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The "Nigerian" money scams started shortly after the second World War with a British (?) "prisoner of war" sending regular letters all over Europe asking for money to buy medicine and food from his Spanish jail warden.

This developed slowly into the still active "inheritance" scam. This is usually about a former Government Minister, often in Nigeria, who managed to put secret funds into a secret bank account. The one who writes the letter is often either the "widow", a lawyer, or a former bank official, who asks for your co-operation to get the funds released - usually 20 million USD or more. You are promised a commission of 20-25%. Always the letter ends with the request for some money to pay for some special document ( 200-500 USD ).

These inheritance scams have caused some new laws in Nigeria, but the scams are still going on. The laws are in the Nigerian Law Section 419, therefore the scams are sometimes called "419 scams". One "spin-off" are those fake employment offers that started in late 1990's to seafarers [Nigerian Employment Money Scams ].

The next step was to get e-mail addresses for crews interested in jobs on cruise liners and sending out fake cruise ship job offers. These scams have been going on already for several years parallel with fake offers for jobs in other sectors. Neither has the offshore employees been spared. The latest - as far as I know - are the fake offers copied below. The first one is a fake offer for jobs on Superyachts by a "British" Yacht Club. It was received in January 2009 by one Korean yachtsman and a few days later by a Spanish yacht Captain.

Just after I published this page I was told about one superyacht engineer who already paid € ( Euro ) 1.000 and lost it all to the "British" Yacht Club.

I have deleted the "victims'" e-mail addresses. Otherwise it's copied exactly as received, including spelling errors and lay out.

My Comments:
As you can notice this letter doesn't mention anything about any placement fee or any kind of advance fee at all. These people have noticed that's something that starts alarm bells going. So nowadays the employer doesn't require any payment, oh no!, it's the "travel agent" that will ask you for a "processing fee" for handling your visa and work permit.

The first thing that sticks in my eye is the promised salary, from GBP (£) 2.500 per month and up. It's too much, especially for deck hands or "babysitting" (!). Second irregularity is the crews are living in a house ashore with Saturdays and Sundays free. How many Superyacht crew members do manage to get a free Saturday or Sunday during their contract period ?

The third matter is, there is no physical address for this "Club", no telephone numbers, no fax number, and no e-mail address / website for the club itself. Is it in northern or southern England ? Why would the crews and the yachts be staying in England when the people using the yachts are either in the Mediterranean or in the Caribbean ?

There is a Royal Yacht Club Bridlington [ Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club ] in Yorkshire, England. But Bridlington Yacht Club doesn't exist. So there's no doubt at all, this is definitely a fake job offer with the intention to collect money from unsuspecting victims.

An almost copy of the Yacht Club fake offer was sent beginning of May 2009 to a British seafarer. This time it came from Capt. Mark Frank working with Bridlinton (!) Yacht Club.

Middle of February 2009 I received a second offer, the text almost same as the one from Bridlington. This time no company name, sent by Captain Kenny Smith [ vze7vqug@verizon.net ] and slightly higher salary - now UK £ 2.800 per month. Still 13 private owned yachts but at same time they also talk about a passenger ship Princess Mariana ( picture to right ). Of course, that doesn't change the offer from still being a scam, does it? Mega yacht Princess Mariana does exist and is a well equipped yacht registered in Cayman Islands ( Caribbean ), see photo to the right.

The same fake offer that's mentioning Princess Mariana has been spreading in several different versions. Always with a Captain working on the superyacht ( Mega Yacht ) Princess Mariana posing as sender. The text is generally almost same in the different versions, only the captain's name and age varies. There is additional information on these in The Triton Yacht Magazine [ Feb. 22, 2009 ]. I quote from the magazine:

"My name is Capt. McGill Owens, 38 Years Old from United Kingdom. I work with PRINCESS MARIANA - Luxury Motor Yacht in United Kingdom.We are seeking applicants to work on the new year-round UNITED KINGDOM flagged Passenger ship. Its a private own yacht,The monthly salary will be 2,500 sterling pound every three weeks, accommodation will be provided by the company. Hope to hear from you soonest Best Regards"

It wasn't necessary to wait very long for some new ones. I received the one copied below myself. It's targeting all kinds of seafarers: crews on cargo ships, cruise liners, and superyachts. Full copy of the text is below:

The Board has decided that the minimum salary of every worker is 4000 pounds per month
and other entitlement upon your hard work and how long you are on duties on the on shore.
our to start work by first week of march .

