Doubtful anyone here would be naive enough to fall for this new Internet con game, but according to the FBI there have been a bunch of people cleaned out by a couple of fairly savvy African gangs and (not to be outdone) the con is even being picked up by some US and European gangs. So let your more naive relatives and friends know about the scam. I've pasted the text of the kind of email these con artists spam out hoping to find a few people gullible enough to buy the pitch and contact them and then give them their bank routing information. Per the pitch, the person (con man) seeking help will arrange to transfer $50+ million to the person (sucker) giving their banking info and the poor soul seeking the help will split it with them. Of course, in reality the scammers electronically clean our the person's bank account and disappear into the night. It's a great con - it relies on both the sucker's naivity and personal greed with just enough of a soap opera component so that the sucker can believe (if we wants to) that he's helping someone while at the same time taking part in what would be a highly questionable transaction if it were actually true. Here's the text - I've seen several of these in slightly different forms and minor twists to the story: ATTN: SIR This business proposal to you is strictly confidential, with due respect. Sorry at this perceived confusion or stress you may have receiving this letter from me, Since we have not known ourselves or met previously. Despite that, I am constrained to write you this letter because of the urgency of it.By way of self introduction, I am Mrs. Joy Kobe, the wife of late Brigadier - Gen.Maxwell Kobe former ECOMOG ARMY COMMANDER [West African peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone] who died in the Sierra Leone civil disturbance [War]. My three daughters and I are trapped in obnoxious custom and traditional norms. We have suffered maltreatment and untold hardship in the hands of my late husband's family, simply because I did not bear a male child [heir apparent] for my late husband. By tradition, all that my late husband had, [wealth] belongs to his brothers/family. And myself is to be remarried by his immediate younger brother which I vehemently refused. They have taken all that I suffered with my husband to acquire including treasures, houses and his bank particular seized by them. I wanted to escape to the United State of America [USA} with my children on exile, but again they conspired and stole my international passport and other traveling document to further frustrate me. Thank God, two weeks ago, I received Key Text Code [KTC} from a Security & Finance Company abroad, that my late husband deposited U.S $51.2 Million cash with this company. It has therefore, become very necessary and urgent to contact someone, a foreigner like you to help me receive/secure these funds overseas in a reliable bank Account (presumably an empty Bank Account, if available) and to help invest it on our behalf as well, while we find a way of getting out to meet with you in your country. These funds are kept on an "OPEN BENEFICIARY MANDATE" with the Security Company to avoid detection, seizure or diversion. I have had several telephone discussions with the Assistant Director of the security company, who has express willingness to help me on meeting the company's demands. This is why I have contacted you to help save my children and I, receive these funds on our behalf. But, you would need to give me sufficient assurance that if you help me, you would not divert the funds. My children and I have resolved to give you 30% of the total sum. This is all my children and I have got to live on. Please, I have reposed my confidence in you and hope you will not disappoint me. I look forward to your urgent response, including your private phone / mobile No and also your fax no for easier communication. NB: The secret codes (e.g Pin No., Secret Access Code) for this fund are safely kept with me which I can give you as soon as you express desire to help me. Stay blessed. mrs joy kobe PLEASE FOR SECURITY REASON REPLY THROUGH MY PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS BOX(joykobe2222@lycos.com)THANK YOU. THIS IS MY ATTORNEY CONTACTS PHONE....234-8033214911. FAX....234-1-7595955
Believe it or not this is said to be a 3,5 billion $ market (for the last 10 years). It is not new, before the widespread use of the internet (and e-mail) they contacted their victims via handwritten letters (I was honored by receiving one of them, I'm still receiving lots of e-mails). They do not electronically steal your money, when you fall into the trap, you will be asked to send money (some 100K, ridiculuous compared to your future gains, isn't it?) until you sense who is the fool. At least some years ago, you were invited to visit nigeria/ghana, led into a real ministry, introduced to the people and so on (all fakes). And then there were some minor problems, to be solved by some 100K $ of your money. Until the poor(? afterwards certainly!) victim took his last $ and fled. These offers do come in various disguises, one of the more nasty variance is the following: The widow of a freshly deceased small company owner receives a letter by a nigerian (or whatever) authority innocently asking where to send the 8 million US$ (or so) payment for the last delivery. In a small company the owner is the only one knowing all about his business, so the letter causes some turmoil. The company usually is in danger, it does need money and everything sounds very correct, just nobody knowing what the company did deliver. Guess how it ends... Regards Bernd Kuerbs
We hit the Nigerians for $160 "filing fee" on one of these cons about 10 years ago. Dopes actually sent an assistant of mine a Barclays money order so we had an office luncheon. I remember calling the guy once for the hell of it and hearing screaming kids in the background at the "National Nigerian Somethingorother" They wanted to use our escrow account to handle the millions Think I remember stories about some folks actually meeting with them and getting held up in airport hotels. Geo. Now that I think about it though, I can remember about ten years before that getting some crazy things from South Africa that were for real from white folks that wanted out. They were cashing in their chips.
