{{short description|Type of confidence trick; variation of what is known as advance fee fraud}} {{Multiple issues| {{refimprove|date=November 2009}} {{No footnotes|date=September 2021}} }} The '''black money scam''', sometimes also known as the "black dollar scam" or "wash wash scam", is a scam where con artists attempt to fraudulently obtain money from a victim by convincing them that piles of banknote-sized discoloured paper are real United States dollars that has been stained or dyed. Some scammers claim the money was dyed after it was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration during investigations, and has been stained to prevent it being circulated back into the world economy. As a form of misdirection, the scammer will often assert that the money itself is worthless, thus the victim is persuaded to pay upfront fees to purchase expensive chemicals to remove the dye, with the promise of a share in the proceeds after all the money has been thoroughly cleaned. The black money scam is a variation of what is known as advance fee fraud.
==Chemicals used== A Ghanaian native caught perpetrating the scam revealed the tricks of the trade to ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/popup?id=2938230|title= The Secrets Behind the 'Black Money' Scam|work= abcNEWS|access-date=2 December 2011}}</ref> Authentic US$100 bills are first coated with a protective layer of glue, and then dipped into a solution of tincture of iodine to stain it completely black.<ref>{{cite news | title=Black money cleaning scam – see how it's done | url=https://aecnewstoday.com/2015/black-money-cleaning-scam-see-how-its-done/ | publisher=AEC News Today | date=20 September 2015 }}</ref> The bill, when dried, looks and feels like black construction paper. From a mass of banknote-sized sheets of real construction paper, the victim is invited to pick a "note" at random for cleaning by the scammer, where it is then switched via sleight of hand with the iodine-coated US$100 bill. The scammer then sprays on a light coat of an unidentified chemical, which removes the dye to reveal the banknote. The "magic cleaning solution" is actually crushed vitamin C tablets dissolved in water. In another arrest, ordinary raspberry drink mix was found to be the "magic cleaning solution". Solutions of calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide have also been used as washing agents in the scam.
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links ==
<!-- DO NOT POST ANY SITE THAT IS COMMERCIAL, E.G. GOOGLE ADS --> <!-- THIS IS NOT A MARKETING PLATFORM. TRY DMOZ.ORG OR YAHOO.COM INSTEAD --> <!-- THIS SHALL APPLY TO EVERY SITE WITH NO DOUBLE STANDARDS --> * [https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-police-warn-about-black-money-scam-after-suspect-arrested-in-robbery-and-fraud-investigation-1.6211570?cache=yes%2F7.417242%2F7.528845 Toronto Police warning] CP24 article on an arrest report with an alert on the Black Money scam mentioning forged currency December 2022 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070213110602/http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/section/419wishwash_fraud.htm Metropolitan Police] Information on the fraud from the London Metropolitan Police Service * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3494072.stm BBC] An article from the BBC on how a businessman was conned out of $742,000. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070329031826/http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/03/12/01/104237.html Two conmen in dollar bill hoax arrested] Gulf News article from December 2018. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051127102841/http://fraudaid.com/ScamSpeak/Nigerian/419_Hidden_Facts/black_dollar_scam.htm Fraudaid] How to do it. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080205095036/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20071026040708982C509590 IOL] Cops arrest 'black dollar' victim October 2007
{{Scams and confidence tricks}}
Category:Confidence tricks Category:Spamming Category:Social engineering (security)