SEND YOUR REPLY TO Mediterranean.Shipping@live.com

Human Resources Mediterranean Shipping Company Ltd.

Head Human Resources Department.
UNQUOTE

My Comments:
"from the table of ..." is a common expression in many scam letters and often written as: "From the desk of ...". Then they call the crew including the Captain for "workers" - a seafarer is never called a worker because everybody on a commercial vessel is a certified professional, whatever his/her position.

You are "to choose the position you feel you can fit in" and send your personal details ( CV ?). And minimum salary ( Deckhand, Hostess ) is GBP ( UK £ ) 4.000 per moth (!) depending on how long on duty on shore. Why in the h**l would the crew be on duty ashore when the work and the passengers / guests are on board the vessel ?

Replies are to be sent to live.com but the fake offer comes from comcast.net. OH YES, it's for sure a fake employment offer - there's no doubt about that. At the end of the offer there's no signature, no name, no physical address, no telephone number, no fax numbers !!

There is a legitimate British global container shipping line by the name Mediterranean Shipping Company (UK) Ltd [ MSC ], see ship picture to the right. The company doesn't accept the services of any recruitment agencies. All ship board jobs are recruited through their office in Sorrento, Italy only. The applications are to be sent by regular mail as e-mail applications aren't welcome. Further more, I was informed, upon enquiry that MSC have absolutely nothing to do with any money requirement for job placements. The company has added a strong warning against scammers on their webpage.

Neither do I believe this company have any connection with the Spanish language singer Tony Yabarra ( Ybarra ). This scam in the name of Mediterranean Shipping Company was still going on in July 2009.

Middle of March, 2009, I received a new copy of the scam offer above about Princess Mariana.
Subject: COME AND WORK ON SHIP!!! (URGENTLY NEEDED).
The text is almost the same as above, only a few words different - salaries from £ 2.200 - £ 5.200 per month. The sender is a new one, again a Captain, 37 years old, but named Robert Barber - working with MY   MUSHASHA MARIANA..

Search in International Telecommunications Union, which is the one registering all ship radio stations with their call signs (   ITU   ) and the name Mushasha Mariana cannot be found. Can you imagine a superyacht without even VHF radiotelephone onboard ? It means no vessel of that name exists.

In the fake offer the sender asks the receiver to apply by sending his/her resume, still can choose from a list of "vacant positions" (!). Signed with the Captain's name and telephone number no address, no company name. No return e-mail address given but the message was sent from: tracy213.turner@virgin.net.

Yours faithfully,
Capt.R. Barber
+(44) 702 409 6723
This telephone number is the very in-famous British mobile number with redirect ( 44 70x xxx xxxx )

Do not answer this message and do not send your CV.

End of May 2009 I received a fake offer that combines the Princess Mariana and MSC UK offers above. At least one earlier copy was sent to an Russian ship cadet as the sender had forgotten to change the Subject line before sending it to me. Here's a copy of the offer:

QUOTE: "New Opportunity Job Offer For Crew Member Needed In Our service !!!!?

From: Mediterranean Shipping Company (gmjones@myactv.net)
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 8:27:24 PM
To: (e-mail address deleted)

I am the human resources of Mediterranean Shipping Company - Luxury Motor Yacht in United Kingdom.We are seeking applicants to work on the new year-round UNITED KINGDOM flagged Passenger ship. Its a private own yacht,The monthly salary will be 4000 sterling pound every month ( underlined by Don Pedro ) accommodation will be provided by the company , you interest will more as the company is ready to take in charge of the flight ticket but due to our resources of your document to get here in Uk .you shall made this by our travel consultant agency for you to get here as soon as possible as the company will commence the work on the End of May so with all hope i need you here before End Of June. Hope to hear from you soonest Send the following in your reply.