Subject: request for assistance REQUEST TRANSFER ASSISTANCE. I AM MR. FUNSHO WILLIAMS (MNIM), THE CO-ORDINATOR OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA CONTRACT REVIEW PANEL OF THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION(NNPC). SOMETIME AGO, A CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO A CONGLOMERATE OF FOREIGN COMPANIES BY MY COMMITTEE ON BEHALF OF NNPC, THE CONTRACT WAS OVER INVOICED TO THE TUNE OF US$24.5 MILLION. THIS WAS DONE DELIBERATELY, THE OVER INVOICING WAS A DEAL BY MEMBERS OF MY COMMITTEE TO BENEFIT FROM THE PROJECT, WE NOW DESIRE TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY WHICH IS PRESENTLY IN A SUSPENSE ACCOUNT OF THE NNPC IN THE DEBT RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE (DRC) INTO AN OVERSEAS ACCOUNT WHICH WE EXPECT YOU TO KINDLY PROVIDE FOR US. BENEFITS: FOR PROVIDING THE ACCOUNT WHERE WE SHALL REMIT THE MONEY, YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO 25% OF THE MONEY, 65% WILL BE FOR ME AND MY PARTNERS, WHILE 10% HAS BEEN MAPPED OUT FROM THE TOTAL SUM TO COVER ANY EXPENSES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY US DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION, BOTH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPENSES, THESE ALSO INCLUDE TAXES THAT MAY ARISE. I WOULD REQUIRE: A. NAME AND ADDRESS OF COMPANY/BENEFICIARY B. YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER, BANK ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE PROJECT AT HAND. C. IT NOT NESESSARY THAT THE ACCOUNT YOU ARE PROVIDING SHOULD HAVE MONEY IN IT, WHAT MATTERS IS THAT IT SHOULD HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR A WHILE (ACCOUNTS DYNAMICS) AND YOU SHOULD HAVE 100% CONTROL OVER IT. THE ABOVE INFORMATION WOULD BE USED TO MAKE FORMAL APPLICATIONS AS A MATTER OF PROCEDURE FOR THE RELEASE OF THE MONEY FOR ONWARD TRANSFER TO YOUR ACCOUNT. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER OR NOT YOUR COMPANY OR YOU PERFORMED CONTRACT PROJECTS OF THE NATURE DESCRIBED HERE, THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT YOU WON A MAJOR CONTRACT AND SUB-CONTRACTED IT OUT TO OTHER COMPANIES. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, BIG TRADING COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS OF UNRELATED FIELD WIN MAJOR CONTRACTS AND SUB-CONTRACTS IT OUT TO MORE SPECIALISED FIRMS FOR EXECUTION OF SUCH CONTRACTS.WE HAVE STRONG AND RELIABLE CONNECTIONS AND CONTACTS AT THE DEBT RECONCILIATIONN COMMITTEE (DRC) AND THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE (FMF) AND WE HAVE NO DOUBTS THAT ALL THIS MONEY WILL BE RELEASED AND TRANSFERED IF WE GET THE NECESSARY FOREIGN PARTNER IN THIS TRASACTION. THEREFORE, WHEN THE BUSINESS IS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED, WE SHALL THROUGH OUR SAME CONNECTIONS WITHDRAW ALL DOCUMENTS USED FROM ALL THE CONCERNED GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES FOR 100% SECURITY. WE WANT THIS MONEY TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE OVERSEAS ACCOUNT WHICH YOU ARE GOING TO KINDLY PROVIDE FOR SAFE KEEPING PENDING WHEN WE WILL DETERMINE HOW WE WANT OUR PORTION OF THE MONEY, ALL EXPENSES REGARDING THE ACCOUNT OPENING IF NOT ALREADY IN EXISTENCE SHALL BE BORNE BY YOU, ALL MONIES SPENT FROM PERSONAL PURSE DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION ARE HOWEVER REIMBURSEABLE AS ALREADY STATED FROM THE 5% THAT HAD BEEN SET ASIDE FOR THIS PURPOSE AFTER THE TRANSFER OF THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN EFFECTED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT THAT YOU WILL BE PROVIDING FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BUSINESS. PLEASE, CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY THROUGH FAX (234 1 7590371) OR E-MAIL TO ASCERTAIN YOUR INTEREST IN DOING US THIS FAVOUR, SO THAT IF YOU ARE NOT, IT WILL ENABLE ME SCOUT FOR ANOTHER FOREIGN PARTNER TO CARRY OUT THIS TRANSACTION. FORTUNATELY, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ASSISTING ME, PLEASE SEND THE REQUIRED INFORMATION MENTIONED THROUGH MY DIRECT FAX NUMBER: 234 1 7590371 OR E-MAIL AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THIS TRANSACTION, SEND ME A FAX OR E-MAIL. IF YOU WILL BE OF ASSISTANCE, I WILL SURELY APPRECIATE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS IN GIVING ME THIS ASSISTANCE. YOURS SINCERELY, MR. FUNSHO WILLIAMS (MNIM).
You can read about this (including the FAX history) -- and just about every other Internet scam, chain letter, urban legend, virus hoax and rumor in existence, at this site: http://www.snopes.com Quite interesting reading. Your head will explode if you read everything, though. Search on keywords if you get something e-mailed. Better yet, tell your friends and relatives to search a keyword BEFORE they forward you all that crap they keep sending. Dave