GLOBAL BACKGROUND CHECKS & INVESTIGATIONS
Resources
Wymoo® International works hard to educate our global business clients and individual clients on the types of fraud and scams around the world. In addition to education, Wymoo works with clients and consumers to prevent fraud, reduce risk, and bring criminal operations to justice.
The following provides some general information on global fraud types, red flags, and various resources available.
Advance Fee Fraud
Advance fee fraud or 419 scams emerged from Nigeria in the 1980's. Since then, this type of scam or fraud has spread worldwide. It is based on the advance fee, which must be paid in advance to receive something of more value in return. The widespread and global use of the Internet has made this type of fraud a problem worldwide. This type of fraud typically targets English speaking victims and can involve elements of romance, business, inheritance, online dating, precious metals, travel and emergencies.
For West Africa, contact a:
Nigeria Private Investigator or a
Ghana Private Investigator
2010 Estimates:
Global Victims: Over 5 million annually
Annual Loss: Over $1 billion USD
Primary Countries of Operation: Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Russia, Philippines
Red Flags: an advance fee is required
Employment Scams & Fraud
Employment scams can affect both the employee and the employer. False job advertisements are often used by criminals to convince a victim to pay for some type of service, or to reveal his or her personal data to the "employer".
Wymoo advises all employers to contract a professional investigator for complete pre-employment screening services for candidates, especially if the candidate is overseas. Job seekers should be very skeptical of overseas employers who ask for personal information or payment.
Romance Fraud & Dating Scams
Online dating websites and international relationships have risen significantly in recent years. Due to over-population and globalization, this trend should continue. With more relationships beginning via the Internet, there is more risk for fraud, false identity, scams, and misrepresentation.
Romance scams and fraud are often combined with some element of advance fee fraud. In other cases, the subject simply lies about his or her true identity.
A background check and/or surveillance is often required and advised to confirm the subject if the relationship begins via the Internet, especially in cases involving a person who resides in a foreign country.
2010 Estimates
Global Victims: Over 4 million annually
Annual Loss: Data not available
Primary Countries of Operation: Nigeria, Ghana, Russia, Ukraine, Philippines
Red Flags: Subject is in a foriegn country, situation seems too good to be true, a request for money has been made, the subject quickly professed his or her love, there is a sudden emergency or illness
For Eastern Europe, contact a:
Russia Private Investigator or a
Ukraine Private Investigator
Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are typically initiated via a fraudulent email, which attempts to convince the recipient that the sender is a legit source, such as a bank, website, or other financial institution. The objective is to lure the victim into providing his or her username and password, or other personal information. With this data, the criminal can attempt to steal the victim's identity or money by using the victim's personal information or login data.
2010 Estimates
Global Victims: Over 1 million annually
Annual Loss: Data not available
Primary Countries of Operation: China, Russia, U.K. Nigeria, South Africa
Red Flags: suspicious email
Business Fraud & Investment Scams
Business fraud and investment scams typically are a variation of the advance fee fraud, except the fraud is usually more sophisticated. Industry-specific vocabulary and supporting documents are often used, including stock and bond certificates, land deeds, letters of credit from banks, government letterhead. The objective is the same as in advance fee fraud. This type of fraud or scam typically targets wealthy English speakers or international business owners.
For Asia, contact a:
Philippines Private Investigator or a Singapore Private Investigator
Wymoo advises all clients to proceed with a due diligence investigation from a professional investigator prior to engaging in international business or investment with an unknown party.
Additional Resources
Advance Fee Fraud, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud
Common Fraud Schemes, FBI
www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud
/fraudschemes.htm
Internet Fraud, USA.gov
www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics
/Internet_Fraud.shtml
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
www.fbi.gov
Interpol (OIPC)
www.interpol.int
Metropolitan Police, London
www.met.police.uk
Australian Federal Police (AFP)
www.afp.gov.au/home.html
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
SEC, How to Avoid Investment Scams
www.sec.gov/investor/pubs
/cyberfraud.htm
Romance Scams, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Romance_scam
Wymoo® International works hard to educate our global business clients and individual clients on the types of fraud and scams around the world. In addition to education, Wymoo works with clients and consumers to prevent fraud, reduce risk, and bring criminal operations to justice.