Full Name:
Country:
Age ,,,
Choose the kind of job you can do from the following.
Captain/
Skipper,
Bosun
Steward,
Croupier,
Contractor,
Deck Hand,
Chef/Cook,
Hostess,,Best

Regards
Human resources of Mediterranean Shipping Company

Comments: Basically it's very much same as the first one from "Mediterranean Shipping Company" and the salary is the same UK £ 4.000, although now it's offered to everybody, including the Captain. All applicants are invited to choose the job they want.

As the offer is written even the Captain's job is offered to anybody who would like to be Captain regardless of experience. As said above, these offers from MSC are all fake, DON'T PAY ANYTHING !

At the end of the offer there's no address, no signature, no name, no telephone number, ... NOTHING AT ALL

In August 2009 there appeared a new version from the Mediterranean Shipping Company with a fake offer to "many applicants to work round United Kingdom flagged Pasenger ship. Its (!) a private owned yacht." I copy the text body below:

I Am Mr Capital Kazeem Lima from Human resources of Mediterranean Shipping Company - Luxury Motor Yacht in United Kingdom.We are seeking for many applicants to work round UNITED KINGDOM flagged Passenger ship. Its a private own yacht, The monthly salary will be paid by dollars by the position working you are doing every month accommodation will be provided by the company , you interest will more as the company is ready to take in charge of the all what is necessary to be done here. so we need you to get here as soon as possible as the company will commence the work on the first week of Aug so with all hope i need you here before End Of Aug .But Moreover you can let anybody of soul mate to know about this opportunity job because the company are still looking almost 75 foreign employers .so we need your honest and faithful with stability of the job offer. Hope to hear from you soonest Send the following in your reply.

Again paying salary in US $ in UK ! And everybody can choose from a long list of "fancy" jobs; for instance: casual workers $ 7.000, linguistic officer $ 8.000, chemical technician $ 8.000, Fishing crew member $ 8.00 (!), nuclear annalist $ 9.700, concrete commercial worker $ 8.800. One wonders what kind of superyacht that can be !

The offer was signed:
Regards
.Mr Captail Kazeem Lima
Tel.+4470240205224
Human resources of Mediterranean Shipping Company

In September 2009 a new "Captain", named Henry Walter send around a short enquiry. The full message is copied below:
URGENTLY NEEDED ( WORKERS ON YACHT )
From: Henry Walter ( hankewycz9300@rogers.com )
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 5:19:25 PM
To: ( name withheld )

Hello, I am Capt. Henry Walter, 50 Years Old from ( England ) United Kingdom. I work with Queen Elizabeth - Luxury Motor Yacht in United Kingdom.We are seeking applicants to work on the new year-round UNITED KINGDOM flagged Passenger ship. Its a private own yacht, Accommodation will be provided by the Company. I will like to know if you are interested in working on the ship. I will be waiting to hear from you soonest
Capt. Henry Walterhenry.walter66@live.com

Queen Elizabeth, except for being the Queen, was also an old big Passenger ship. Now the ship functions as a floating hotel in Dubai (?). No address, no telephone numbers are provided. These are all fake and they don't stop from multiplying !

Whenever there is a telephone number in these fake offers it's always a mobile UK number with a re-direct ( 4470 ...). Any questions ??

On Cruise Ship Employment Scams there's a copy of a fake offer from Cruise Shipping line International Inc. ( Canada ) - sent by James Moore, which uses the same expression as above: "salary every month". Therefore those "Canadian" offers are sent by the same people that have sent the fake offers on this page !

Middle of May 2010 I received a new fake offer sent to an American Captain. I don't know whether I should feel honoured or not by this because they are using the name of one of my webpages as Company name !! It's short and to the point, I Quote:

Hello Dear,
My name is Capt. Allen Pedro,The CEO Don Pedro Boating and Super yacht Here in United Kingdom. We have a private own yacht which we are offering Employment opportunities, and the destination is always from Essex London to Ireland,Belgium and Norway. I came across your profile and decided to mail to ask if you'll be interested in the job. The monthly salary will be 3,600 sterling pound every three weeks, accommodation will be provided by the company.

