If you aren’t a scammer, and want to hook up with people for a legitimate business proposition, I have a few pointers to give you.

1. Use a legitimate e-mail address
2. Address people directly, and now via an undisclosed email recipiants list
3. Present yourself and your project and offer to call or hook up IRL for more information
4. Use correct language, and format your mail as good as possible.
5. Don’t use scraped email addresses (harvested from the web)

David Adams has done the oposite in this mail that just landed in my inbox:

from    dansukin@libero.it <dansukin@libero.it>
reply-to    “dansukin@libero.it” <dansukin@libero.it>
to    undisclosed-recipients
date    Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 7:21 PM
subject    relate

I need to relate with you some urgent business matters concerning transfer of
funds.
On receipt of your response in affirmation of your willingness to work with
me I will send to you
full details and more information about myself and the said funds for your
better understanding.
I will prefer we communicate for now via email
Yours sincerely,
David Adams

David Adams’ mail goes straight to the junk folder. He is pitching for a scam.

This is a perfect example of a classic 419 scam.

You get a proposition from a distinguised banker. It’s a proposition you shouldn’t rightfully get and it involves a lot of money. You don’t have any relatives who have died in any car accidents in Birmingham, but the seed of a thought awakens in your mind. You might actually be in the lucky position to receive the better part of fifteen million pounds… The more you think of it the more you dream of being able to get that money.

But you know. It’s just a scammer, trying to play you for a couple of thousand pounds in fees, taxes and maybe bribes too.

from    David Brinsford <davidsctb_brinsford4@msn.com>
reply-to    davidsctb_brinsford@msn.com
to    undisclosed-recipients
date    Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 7:22 PM
subject    Good Day

Good Day

I will first introduce myself as Mr. Brinsford, a staff in the Accounts Management Section of a well-known bank, here in Scotland , UK .

One of our accounts, with holding balance of £15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Pounds Sterling) has been dormant and last operated four years ago. From my investigations and confirmation, the owner of the said account, a foreigner who died on the 7th of January 2004 in a car accident that occurred in Birmingham here in UK.

Since then, nobody has done anything as regards the claiming of this money, as he has no family member that has any knowledge as to the existence of either the account or the funds; and also Information from the National Immigration also states that my late customer client has the same last name with you and he was single on entry into the UK.

I have confidently discussed this issue with the Attorney to my late customer client and we have agreed to work with you due to the fact that you have the same surname with him it’s 100% SURE that your claims will be approved by the finance firm where the said funds were lodged. We therefore propose to do business with you, standing in as the next of kin of these funds from the deceased and funds released to you after due processes have been followed

This transaction is totally free of risk and troubles as the fund is legitimate and does not originate from drug, money laundry, terrorism or any other illegal act.

On your interest, let me hear from you.

Warm Regards,
David Brinsford.

DISCLAIMER:
This message contains confidential information and is intended only for specified addressee. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. Please note that we reserve the right to monitor and read any emails sent and received under the telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2002.

See what I mean? It’s nothing but attempted fraud. And I just love that disclaimer at the end of the mail. Confidential. Sure. My mail didn’t have an addressee. It was addressed to a undisclosed recipient list.

I think this scam attempt is a pretty new one. I notice that the scammers have noticed that websites such as this one exists, and write that this mail has been sent out to many receivers. However, if it looks like a scam mail, is written like a scam mail, have all the markings of a scam mail and is sent from Nigeria, you can be pretty sure that it is a scam mail.

Here goes:

from    OFFice of the Senate House <de_atm.senate@live.com>
to    undisclosed-recipients
date    Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 1:10 PM
subject    Your ATM Card Value USD($700,000.00) is Ready

OFFice of the Senate House
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Ikoyi-Lagos Nigeria
14th Floor
51/55 Broad Street ,

Dear Beneficiary.
Congratulations as we bring to your notice you  has chosen you by the board of
trustees in the  Office of the senate house as one of the final recipients of
this  year oceanic bank plc. cash grant/Donation. promotion

To celebrate the 30th anniversary celebration,We are giving out a yearly
donation of The ATM Card Value is USD($700,000.00) SEVEN HUNDRED THUAUSAND
UNITED STATE DOLLARS to 6 lucky recipients,as Yearly promotion from the
W.H.O,UN,and the EU in accordance with the enabling act of Parliament.

