A Roseville massage therapist and a Roseville limousine operator were targeted recently by scam artists plying a version of the "Nigerian Banking Scam."
A Roseville massage therapist received an email on April 19 from someone who represented herself as a massage therapist from Italy. The purported "Italian massage therapist" claimed to be arranging massage services for her client, a model, who was planning a two-week stay in Roseville. The local massage operator agreed to provide massages for the client while she was in town.
The local massage therapist and the purported "model" exchanged several emails over the next four weeks discussing financial arrangements. The "model" told the local massage operator that she would deposit funds directly into the massage operator's bank account, plus an additional $4000. The massage operator was asked to withdraw the difference from her bank and wire it to a third party in Nigeria. The local masseuse gave the "model" her bank account information and wired the requested money from her bank account to a bank in Nigeria. She later discovered that her bank account was overdrawn, and that the check that the "model" had supposedly deposited in her account was counterfeit. She then contacted Roseville Police.
On June 1, a limousine driver contacted Roseville Police with a similar story. The scammers sent the limousine driver money orders as advance payment for services. Suspecting the money orders were phony, the limousine driver took them into her bank. Bank employees confirmed that the money orders were fake, and advised her to contact the police department. Fortunately the limousine driver did not suffer a financial loss.
"Unfortunately, there is very little we can do to help people who have lost money in these international banking scams," said Roseville Police Chief Joel Neves. "We want to warn our residents and businesses to be very cautious and skeptical when they are presented with elaborate financial schemes. Never send money to people you do not know, or give out your bank account information. If you have any questions or doubts about a business proposition, ask your own bank or the police department before commiting any funds."