The Overseas Emergency Scam

This is one of the most common online scams. The scammer will create a fake identity and proceed to communicate with you to build trust. They may communicate with you for several weeks, making you think you are getting to know them very well. All of a sudden you will get a message regarding an 'emergency' that has happened overseas. The majority of the time, the emergency will be in Nigeria or another African country. Emergencies can range from accidents, medical illness or robbery. You will be requested to send a single large sum or many small sums of money to assist. The scammer will have always been located in the country that the 'emergency' happens, but will often pretend to originate from a western country.