The ATM grant/aid only collect email addresses of final recipient from
different countries: united state, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Europe, etc. and with
an electronic balloting sytem, without the recipient applying,you emerged one
of our lucky beneficiary.

It is my pleasure to inform you that you are not the only person that have benefited from this promosion, I am forwarding the tracking numbers of our beneficiary for 2007 edditon  of this promosion who reside in America and Canadia.  their ATM MASTER CARD was delivered by fedex courier services. Kindly track their parcel status  online for verification popose….

http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?
(1) 856467606835
(2) 856467606570
(3) 856467606673

You are to fill out the below information and send it to the
Payment Remitance Office Via their email contact address below:

Full Name:…………….
Residential Address:……
Age:……………..
Sex:…………..
Occupation:……………
State……………….
Country:………………
Telephone:……..
Fax Number:…………
Winning Batch No:…….(W-342-8876,U-500-32)

(Payment Remitance Contact)
Name………..Professor Aliu USMAN
E-Mail:……..de_atm.senate@live.com
Tel:………..+234-806 228-4901

Warning!!!: Fraudulent emails are circulating that appear to
be using The ATM GRANT/AID addresses, but are not from The ATM
GRANT/AID Board house,So beware!!!………Once again congratulations.

Funny bit there. The scammers warn their victims about themselves. Nice touch.

However, if you have received one of these, you can trash it without further notice. Nobody gives away free ATM cards with 700 dollars on them.

There are lots of instances of the below mail on the web, and I’m afraid that there is also a real Grace Beatrice Minor, the name that these scammers use in the below scam mail. Actually, there is no chance at all that the below mail is sent by the Grace Beatrice Minor who is the undersigner. The other alias in the mail, Mr. De Koster Thierry, might or might not be a real person, but I think not. Anyway, it’s one of those more complicated scam setup.

from         samuel sendize <samuelll12@web.de>
to         undisclosed-recipients <>
date        2008-mar-12 16:53
subject        CONFIRMATION EMAIL

Good-day,
I got your contact after a diligent search of a foreign partner who will be of immediate assistance to me believing that this business proposal will be of mutual benefit to both of us and that you wi ll not betray me.
I am Mrs. Grace Beatrice Minor, You can find out who I am and why I need your assistance in a very confidential manner from the following sites:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2005/066.htm
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sc8176.doc.htm
There is a total sum of 55 Million Euros deposited in a financial Institution abroad that requires urgent clearance and re profiling thus the reason why I am contacting you to come and act as my Proxy.

You will be compensated with 25% of the total if you can move the funds to your city where it will be invested in any Blue chip investment. Therefore you are advised to send your letter of intent to my
confidant/representative in Belgium as follows: Mr. De Koster Thierry.
Email: dekoster123@gmail.com,
Contact him now for further details of what you are to do next. Please note that everything about this transaction must be strictly confidential and all correspondence should be directed to Mr. De Koster Thierry as stated above.

God bless you.

Mrs. Grace Beatrice Minor.

It’s been a while since I posted the last scam mail here. Not that I haven’t received any, it’s more that they seem to come in at such a steady stream that it sometimes seems futile to even think that I can publish them all.

Anyhow, here’s a mail that seems to come from a newcomer in the field of internet scamming. And again, the main giveaway is that the mail has been addressed to an anonymous list instead of directly to me, the alleged beneficiary.

from    ATM GRANT AID <dynamicdesigns@bellnet.ca>
answer-to         atmpayoutofficer1@yahoo.com.hk
to         “.”@bellnet.ca
date        2008-mar-13 01:24
subject        DEAR BENEFICIARY

DEAR BENEFICIARY,
CONGRATULATIONS WE BRING TO YOUR NOTICE!!!THE OFFICE OF THE SENATE
HOUSE HAS CHOSEN YOU BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEE AS ONE OF THE FINAL RECIPIENT
OF THIS NEW YEAR 2008 PROMOTION CASH GRANT GRANT/DONATION (500,000.00pounds)
TO CELEBRATE THE  30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATE.THE ATM GRANT/AID ONLY COLLECT EMAIL
ADDRESS OF FINAL RECIPIENT.FROM DEFFERENT COUNTRY: UNITED STATS, GREECE,
SAUDI ARABIA, EUROPE, ETC.AND WITH AN ELECTRONIC BALLOTING SYSTEM,
WITHOUT THE RECIPIENT APPLYING.
(PAYMENT REMMITANCE CONTACT)
Mr.AHMED USMAN.
E-Mail:atmpayoutofficer1@yahoo.com.hk
Phone:+2348027539847
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SEND DOWN THIS FOLLOWING INFORMATION
1, NAME
2, COUNTRY
3, ADDRESS,
4, STATE,
5, PHONE NUMBER
6, DATE OF BIRTH
7, AGE AND SEX
8, OCCUPATION
WINNING BATCH No:(W-342-8876,U-500-32)
WARNNING!!!: FRAUDULENT EMAIL ARE CIRCULATING THAT APPEARS TO BE USING
THE ATM GRANT/AID ADDRESS, BUT ARE NOT FROM THE ATM GRANT/AID BOARD.
HOUSE,SO BEWARE!!!.

