDEX OIL COMPANY

UNQUOTE

Now the email is on "live.com" and telephone number +44 70 xx is again the UK mobile number with redirect. UK Job recruitment online directory doesn't exist. And then: What Job? What have these data to do with a job offer if they already have my CV ?

BAR. probably means Barrister, which would be a lawyer. And finally no street address. Only kind of address given is: "Lavington, London SE1 0NZ, Switchboard, United Kingdom". There is no "district" Lavington in London but there is a Lavington Street. It seems the address in the scam message comes from Google search "snippet" for CNET London. Google gives an address of: Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ, which is followed by the word Switchboard: and some telephone numbers. Of course, "Switchboard" isn't a part of the address !

There is a website address in the message, www.brindex.co.uk. I checked out that one. Brindex is short for "The Association of British Independent Oil Exploration Companies", which seems to be a legitimate umbrella organisation for a group of companies with interests in West Africa and other locations. The head office for Brindex is in Aberdeen ( Scotland ) with a completely different telephone number and address. The email address is with "@brindex.co.uk". Obviously these scammers have "borrowed" the company name.

At least one of the Associations member companies' website - Dana Petroleum Plc - have a warning about fake job offers sent out in their name. As reply to an enquiry I sent to the Administrator of Brindex whether they have any connections to Mr Derek Kidd, I got the following answer:

QUOTE: "Please be advised that this email has nothing whatsoever to do with Brindex, the trade association for British Independent Oil and Gas exploration companies. As far as we are aware there is no oil company in the UK called Brindex Oil and assume the name has been taken from our official website.
Regards
Jackie Steer" UNQUOTE

In October two old "favourites" came back. First Soku Gas Project in Nigeria, which has been going on at least since September 2006 ( see above ) and EYOU, which is again a "fishing" project ( fishing for resumes / CV ) and been going on at least since July 2007. Both of these have been resting about 6 months and now again reactivated.

Middle of November 2008 I received a "job offer" from Nigerian Agip Oil Company. This is an almost exact copy of what I received June 2007, also from Nigeria AGIP. A copy of the earlier one is on page 2. Sender's e-mail address is different this time:

OPEN EMPLOYMENT VACANCY PSC/JV/NAOC 01145-2010/2020?
From: Resume Services ( naocagencyservices@yahoo.com )
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 7:53:35 PM
Reply To: naocagencyservices@yahoo.com

The text, and layout is very much same as before, the colours in the latest version only little bit different. The salary range has been up-dated to US $ 60,400 - US $ 140.000. At the end there is still another new e-mail address where to send one's resume:
naoc-enquiriesdept@live.com
In November there was still the "JDAK Shipping" still active, little bit changed - now also cruise ships included. See comment above.

So where's the catch? I regard all of these last ones as "fishing letters". They do ask for the person's personal details same time as they strongly insist you don't have to pay anything. But once they have your personal details, they can keep these a year or two. Then may be sell the data to somebody else who then can use the data for an other scam. By then may be you have forgotten you long time ago gave your data away. Don't give your personal details to unknown persons.

Get advice on what to do if you by mistake already have given away your banking and/or other financial data ( including user names and passwords ).

May be those Nigerian money scammers are growing lazy, just recirculating old fake offers instead of working for their money! Like the next one !

At the very end of December, 2008 - a few days before Christmas somebody sent me a copy of a "new" fake job offer from Woodworth Recruitment in San Diego, California. It's an almost exact copy of the scam letter that originally in July 2005 kicked-off this very webpage - about 3½ years earlier. The letter itself is still as a full copy at the very top of this page.

Just following small details were different now:

• Before Avon Shipping and MV Hamm - NOW Nova Shipping and MV Harrier
  Both Nova Shipping and Harrier were used in December 2007 in an advertisement about ( fake ) jobs in Marine Technology Jobs magazine ( US ). Details are on Page 2.
  
• Master's salary and advance processing fee have both gone up by 9% - salary from USD 8.000 to 8.700 and the fee from USD 300 to 327.
  
• Travel agent who will "take care of you" still the same Slok Travel with the same fake website ( same Internet address ).
  
• The person who signed the fake offer is NEW: Felipe Torres and the person receiving the advance fee is also NEW: MR.CALI ADUM in Lagos, Nigeria.
  