Hope to hear from you soonest

Best Regards
Capt. Allen Pedro

And one more sent to an Italian yachtsman a few days later:
From: Allen Pedro allen.pedro91@yahoo.com
To: Name with held
Sent: Friday 14 May 2010, 06:47:07
Subject: Awaite for you immediate response

Hello,
Thanks for your kind response. Like i said Before, the job is very Urgent. After Going through your CV, I understand that you are capable of working with Don Pedro Boating and Super yacht Company. We are so glad to offer you the position you requested with basic salary of 7,900 GBP Monthly, but you need to sign and return the employment form with recent passport photograph .To avoid delay towards your arrival or prolonging of your visa and working permit processing and issuance, I also contacted UK Immigration & border Agency in respect of your visa and working permit and tax clearance to enable you arrive as soon as possible to commence work as we scheduled.

Hope to Hear from you soonest
Capt. Allen Pedro

Again no physical address or even a telephone number. Of course I have nothing to do with this, it's just how these people operate - picking up a "good sounding" name and then using it. And they still insist on paying the full months salary every three weeks. The second one accepts the salary the yachtsman asked for per month although the first letter said salary every three weeks ! And the second one is more than double the first ! Or slightly less than double, if we change the first one to full month's salary (+ 30%).

Beginning of August 2010 I received copies of two messages sent to an Italian seafarer. Both are similar to other copies on this page, see below.

"I applied for a position on the www.crew4crew.com website and The following was sent by the captain to me:"

Hello,
we are pleased to hear from you,we have gone through
your CV and we are very impressed with the level of your experience,we would
like you to know that your service is needed urgently as a Deckhand.we
need you to be responsible,able to maintain a consistent schedule with
my crew, have a loving attitude and patience, along with high
energy.we will like you to know that the size of the yacht is a 56
meter 184 ft and also all crews go on vacation at
the end of every 6 months and the working hours is 8 hours per day and
5 days a week,and you are to work alongside other crews you are to
join us soon because we are going on board by the 3rd week of
August.Accommodation will be provided when you are
on board and also when you are not on board free medical/dental care
for all our crew .Maximum security on board.You should be a
self-starter with a sense of humor and maturity. You need to be
tolerant and understanding.Above all, you need to have a true interest
in the job you are employ to do full time.The contract is for 3years
and the tour of duty from Essex London to Ireland Belgium and Norway.
your monthly salary is 6,000 Sterling Pounds and If you are able to
perform your task very well, we can talk on promoting you.so we will
like to know this terms before proceeding to the next step.

1. Could you live in a small room that you must share with one other person?
2. Do you consider yourself adaptable? (offer examples)
3. Could you work away for 6 months at a time?
4. Do you get sea sick?
5. Could you live and work in an enclosed environment that can often be difficult?
6. How do you cope with rules and regulations?
7. Could you cope with always being "on duty" whenever you're in
public areas of the yacht?
8. Can you live and work within a close-knit team of many different nationalities?
hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards
Capt Frank

After this the seafarer got a "confirmation" letter:

Hello,

Thanks for your response,we will like to know your service
is needed urgently as a Deckhand and we would like you to know that it
is sailing vessel,we need you to join us soon because we are going on
board by the 3rd week of August.All payment are made by your choice
either by cash or transfered into your
account.As soon as you get to the company and all contract will be signed
and the company will be responsible for all expenses once you
arrive.there is a month
holiday after every 6 months.there are no bills to be paid by you and
no taxes to be paid.and so we will like to know if you have a
valid UK visa and work permit if yes get back to us so we can talk of
your coming over, but if you don't have we will recommend you to the
immigration service company that will help you with the processing of
you traveling documents,this is the email
address of the immigration company
(Citizenshipandimmigration@europe.com).inform them that you have being
offered a job by the Thurrock Yacht Club.here is contact number
+447024011912.so we hope to get updates from you soon.

