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AG notes increase in theft scams

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Attorney General's consumer protection unit has seen an increase of victims fall prey to identity fraud and email scams. The AG's office urges the public not to send any money or give out any personal information, as this opens the door to identity theft that may involve criminal and financial crimes. AG Leonardo Rapadas states, "I cannot stress this point more; if it sounds too good to be true, it is.  You are strongly advised not to comply with such solicitations; it could put you in a terrible financial situation.  Hang up immediately or delete emails that sound too good to be true...The names of the people and companies may change, but the scam is the same: they want to steal your money or your identity so they can steal your money."

Anyone who is a victim of this crime is urged to contact the Consumer advocate at the AG's office at 475–3324 ext. 171 or to email the information to:[email protected].

The following cases have been reported to the AG's office:

*An email was sent directly to our Office from a person identified himself as San Rey, a financial investment attorney from Madrid, Spain who wrote that he had the desire to move large funds out of Spain and invest it, but that he would require someone reliable for a private partnership and to contact him for details. He gave the following contact information: Phone: +34 632 136 151; Email: [email protected]

*A woman by the name of Mrs. Yani Ajita Tan who claimed to be the chief executive officer of Ocean Yani Seafood LTD, sent an email claiming to be dying of cancer and that it was her desire to donate $10.5 million to the email recipient. Instructions were given to contact her lawyer, Barrister Richard Van Lee, to arrange for the release of the funds using this information: Phone: 00601–64–76–74–81; Email: [email protected]

*A consumer received a call from Alex, allegedly from the Crystal Line Tourism out of Malaysia, inviting him to Tagachang beach in Yona on Sunday, October 23, 2011, at 5pm to pick up his winning prize.  The consumer was then was given a confirmation number of BH168 and was asked for his name. Alex gave the consumer the following contact information: Phone: 60167384961

*A consumer reported a phone scam where he and his wife were told they won $50,000 and sent $700. Subsequently, they were told they actually won $80,000 and sent an additional $1,000. They paid a total of $1,700 prior to determining it was a scam.  The suspect identified himself as Robert Williams, who was calling from an Ohio area code.  When the consumer challenged Williams on the scam, Williams threatened to kill him.

*A woman by the name of Sandra Gonzales sent an email directly to our Office claiming to have been married to a successful business man by the name of Richard Gonzales that dealt electronics who has since passed away. Gonzales alleges that while her husband was still alive, he had ordered goods from the United Kingdom and that presently, the goods sit in a warehouse in the Philippines. She continues to explain that the cargo company contacted her last month about the goods and that she is requiring assistance to ship the goods to Guam. Though no specific monetary amount or value was given to the goods she is trying to ship, she asks for 10% of the shipping costs up front and upon arrival of the goods here to Guam, she will give 30% of the total goods to the email recipient. She provided the following email address for contact information: Email:[email protected]

*George Duncan, who claims to be the director of operations of Citibank in London, sent an email to our Office with a supposed business proposition. He claims that Abdul–Nasir Omar, an Iraqi foreign oil consultant/contractor with the British Petroleum Corporation made a fixed deposit of $34 million for 36 calendar months to his bank branch. He continues that upon its maturity in 2003, he sent a routine notification to Abdul–Nassirs' forwarding address but got no reply and later discovered from his contract employers that he had died as a result of torture in the hands of Sad am Hussein during one of his trips to Iraq. Duncan further wrote that Abdul–Nasir died without making a will and all attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless and that he did not declare any next of kin or relation in all his official documents, including the bank deposit paperwork he filled out at Duncan's bank.  Duncan then proposes that the recipient of his email stand in as the next of kin to Abdul–Nasir, thus becoming the owner of the $34 million.  Duncan tries to legitimize this scam by writing that he has secured a probated order of mandamus to locate any of the deceased beneficiaries, making it risk–free involvement. The following contact information was given: Email:[email protected]; Address: CITIBANK 84 kings Cross Road, London, W1S