One popular wire transfer scheme that is picking up steam in America and Europe is an urgent email that you receive from Nigeria telling you that you are entitled to a large amount of money.
Usually they will reference a relative or friend that you may have known in passing and then go on to detail what a great person they were and how much they contributed to the Nigerian society.
After they finish patting you and your friend or relative on the back, they will tell you that you are entitled to a large sum of money either because of inheritance or some other tax law.
One thing they will emphasise is that you have a limited amount of time to claim this large sum of money and so have to act fast and provide your bank account so that they can transfer the money.
Most of the time people are fooled because they will send you a large amount of notarised forms, and even ask you to give them a couple making the effort on your side seem balanced as well.
These people are looking for a large sum of money to steal from you, so they have taken the time to make everything appear as legitimate and fool proof as possible.
The downside, after you complete all this paperwork, you will not receive any amount in your bank account, but have simply given them all the information they need to withdraw a large sum of money from yours.
If you want to avoid getting scammed you should be wary of anything that comes your way from Nigeria.
Second, in general since there are sure to be copycat scams from other sources soon, you should never give out your banking information unless you are absolutely sure you know the source in question.