• The office address and fax number in California are still both the same.

In January 2009 I received a copy of a new (?) employment scam offering fake jobs on superyachts and in February 2009 I received another one, targeting crew both on Superyachts, Cruise Ships and Cargo Ships.

Middle of February 2009 the fake offer below was received by an African oiler. So many news papers around the world are proclaiming the economy is in depression and people are laid off both here and there. The scammers have realized there must be many not so very much educated jobless people who would willingly spend their last money to get a job. I have elsewhere pointed out it's not so much a real money or credit problem, but people have stopped spending so much on luxuries and the employment "problems" are mostly a question of restructuring the workforce. This means less and less manual workers and more and more skilled trained technicians - nuts and bolts people.

One result of all this "hoopla" is an increase of fake job offers, like the one copied below (different lay-out). QUOTE:

From: Global Logistics Trading Shipping CO,LTD <globaljobsrecruitment@yahoo.com>
Subject: JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS @ GLOBAL SHIPPING LTD -UK
To: [ address deleted]
Date: Monday 16 February 2009, 08:33

Dear ( name with held ).

Applicant.

Thanks For Your Response To Our Advert And Information Forwarded, Having Accessed Your Application Forwarded To Our Office For Job Placement, We Writes To Inform You That Your Application For Work Has Been Received And Reviewed For Possible Consideration Of Job Onboard.

Kindly Note The Following Details And Also Answer The Below Interviews Questions

(A) Air Ticket / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(B) Visa / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(C) Work Permit / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(D) Accommodation / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(E) Feeding / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(F) Medical / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(G) Insurance / Provided By Global Logistics Ltd
(H) Contract Duration : One (1)Year -Two (2) Years. And One Way Economy Class Ticket Will Be Provided To Applicant?s Country Of Origin Upon Completion Of One Or Two Years Of Service..
(I) Two (2) Months Contract Advance Payment Salary Will Be Paid To Applicant Before Arrival For Work, This Payment Provision Is Rendered To Help Applicant Settled His/Her Outstanding Debts Before Leaving For Work Abroad.
(J) Applicant Will Be Required To Sign Our Specimen Contract Form And Also To Pay 299 Us$ (Two Hundred & Ninety Nine United States Dollars )For Application Registration & Processing Fee Which Is Refundable 48hrs Upon Arrival For Work With A Proof Of Payment Receipt Copy..

Kindly Re-Confirm Us Once Again Below Informations As A Requirement For The Job And Visa Processing.

1) Full Name
2) Valid International Passport Number:
3) Job Post Applying For :
4) Nationality:
5) Scan Copy Of Passport Photograph Recently Taken And Send Through Our Email Attachment And Answer The Below Interview Immediately.

Interview Questions
1. Who Is Your Present Or Most Recent Employer?
2. What Do You Like Best About This Position?
3. Which Accomplishments In Your Present Position Are You Proud Of And Why?
4. Give Me Some Examples Of Past Working Experience That You Have Found Personally Satisfying.
5. What Are Some Recent Responsibilities You Have Taken On? Why Did You Assume These Responsibilities?
6. How Much Do You Earn Monthly (In Usd).
7. Tell Me About A Time When The Duties And Responsibilities Available In A Specific Position Overlapped With Duties And Responsibilities That Brought You Personal Satisfaction?
8. What Job Values Are Important To You?
9..Do You Have Uk-Visa ?
10.If We Employed You, Are You Ready To Relocate To Your Job Placement Within 25 Days?
11.Please Provide Us With Contact Details Of People To Contact Regarding Your Capabilities.

Please Get Back To Us Immediately Or Call To Confirm Because Only Successful Applicants Will Be Contacted After This Stage With An Appointment & Specimen Employment Letter.

Kind regards
Mrs. Gabriel Geneva.
Director of Employment
Global Logistics & Shipping Trading Co,Ltd
14/17 Skylines Village, Limeharbour, London, , E14 9TS .
Tel: +44 (0) 7031884984 +44 7031887534

Tel:+ 44 (0) 8715039512 Fax: + 44 (0) 8704956686
E-mail info@globallogisticsltd.com, globaljobsrecruitment@yahoo.com
website: www.globallogisticsltd.com UNQUOTE

The website isn't so badly done, at least not the Home page. Even the other pages could fool somebody who hasn't seen so very many different shipowners' websites. From the inner pages it's, however, difficult to surf without going via the Home page. Without the fake offer it could be difficult to say for sure whether the company is fake or not. The website has been on-line only since December 22, 2008, and a WhoIs look-up doesn't give much information.