This e-mail from the alias of Abdul Isa, from the African Development Bank in Burkina Faso must be one of the longest bankscam e-mails I have ever received. It has all the markings of a scam, with the bait, the re-assurments, and the wow of silence. The first rule of a bank scam is “don’t talk about the bank scam”. Because if you do, as I do here, others, like yourself, will find out that others have also received the same mail, and will maybe realize that it is all a scam. But then, when sending out e-mails to an undisclosed mailing list, there is no real feeling that this mail was for my eyes only. Is there?

from abdul isa
reply-to abdul41@myway.com,
to undisclosed-recipients,
date Jan 11, 2008 4:51 PM
subject *****SPAM***** RE: BUSINESS PROPOSAL

MR ABDUL ISA
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO.
ATTN:

This message might meet you in utmost surprise,However,Its just my urgent need for a foreign partner that made me to contact you for this transaction,I am a banker by profession from Burkina Faso currently holding the post of a director auditing and accounting section of the bank.I have the opportunity of transferring the left over fund($30 m USD) which bellongs to one of my client who died along with his family in a plane crash on 31 july 200

After further investigation it was discovered that the deceased person did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of his bank deposit. And he also confided in me the last time he was at my office that no one except me knew of his deposit in my bank. So, Thirty million United State Dollars is still lying in my bank and no one will ever come forward to claim it. What bothers me is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration seven years six months the funds will revert to the ownership of the Burkina Government if nobody applies to claim the funds.

My proposal, I am prepared to place you as the next of kin in a position to instruct ADB BANK to release the deposit to you as the closest surviving relation. Upon receipt of the deposit, I am prepared to share the money with you 60/30 while 10% will be mapped for expenses that may be incured in the preoccess of transfering this fund into your account. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and have them release the deposit to you. We share the procentange 60/30. I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me, but that would have drawn a straight line in my involvement in claiming the deposit.

I assure you that I could have the deposit released to you within a few days. I will simply inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to the deceased person I will then officially communicate with my Bank and instruct them to release the deposit to you. With these: all is done. I am aware of the consequences of this proposal.

I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should discard this mail. I ask that you do not be vindictive and destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you,delete this message and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but people like myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move. Such opportunities only come ones way once in a lifetime. I cannot let this chance pass me by, for once I find myself in total control of my destiny. These chances wont pass me by.

I ask that you do not destroy my chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me. I am a family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new opportunities. There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth undertaking.

I have evaluated the risks and the only risk I have here is from you refusing to work with me and alerting my bank. I am the only one who knows of this situation, good fortune has blessed you with a name that has planted you into the center of relevance in my life. Lets
share the blessing.

If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this process towards a conclusion. I wish to inform you that should you contact me via official channels; I will deny knowing you and about this project. I repeat, I do not want you contacting me through my official phone lines nor do I want you contacting me through my official email account. Contact me only through the numbers I will provide for you .

Further more be informed that the fact that you are a foreigner give you the privilege to stand in as my deceased client beneficiary as my deceased client had no relation all his family died with him in a plane crash and I can not use my relation because its not accepted here in Burkina Faso. Also I am very confident that we will be able to establish the trust that is needed to complete this deal and all that I need from the time been is your willingness and commitment so that we can end this in the nest one weeks.

Like I said before there is no risk involve as it will pass through international banking laws and all the necessary information will be given to you in later.I do not want any direct link between you and me. My official lines are not secure lines as they are periodically monitored to assess our level of customer care in line with our Total Quality Management Policy. Please observe this instruction religiously. Please, again, note I am a family man, I have wife and children. I send you this mail not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences, but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth I have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my confidence. If we can be of one accord, we should plan a meeting soon.