Capt.Frank

Comments: See the example above from "Don Pedro Boating and Superyacht" (UK) with the same itinerary: Essex London to Ireland Belgium and Norway.

Higher up on this page, just before the small picture of MY Princess Mariana to the right, Capt. Frank has stated he's working at "Bridlinton Yacht Club" (which doesn't exist). Of course, the offered salary GBP 6000 per month is way too much for a deckhand. Further he offers a telephone number which is a British mobile number with re-direct. And you are offered a work schedule of 8 hours per day - 5 days per week. Who's working onboard during the weekend, or are the guests taking care of themselves ?

The website www.crew4crew.com is a half made "thing" on a free server and doesn't even mention Thurrock Yacht club. The club have a website where it's stated:

QUOTE: "TYC was established in 1946 as a yacht club ("social club") for the working man. Today we remain true to that principle, being one of the least expensive yacht clubs in the British Isles, where anyone can enjoy sailing and motor boating." UNQUOTE
Thurrock yacht club has nothing to do with employment on Superyachts.

A East European seafarer received an identical fake job offer, also from Thurock Yacht Club but signed by "Capt. Harry". He, however, continued the discussion and was again referred to the same Citizenshipandimmigration@europe.com for his visa and work permit. They requested UK £ ( GBP ) 500 for the service. He sent the money by Western Union, but by some reason they couldn't get the money. He was therefore asked to resend it.

This he did and again there was some problem with receiving the sent money although the Western Union office from where he sent it said the receiver had got everything cash. He asked for a bank account and was told they don't use bank transfer because it takes a few days longer !

All together he managed to send about USD 2.000. Still they asked for more and insisted that the matter requires his presence in UK but he cannot get in to the country without his visa so he would still have to send more. Finally the matter stopped there and the seafarer didn't send any more, and of course he never got anything back.

In a matter like this it doesn't matter if you have a name and address for the person who has received the money. Most probably nobody by that name lives at the address and the name is most probably also fake. Using a fake passport as an ID with Western Union is no problem, they don't have the same resources as Immigration to check a passports genuineness.

At end of October 2010 a Scandinavian second / third officer received a fake offer from UK to work on a sailing vessel with destinations from South Atlantic to English Channel. I have copied only parts from the messages as most of it is written in a very similar way as those fake offers above:

From: Palmer's Shipping & Logistics Company Ltd
careers@palmerslogistics.com
Sent: Fri, October 29, 2010 7:43:09 PM
Subject: Re: Palmer's Shipping & Logistics Company Ltd No: P.L.S.C ref: 0006108048077183

Accepted Candidate: (name with held)
Position: Deck Officer
Monthly Remuneration: £ 4200 Pounds
SALARY PER ANNUM : £ 50,400.00 Pounds
With reference to your job Interview / Screening Form submitted to our Office for employment. First & Foremost, The Management and staff of Palmer's Shipping & Logistics Company Ltd would like to congratulate you on your prospective employment to sail/work with us. Your resume and application was just screened and approved by the board; also your contract is being prepared by our legal department, and will be forwarded to you during your employment procedure. Palmer's Shipping & Logistics Company Ltd have appointed you to work on a contract duration of 24 months which is equivalent to (2years) and it can be extended if only you wish to remain. We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets.

One of the very first answers give these address data:

Yours faithfully
Ralph Owen
Personnel Recruitment & Employment Officer (United Kingdom)
Palmer's Shipping & Logistics Company Ltd
Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8PE, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 703 185 1254
Website: http://www.berkshire.palmerslogistics.com
Email: careers@palmerslogistics.com

The website: www.berkshire.palmerslogistics.com is for a logistics company, i.e. a freight forwarder. Ralf Owen's name is mentioned on the contact page. On the employment page there are ONLY shorebased logistics jobs, like Warehouse personnel. This website gives the same UK mobile number with redirect as the e-mail.

