The Guyana Police Force has issued an alert to citizens, particularly women, of a scam being performed by persons suspected of pretending to be Nigerian.
According to the police, the suspect sends a Facebook friend request to the intended victim and once it is accepted they request their phone number for communication via WhatsApp.
Over time the suspect, who apparently resides overseas, expresses an amorous interest in the intended victim and indicates that they would be sending gifts for the victim, including jewellery.
The victim would later receive a call from someone claiming to be employed at a shipping company informing them that a box has arrived at the airport for them but customs officials scanned the box and observed that it contains money.
The victim is then threatened with potential prosecution and informed that they will have to pay sums of money to several individuals in order to avoid prosecution and uplift the box. The money is to be sent to the identified persons through Money Transfer Services or a Post Office.
After the money is sent, the suspect is never heard from again and the victim is defrauded of his or her money.
No information on the number of persons affected by this scam was released by the police.
