Quatloos Uncovers Nigerian Scams andTax and Investment Fraud

Quatloos has a wealth of information about Nigerian scams, tax fraud and investment fraud. What I really appreciate about Quatloos is that it actually presents information in an interesting way. It is a colorful, insightful and even humorous site that will help you understand the way in which fraud and scams are perpetuated.

One of my favorite sections on the Quatloos site is the Brad Christenson Exhibit. This is a record of a man who enjoys taking revenge on the Nigerian scam artists. He knows exactly how they work and has a lot of fun making their life miserable. It lists all the emails from the Nigerian scam artists and Brad's replies to them. It is so funny to read about Brad's adventures with the Nigerian scam artists. For the rest of us though, we are recommended to never reply to a Nigerian scam letter. Nigerian scammers are actually very dangerous individuals. Some people have agreed to go meet them and have been murdered.

According to Quatloos, the 4-1-9 Nigerian scam is the third largest industry in Nigeria. They simply mass mail out these scams and hope someone will be naïve enough to answer. It is a number game, and obviously they are finding some that are gullible enough to play. Typically you will get a Nigerian scam letter saying that you will get a large sum of money for your cooperation. Once they have your interest, they will request some money to be wired. They will say it is to bribe a government official or whatever else they can make up. You will never see your money again. If you go there to check on your investment, chances are good that you will never come back.

Quatloos believes the Nigerian government is also in on the scam, "This scam is often referred to as the 4-1-9 scam, ironically after section 4-1-9 of the Nigerian Penal Code which relates to fraudulent schemes. While the Nigerian government periodically makes grand statements that it is cracking down on the scam, it isn't -- for the reason that the scam was, according to some reports, the third-largest industry in Nigeria! This is just too large a business for Nigeria to crack down on -- it would be like Nevada trying to close the casinos."

In the Quatloos tax fraud section it covers fraud against the government in the form of tax evasion. There are some citizens that have challenged whether paying tax is actually constitutional. Quatloos goes into great detail to explain why you have to pay taxes and what will happen to you if you don't. There is much detail there listing many court cases of those who have tried to get out of paying taxes and all have lost. The investment fraud section includes multi-level marketing, high-yield investment programs, offshore planning scams, treasury scams and forgeries, forex scams and commodities fraud.

If you have been the victim of any scam or fraud it is important to report it. You can find the appropriate agency to report it to in the Quatloos law enforcement section.