Futher detailes of the transfer will be sent to you as soon as i receive a positive response from you.
Thanks.
MR ABDUL ISA

Wew! Well sorry Mr Abdul Isa. I broke the first rule of the Don’t reply. This has so many scam markers you cannot believe it. And I broke the first rule of the ADB scam. I talked about it, to warn others from biting on your bait.

If you received the below mail fron “Mrs. Jennifer Wilson” you might wonder how a mail where somebody is willing to include you in their will might end in a fraud attempt where you are actually separated from some of your own money. The woman just wants help with finding goood causes you think. Well, that is probably not entirely the case. You will probably first be asked to show some good faith by paying for lawyers, bankf fees, or even contribute with some small sums to a charity project that just happens to be run by the person behind the Jennifer Wilson alias.

from    Mrs. Jennifer Wilson <jeniferwilson23@aim.com>
reply-to    jeniferwilson23@aim.com,
to    [a publicly published]@lindqvist.com,
date    Dec 18, 2007 8:35 PM
subject    WILL FOR CHARITY

Assistance

This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have Not yet met. I have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any Pains so I decided to contact you through this medium. I got your Contact through a personal search via the internet. As you read this, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, because, I Believe everyone will die someday.

My name is Jennifer Wilson I am a dying woman who have decided to donate What I have to you/ church/charity Organizations. I am 64 years old and I was diagnosed with esophageal Cancer for about 7 Years ago, immediately after the death of my husband who lived all his Life in America, who has left me everything he worked for.

I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared For anyone. Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focus on my self as that was the only thing I Cared for. But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world. I Believe when God gives me a second chance to come to this world I would Live my life a different way from how I have lived it. Now that I know My time is near I have been touched by God to donate from what I have Inherited from my late husband for the good work of God, rather than Allow my relatives to use my husband hard earned funds ungodly.

So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E, London and Ireland. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this my self any more. I once asked members of my family to Close one of my accounts and donate the money, which I have there to Charity organization in Bulgaria; they refused and kept the money to Themselves.

Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contended With what I have left for them. The last of my money which is the huge Cash deposit that I have with Financial Firm Abroad .I will want you to Help me collect this deposit and dispatched it to charity organizations And let them know that it is me Jennifer Wilson that is making this Generous donation.

I am writing this from my laptop computer in my hospital bed where I wait for my time to come. I pray that God uses you to support and assist Me with good heart Please pray that the good Lord forgive me my sins. I have asked God to Forgive me and I believe he has because He is a merciful God. I will be Going in for an operation in less than few days. I decided to WILL/donate the money to you for the good work of the lord, And also to help the motherless and less privilege and also for the Assistance of the widows according to (JAMES 1:27).

I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit This money and my husband relatives are not inclined to helping poor Persons and I do not want my husband’s hard earned money to be misused Or spent in the manner in which my late husband did not specify. At the moment I cannot take any telephone calls right now due to the Fact that my relatives are around me and my health status. I wish you All the best and May the good Lord bless you abundantly, and please use The funds well and always extend the good work to others.

NB: I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until The task is accomplished as I don’t want anything that will jeopardize My last wish. And Also I will be contacting with you by email as I don’t Want my relation or anybody to know because they are always around me.

Regards,
Jennifer Wilson
Please contact me through the email address below
jeniferwilson23@aim.com

If I am to believe, Mr E Dominique, the forgotten funds belonging to a Mr Martin J Hillenbrand is to become partly mine. And who would say no to a chance to get 40 % of almost 30 million dollars?

Well, I do. I say no since I don’t believe a word of what the scammer alias “Mr E Dominique” is writing about. Hopefully, nobody else does either, since this is a typical scam mail, even if it has a twist, since the scammers have chosen a bait where it might be quite hard for pages like this, that strive to expose there scam to show up in the search results. The real Martin J Hillenbrand was an American diplomat serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany in the early 1970s.

from emmanuel dominique <emma_dom089@hotmail.fr>
reply-to emma_dom01@yahoo.fr,
to undisclosed-recipients,
date Dec 15, 2007 2:26 AM
subject *****SPAM***** FROM Mr.E.Dominique

Mr.E.Dominique

ACCOUNTING OFFICER IN FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPT.
BANK OF AFRICAN OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO .

All the pleasure is mine to write this message to you in order to request your invaluable partnership for the realization of a very important transaction which must be treated with great discretion.