The deck officer found the fake job offer at: "http://www.seajobsonline.com/". This site is a free for all to put up joboffers and is targeting mainly Philippine Seamen. Because of the number of job offers it's not possible for the website owners to screen every job offer, which means some of them are fake. There is a link to a Philippine register of Philippine recruiting agents and users are advised to check in that list if a recruiter is legitimate or not. Of course, cannot check an UK recruiting agent in that list.

In December 2010 The Triton told about a chef who lost USD 700 to the scammers operating under the name of "Seabourn". Some of the names used with the Seabourne "label" are: Capt. Alex Cole, Capt. Lee Smith and Capt. Wilson Scott. There is a legitimate company named The Yachts of Seabourn, which has nothing to do with the job scams.

At very end of January 2011 The Triton published details on a new scam (again !). In this scam the scammers are using the name Edmiston Hotel. There is a real UK based Edmiston company handling yacht charter and management and of course the real company has nothing to do with the scam.

Applicants ( = victims ) are charged £ 900 as UK Visa processing fee. If you get this scam offer you can check with the real company if the offer is real or not by e-mail: crew@edmiston.com .The offer goes out in several versions with different signatures: Morris Winter, Capt. Jones William, Capt. Pierre Elliot and Capt. Casey Miller.

Very end of February 2011 I found on www.jobsonluxuryyachts.com/ an advertisement that's clearly a scam. The hosting website seems to be aware of this as 'direct replies' have been disabled. The text is as follows (lay-out is changed here):

Cunard Line is recruiting
Cunard Line Yacht Hotel. UK, is a world leader in the superyacht industry. Specialising in the sale, charter, management and new construction of the largest and most important yachts. The company has an unrivalled reputation when it comes to performing for its clients at the very highest level.Cunard Line Yacht Hotel is recognised throughout the industry for personal service, transparency, commitment to quality and forward thinking.

While other companies have fallen victim to global economic changes, Cunard Line Yacht Hotel Management has gone from strength to strength. As world leaders in yachting our management department consistantly provides expert representation, innovative solutions and services that resonate with today's client demands.

In 2008 we developed custom-built crew training programmes, recognising that the quality of the crew is directly proportional to the enjoyment on board. Highly trained in service, safety and security, a crew trained by Cunard Line Yacht enhances a yacht's service, appeal and value.

We want to use this medium to inform you that vacancies is now on, so therefore do let us know if you have an interest in working in any of the areas in which Cunard Line Yachting Company Job Offers, If you are interested to work with us in any position, please kindly send your resume or CV to the HR Dept via e-mail Mr.Peter Shanks (cruiseline_hr@hotmail.com) immediately with your personal details including your roll of profession/Skill of Specialization.

Regards
Mr.Peter Shanks
Location (displayed): United Kingdom

Do you wonder why the advertisement is published if the website owner thinks it's scam? Obviously the advertisement has been paid for so it must be published. On the other hand they use three different versions of the "Company" name in the text. No address, no telephone number, no website address. And the usual spelling errors these scam letters always have.

Do you really think Cunard Line could be behind this ?? Definitely not, it's definitely scam and at same time a fishing letter. Fishing for your CV, so may be next year somebody from a different address can offer you a job that suits you perfectly !

End of May 2011 I received a fake offer from a British seafarer. The offer was preceded by some correspondence between him and the fake "employer" and for instance salary was offered GBP ( UK £ ) 5.500 per month for a deckhand. The fake offer itself is now published as a pdf document: (     ) Superyacht Scam Example.

The "employer" is talking about a luxury yacht hotel but it's all little bit confused. And the only telephone number given is, again, the 44 70 xx - i.e. the British mobile number with redirect.

The yachts's callsign is given as C6PW8, ITU ( International Telegraph Union ) has a register of all ships / boats, that have a radio station. The call sign given doesn't match anyone in the register, but there is one yacht with a callsign C6PW9. Also the yacht's MMSI number 308908000 is given, but this matches another yacht in the register. Both yachts are registered in the Bahamas.

All the correspondence and the offer itself was signed by a Capt. Tony Brown.

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