Black money scam, known in Nigeria as “wash wash,” is almost as popular as advance fee fraud “419”. The victim is usually enticed with a business proposal or other type of temptation before the introduction of the black money business. Once the scam artist successfully persuades the victim, he is then shown a bag or suitcase full of black paper, cut to USD size and arranged in bundles. Each bundle has a genuine one hundred-dollar bill at each end that are temporarily masked or defaced with a black waxy material or iodine. The victim is made to believe that the entire bag contains bundles of genuine one hundred-dollar bills that are temporary masked and need to be cleansed. The scam artist asks for money to purchase an expensive chemical-cleaning agent to restore the money.

According to the Information, the Black Money Scam was designed to operate this way:

Before approaching the planned targets, the scammers would alter real U.S. currency, typically $100 bills, by coating them with a dark chemical solution or powder. The scammers would also obtain strips of white paper of approximately the same size and texture as U.S. currency, each of which contained an impression, or background image, of a genuine $100 bill (the "imaged paper strips").

The schemers would then show the white imaged paper strips to victims, telling them, in substance, that the strips were actual U.S. Treasury paper from which real U.S. currency was made.

The scammers would then ask the victim to provide a $100 bill, explaining that the real bill was required to activate the transfer process. The victim's $100 bill would then be sandwiched between the two, now darkened imaged paper strips.

The scammers would then apply water and/or chemicals to wash away the dark coloring on the papers sandwiching the victim's $100 bill, revealing two $100 bills. The scammers would then falsely represent to the victim that this process had produced new and "real" U.S. currency.

In truth, through sleight of hand, the scammers would have replaced the imaged paper strips with real $100 bills that they had previously altered and coated with chemicals to look almost black. It was these real bills that would be revealed when washed.

On some occasions, the scammers would vary the scam by using the altered bills from the outset, sandwiching the victim's bill between real $100 bills that had previously been coated with chemicals to look almost black.

Reporting of the crime

Most such scams are not reported by the victims for several reasons. Firstly they may feel terribly ashamed that they could be so naïve. Secondly, many of the scams will involve the victim knowingly agreeing to receive the proceeds of a crime - e.g. he may be informed that it is drug money, tax evasion money, or simply stolen. Sometimes the scammer will have persuaded the victim to incriminate himself, e.g. by falsifying a document, or lying on a tax declaration etc. The victim may thus be reluctant to come forward and admit that he was knowingly participating in what he thought was a criminal scheme.

Terminology used in the Black Money Scam

• The defaced money
  • Anti-breeze bank notes
  • Black Money
• The chemical
  • S.S.D. Solution
  • Vectrol Paste
  • Tebi-Manetic
  • Humine Powder