The senders of 'Nigerian happiness letters' were detained in Spain
As reported by Vinegret.cz, the police special operation took place in three phases, with a total of 48 people detained. Most of them are citizens of Nigeria. Another 13 suspects were left free pending investigation.
The authors sent letters on behalf of a 'Nigerian prince' or fictitious African businessmen by mail or via the Internet. The messages most often stated that the person had received a substantial inheritance or won a cash prize in a lottery.
The fraudsters explained to the addressees that to receive the money, they needed to make certain payments – pay fees, lawyers' and notaries' work, various taxes, etc.
The investigation began after a German citizen contacted law enforcement, who had received a letter from a certain 'American soldier' asking for a small financial investment to transfer a large sum of money from Afghanistan.
The organization's members found their victims through social networks, carefully studying their profiles and using an individual approach. As a rule, wealthy people became targets.
If a person began to suspect something, they were offered to come to Spain to personally verify the presence of the large sum due to them. If the victim indeed decided to make such a trip, they were met at the airport and taken to an office, where money and fake documents were shown.