Somewhat confusing job offer isn't it? The telephone numbers 44 70... are enough to identify it as scam. DO NOT PAY - if you do, your money will be lost and you won't ever be able to contact the scammers again.

At the very end of March 2009 I received again a fake offer from British Petroleum, the offer is as copied below:

Subject: ***VACANCY....APPLY URGENTLY***?
From: British Petroleum (info@britishpetroleum.com)
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:14:44 PM
To: (e-mail address with-hold)

British Petroleum Company PLC (UK)
Human Resource Department1
St James Square London,
SW1Y 4PD

JOB ALERT!!!

Could you be the right person for this job offer? What if our judgmentwas wrong? You might want to try your hands on it but unfortunately we areonly looking for professionals with exceptional expertise, highly spiritedindividuals who are ready to take up rewarding challenges in the oil andgas industry.BP, a well established and reputable oil/gas company with rapidly growingwide network of outlets around the world, seeks to attract resourcefulindividuals craving for a refreshing opportunity yet characteristicallypossesses the skill and uprightness to excellently deliver amidst limitedassistance.

JOB VACANCIES
ConsultantHuman Resources OfficerMarketing.
Account Executive.
Chief Accountants.
Engineering Managers Maintenance.
All Managerial positions.
Cost Engineer/ Sr Quantity surveyor
All Engineering positions
Chief Engineers.
Management and Project Management.
General Manager/Manager Engineering.
Project Manager, Exploration of Oil and gas fields.
Medical Officers.
Medical Consultants/Specialist.
Mining Consultants.
Engineering consultantsFinancial Consultants.
Petroleum Geologist.
Welding and heavy fabrication.
Professional Executive Secretary.
Human Resources, Administration.
Data Processing OfficerIT AnalystETC

METHOD OF APPLICATION- All interested candidates should reply via mail with updated Resumes (CV).- Only applicants who possess the required qualifications will beshort-listed whence consequently contacted.All Resumes should be forwarded to:

HRD: Mr. Anderson Spencer
Email: recruitdesk45@gmail.com
HR DepartmentRecruitment Section
London (UK).

The offer is said to be sent from: info@britishpetroleum.com and replies are to be sent to: recruitdesk45@gmail.com . Now it's sure British Petroleum Personnel Department would never use a free e-mail service ( in this case Google mail ). The correct address for the British Petroleum website is www.bp.com/ and their e-mail address could be for instance info@bp.com.

The e-mail address ..@britishpetroleum.com indicates it's coming from the "company's" webserver, i.e. website would be: www.britishpetroleum.com. Such a website doesn't exist.

Of course there are no telephone numbers given, if somebody would call a BP number the "game would be finished" (!). On the other hand, they are mainly asking people to send their CV's, which then could be used to send new better targeted fake offers - may be next year. Do not send your personal details anywhere when you don't know who's asking for it. Especially if you haven't even applied for a job with the company the request is said to come from.

A Filipino offshore store keeper informed me middle of April about a fake offer he had just received. It was from SAO TOME & PRINCIPE OIL EXPLORATION PROJECT ( SNOEP ) ( www.snoeproject.net ). Sao Tome & Principe is a Portuguese speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, west of Angola and about SE from Nigeria. According to Who is Look up this domain was registered on March 18, 2009, but no website exists as of April 20, 2009.

