Uganda scam bilks local woman of $640

A person in Uganda forged the signature of a Valley woman to bilk her of $640 that was then transferred to a Ugandan bank account, and a Nigerian scam offers a new twist.

An electronic bank transfer form was filled out by the Uganda person and signed "in a way that looks similar to the woman's signature," said Palmer police officer Dwayne Shelton.

A local bank received the form and immediately paid out the $640, transferring it to the Uganda bank. Shelton declined to name the bank at this stage in his investigation.

"It seems this might be tied in with a larger scam that is going on in other places," Shelton said.

What's odd about this case is that the perpetrator was able to access the woman's signature and copy it closely.

In another scam, the FBI this week issued an advisory about a person who said his name is Abu Mohammed and claims to be the bank manager of Orient Bank in Nigeria, is circulating a letter via fax. The Frontiersman received the letter Tuesday telling the story of Barry Kelly, who allegedly died without leaving a will and left $25 million in the Orient Bank of Nigeria, Lagos branch.

When someone neglects to make out a will, the Nigerian government gets the bank account money, the letter stated.

The letter said Kelly, an American oil consultant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., died June 6, 1997.

"My proposal is that I will like you as an American to stand in as the next of kin to Barry Kelly so that the fruits of this old man's labor will not get into the hands of some corrupt government officials," the letter stated.

Abu Mohammed proposes to split the money -- 60 percent for himself and 40 percent for the person who stands in as Kelly's kin.

The letter lists a return address and telephone in the heading along with the bank's name. Yet, Abu Mohammed said later in the letter that these are his private phone numbers where he can be contacted.

"Please observe utmost confidentially," the letter stated.

Usually what happens in such scams is that a person's bank account number is the con artist's ultimate goal. Once he has that, he may have the ability to transfer funds from there to his own account.