The following provides some general information on global fraud types, red flags, and various resources available.
Advance Fee Fraud
Advance fee fraud or 419 scams emerged from Nigeria in the 1980's. Since then, this type of scam or fraud has spread worldwide. It is based on the advance fee, which must be paid in advance to receive something of more value in return. The widespread and global use of the Internet has made this type of fraud a problem worldwide. This type of fraud typically targets English speaking victims and can involve elements of romance, business, inheritance, online dating, precious metals, travel and emergencies.
For West Africa, contact a:
Nigeria Private Investigator or a
Ghana Private Investigator
2010 Estimates:
Global Victims: Over 5 million annually
Annual Loss: Over $1 billion USD
Primary Countries of Operation: Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Russia, Philippines
Red Flags: an advance fee is required
Employment Scams & Fraud
Employment scams can affect both the employee and the employer. False job advertisements are often used by criminals to convince a victim to pay for some type of service, or to reveal his or her personal data to the "employer".
Wymoo advises all employers to contract a professional investigator for complete pre-employment screening services for candidates, especially if the candidate is overseas. Job seekers should be very skeptical of overseas employers who ask for personal information or payment.
Romance Fraud & Dating Scams
Online dating websites and international relationships have risen significantly in recent years. Due to over-population and globalization, this trend should continue. With more relationships beginning via the Internet, there is more risk for fraud, false identity, scams, and misrepresentation.
Romance scams and fraud are often combined with some element of advance fee fraud. In other cases, the subject simply lies about his or her true identity.
A background check and/or surveillance is often required and advised to confirm the subject if the relationship begins via the Internet, especially in cases involving a person who resides in a foreign country.
2010 Estimates
Global Victims: Over 4 million annually
Annual Loss: Data not available
Primary Countries of Operation: Nigeria, Ghana, Russia, Ukraine, Philippines
Red Flags: Subject is in a foriegn country, situation seems too good to be true, a request for money has been made, the subject quickly professed his or her love, there is a sudden emergency or illness
For Eastern Europe, contact a:
Russia Private Investigator or a
Ukraine Private Investigator
Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are typically initiated via a fraudulent email, which attempts to convince the recipient that the sender is a legit source, such as a bank, website, or other financial institution. The objective is to lure the victim into providing his or her username and password, or other personal information. With this data, the criminal can attempt to steal the victim's identity or money by using the victim's personal information or login data.
2010 Estimates
Global Victims: Over 1 million annually
Annual Loss: Data not available
Primary Countries of Operation: China, Russia, U.K. Nigeria, South Africa
Red Flags: suspicious email
Business Fraud & Investment Scams
Business fraud and investment scams typically are a variation of the advance fee fraud, except the fraud is usually more sophisticated. Industry-specific vocabulary and supporting documents are often used, including stock and bond certificates, land deeds, letters of credit from banks, government letterhead. The objective is the same as in advance fee fraud. This type of fraud or scam typically targets wealthy English speakers or international business owners.
For Asia, contact a:
Philippines Private Investigator or a Singapore Private Investigator
Wymoo advises all clients to proceed with a due diligence investigation from a professional investigator prior to engaging in international business or investment with an unknown party.
Additional Resources
Advance Fee Fraud, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud
Common Fraud Schemes, FBI
www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud
/fraudschemes.htm
Internet Fraud, USA.gov
www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics
/Internet_Fraud.shtml
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
www.fbi.gov
Interpol (OIPC)
www.interpol.int
Metropolitan Police, London
www.met.police.uk
Australian Federal Police (AFP)
www.afp.gov.au/home.html
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
SEC, How to Avoid Investment Scams
www.sec.gov/investor/pubs
/cyberfraud.htm
Romance Scams, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Romance_scam
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