The domain www.snoeproject.com was registered by an unknown person on a Google server on March 14, 2009, for one year and www.snoeproject.net was registered for one year by Brenda Esopi [ "Esopi" is an African name ], Emery Ville, California, USA. This "project" ( s Noe Project ) is mentioned also on 419 Scam Org. webpage, so it's definitely a scam. Below is a copy of the fake offer:

His resume was accepted by e-mail signed by:

Mr. Jude M. Willson
Chairman Search Committee
(Human Resources Department)
Sao Tome Nigeria Oil Exploration Project
Tel: +234 82 895 280
E-mail: s.noep@live.com
Url: www.snoeproject.net

The fake job offer letter have a beautifully crafted Heading:


APPLICATION REF. NO.: SNOEP-STP/NIG028
24/03/2009
[ Applicants name with hold ]

Dear Applicant,
JOB OFFER LETTER
To confirm the recent screening processes, which were conducted by the Search Committee of SNOEP, I am pleased to offer you an initial position as the:

POSITION: "MATERIAL SUPERVISOR" (your job profile remain as the same as stated on your resume which you have submitted for screening).

JOB LOCATION: Sao Tome & Principe

STARTING DATE: 06 April 2009. On this date, you are to report at 8:00 a.m. to the Human Resources Department, where you will be provided with a packet containing information on SNOEP benefits, facilities, and services as well to attend an orientation program before job commencement.

Should you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date.

• Salary: Monthly net starting salary of $15,500.00 (USD) paid by your choice of check or direct deposit ( This salary is take home after TAX deduction )
  
• Job Description: ( your job profile remain as the same as stated on your resume which you have submitted for screening ).
  
• Performance Bonuses: Up to three percent of your annual net salary, paid quarterly by your choice of check or direct deposit.
  
• Contract Duration: 2 Years ( Renewable )
  
• Benefits: Standard, SNOEP - provided benefits for all employees includes the following.
  
  • Child daycare assistance
    
  • Education assistance
    
  • Health, dental, life and disability insurance
    
  • Profit sharing
    
  • Sick leave
    
  • Vacation and personal days ( SNOEP have 30 working days annual leave ( which is additional to public / religious holidays ), which can be taken at any time during the year ( subject to approval ).
    
  • Accommodation ( Two-Bed-Room Apartment for married staffs and One-Bed-Room Apartment for single staff, this accommodation is free ) and
    
  • Transportation ( Free Transportation, from home to place of work everyday )

JOINING US:

1. Visa: All Local Applicants ( West African Resident ) are to report directly to our office, while International Applicants should note that, it is their responsibility to secure their visa through Travel Afrik Limited. ( a licensed agent for Sao Tome & Principe Visa procurement ), while SNOEP shall secure your working permit upon confirmation of your valid visa to come Sao Tome & Principe. This is done in order to access the applicants earnestness and fervent in accepting this offer. Because Sao Tome & Principe do not have any Embassy or Consulate abroad, we are recommending you apply directly with the Travel Afrik Limited. which contact information is below. We advice you contact them in due time in order to know the required documents that are needed in securing your visa.
   
   Travel Afrik Limited
   68 West Indies Avenue Calarba, Cross River State - Nigeria.
   Tel: +234-807-509-7612, E-mail: travelafriklimited@gmail.com
   
   
2. Work Permit: Upon confirmation of your visa, SNOEP shall secure your work permit papers from the Sao Tome Ministry of Interior which will enable you to live and work in Sao Tome were we operate.
   
   
3. Flight Ticket: Your flight ticket shall be sent to you, a week before your departure. You are to provide a working and valid postal address where your ticket shall be derived through a courier service agent, inclusive of your Hardcopy of Offer Letter and Certificate of Employment.
   
   
4. Accommodation: SNOEP provides accommodation to all foreign national at the Government Reserved Area at Maitama Housing Estate, Sao Tome.
   
   
5. Interview: Interview shall be conducted orally upon arrival before job resumption. Candidates are advice to arrive a week before job commencement date in order to attend the orientation seminar. Note that interview is basically on the information which you have provided on your resume before screening. We so much believe you cannot fail the interview if information you have provided is true and valid.

To accept this job offer:

1. Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below.
   
2. E-mail the signed and dated document(s) listed above back to us through email as attachment, a week of receiving this offer.
   
3. Attend new-hire orientation day a week before your starting date.

We at SNOEP hope that you'll accept this job offer and look forward to welcoming you aboard. Your immediate supervisor will be Mr. Kalu T. Ogwumba, Human Resources Department Manager. Feel free to call Mr. Kalu or me on +234 82 895 280, if you have questions or concerns. Call the main numbers on the letterhead above during normal business hours and ask to speak to either of us or visit our website www.snoeproject.net

Sincerely,
[ And then a truly beautiful end to the Letter: ]


He continued the correspondence until "Travel Afrik" requested an advance fee of USD 950 for visa / work permit processing. There is a travel agent by name Afrik Travels, but it is in India at a town called Jalahandar in Punjab !

