Another Scam

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I just got back from China, and saw another Nigerian scam in action. I don't post this to put down Nigerians (I know and work with a few who are wonderful), but the scams we see online, especially with emails, quite certainly don't end there. I was standing at the queue for the metal detectors, and ahead of me was a woman in traditional Nigerian dress who looked like she weighed 300lbs or more. As soon as she entered the arch, the alarms went off. The officials asked her to remove some clothing, which shocked a number of us, but when she did, we were even more surprised. She was totally bedecked in wrist watches and other fake jewelry that can be had so cheaply in China. So she tried stepping through again, and the alarms went off once more. This went on and on, until the poor woman was standing practically naked in front of everyone. (not really, she wore jeans and a t-shirt beneath it all, and they let her keep those on). Needless to say, she didn't weigh 300 plus pounds. More like 30, the poor thing. The official started berating her, telling her that China wants tourists to buy and take these things out of the country, so trying to sneak these items out was really stupid. She took it meekly, but I understood what was happening. She was only a distraction. (I've worked in fraud long enough) Looking around, my co-worker and I saw a group of African men at different terminals, so we approached the security desk, and explained what was happening. The men were rounded up by airport security and taken away. We were never told what happened, but an official admitted they were all holding Nigerian passports. I'm pretty sure they were trying to smuggle drugs out of China. I wouldn't be surprised if a number of the men were themselves unaware of the scam. I strongly urge all MyLotters to be especially wary of strangers in airports. Sometimes, they will ask you where you are headed, and offer you gifts, saying it's a custom in their country to give "friendship gifts" to seal "bonds of amity". If you're foolish enough to fall for this, you end up being an unwitting mule, a smuggler. These people are not always Nigerian nationals, either, so be further warned. Remember, paranoia is healthy!