First thing he had never applied for work with this project, the offer came for him "out of the blue". The first thing he reacted on and which made him suspicious was the offered salary: USD 15.500 per month. He first thought it was early income, but no, it's clearly stated he would get this very much for a low position - and every month.

The whole process started for this Filipino store man with an "fishing letter" with a request to "confirm" his resume and other details. Then he was found perfect for the job and was offered the position. A position of which the job description was lifted from his own resume - i.e. he wrote his own job description ! That never happens in real life.

When writing a fake job offer in an attractive way it's extremely difficult to make it believable and with correct details. The telephone country codes are in this case correct - 234 is Nigeria and 239 is Sao Tome & Principe.

The e-mail addresses in this case are either at "live.com" or at "snoeproject.com" or "gmail". The domain name registered doesn't have any website yet, but there could be an e-mail box attached, may be that's why the domain was registered?

On May 09, 2009, I received again a "Fishing" letter, see below:

From: mohammedhassan ( vinedoe@gmail.com )
Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 2:12:44 AM
To: (deleted)
Attachments: CHEVRONNG-EMPLOYMENT-ONLINE-INTERVIEW-APPLICATION-FORM.doc (27.4 KB)

Dear Applicant..............

Fill in our Online Application Interview Form to enable us access your personal information and know the most applicable post for you in our Company.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr Mohammed Hassan
Dircetor Of Human Resource

Very short and to the point, right? A company like Chevron never would send out e-mail requests like this. First they don't use "gmail". Second they have enough applicants to every open vacancy and they don't have the time to try to figure out where to put a certain person. It's not for them a question of employing as much people as possible, on the contrary - the less the better. When / if you open the attached document it looks nice:

Additional sources for information on Nigerian money scams:

• A very long UK webpage with names of companies and people used in scam and fraud letters / e-mails, some details go all way back to 2003. If you find the name in the job offer you have received on this page, then you can be sure the great offer is a fake.
  
• Summary of Nigerian "419" scams since 1990's.
  
• Wikipedia: Nigeria Scam.
  
• Nigerian Money Scams, including the beginning of mobile phone numbers used to redirect the caller.
  
• You can inquire from the Nigerian Consulate in New York by e-mail if a certain company is real and legitimate: info"at"nigeria-consulate-ny.org (instead of "at" you type: @ )
  
• A searchable and indexed archive of scams received by email. You can check every email you are suspicious about against the archive. You can also include the scam search in the Google toolbar - if you have the toolbar.
  
• Additional information on offshore oil and maritime scams.
  
• If a recruiting agent / shipping company in Nigeria offers you something "fishy", you can check if the company is real or not from Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA ). That's the agency licensing recruiting agents and shipping operators.
  
• Overview with details on different scams going on Internationally and what you can do if you receive something suspicious.

I have below copied instructions on what you can do when you have received any kind of scam message. If it's about Maritime Employment, please forward it to me first.

"We ( i.e. Fraud Watchers Org. ) have received a communication from the Metropolitan Police in the UK regarding Advance Fee Fraud (419) emails received:
"We would ask everyone to please forward all their received 419 and Advanced Fee Fraud related emails to the Metropolitan Police, together with full email headers, to fraud.alert@met.police.uk.
"This request is not limited to those only living in the UK, for the reason that UK based perpetrators of this crime indiscriminately distribute their scam letters and emails to inbox addresses all over the world.
"It is essential that the entire email, including the header information, is emailed as an attachment to the above address. In the event that you are unable to include these full headers, please just delete the email and do not forward it, as it will be a waste of time and resource."

You may refer to the documentation of your email client on how to display full email headers before forwarding them (Yahoo users should click on"Options", "General Preferences", and at the option "Forwarding Messages" set "Forward as an attachment").
Users of other email programs/applications may find this page useful, but be prepared to copy and paste if your program or application will not include them automatically.
If you have any questions about this announcement, or how to go about assisting, please post any queries in this thread within our forums."

[ Source: www.fraudwatchers.org/ ]