I ask of you from this very begining to excuses me for all the inconveniences which my mail may cause you; all the same though we do not know each other personally and we have never meet before. I believe firmly that a true confidence can be born from our communication and thus support a true partnership between you and I.

I am audit manager, in foreign accounts department here in Bank of Africa Ouagadougou Burkina Faso; I have been working in this banking institution for the pass 14 years.

It was during my investigation in the bank I discover that the deceased customer Deposited the sum of $29,850,000 dollar (Twenty Nine Million Eight Hundred An Fifty Thousand Dollars) and I notice in the file that during the deposition of this money with the Bank he did not indicate is true next of kin to the board of directors in is Paper work with the bank of Africa here in Burkina Faso west Africa.

After all intensive routing Investigation I find out that no body has ever come to put claim over the released of this money, it is upon this I am now seizing the privilege and opportunity to contact you as to apply to the bank as a business associate to the deceased customer Mr Martin J. Hillenbrand.

As a foreign partner which this money will be transfer into your account, you Are entitle to 40% of the total money why 55% will be for me as the moderator of this transaction and 5% is been mapped out for measeallanouse expenditure that may be incur during the course of this transaction

PROFILES OF THE DECEASED CUSTOMER
Mr Martin J. Hillenbrand.

The late customer Martin J. Hillenbrand he death on Friday July 5, 2003 at Commemorative Centre of Cancer of a Crisis Cardiac here in OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO.

Appointee: Foreign Service officer.
Title: ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Appointment: May 1, 1972 and Presentation of Credentials: Jun 27, 1972 Termination of Mission: Left post, Oct 18, 1976.

The Late Ambassador becomes Businessestacom in his Country and here in Ouagadougou BURKINA FASO WEST AFRICA.

I will urge you to go through this proposal properly and let me know if you are willing to accord me this assistance for us to achieved this golden opportunity for the betterment of our life, I also want to let you know that this transaction is 100% risk free there is nothing for you to be afraid off, all loopholes have been properly taking care before contacting you.

Anxiously waiting for your prompt response.
Yours faithfully

Mr.E.Dominique

Cultural differences are never as obvious as in this type of scam mails. Now if I was to choose an alias that would fill my potential scam victims with trust, I wouldn’t choose an alias such as Godswell Dikko. Neigther would I write that i got a list of names that I prayed over, and then send my mail to myself, bcc:ing the true recipiants.

I can’t help but hope that someone studying anthropology reads these 419 mails and some day writes a thesis on them.

from Godswill Dikko <godswill_dikko222@yahoo.com>
to godswill_dikko222@yahoo.com,
date Dec 15, 2007 1:10 PM
subject i need your help
signed-by yahoo.com

From: godswill dikko

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Dear Sympathetic one,

Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business relationship with you. I got your name and contact from the Ivorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I prayed over it and selected your name among other names due to it’s esteeming nature and the recommendations given to me as a reputable and trustworthy person I can do business with and by their recommendations, I must not hesitate to confide in you for this simple and sincere business.

I am godswill dikko, the only son of late Mr and Mrs christopher dikko.I am 19years old. My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant based in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast before he was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outing to discuss on a business deal. When my mother died on the 21st October 1996, my father took me so special because I am motherless.

Before the death of my father on the 20th of May 2007 in a private hospital here in Abidjan. He secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has a sum of US$7.500,000(seven Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) left in a suspense account in a local bank here in Abidjan,he told me that he used my name as his only son for the next of kin in deposit of the fund. He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth he was poisoned by his business associates. That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose, (such as real estate management).

Sir, I am honourably seeking your assistant in the following,

1) To provide a bank account where this money will be transferred.
2) To serve as the guardian of this fund
3) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my education and also to secure a residential permit for me in your country.

Moreover sir, I am willing to offer you 15% of the total sum as compensation for your effort input after the successful transfer of this money to your nominated account.
Furthermore, you can indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within Seven (7) days you signify interest to assist me.
Please dear sympathetic one this is my private telephone number 00922566450555.Please dear one i will like to have your private telephone number so that i will call you.
please this is my private email box(godswill_dikko111@yahoo.com)
Anticipating hearing from you soon.

Thanks and God bless.

Your sincerely,
godswill dikko

The Ivory Coast (Cote D’Ivoire) must be full of rather well-off orphans seeking financial guardians. At least if I would believe the number of e-mails sent to me with queries if I would like to act as their guardian and assist them in their quest to transfer their funds. In this e-mail the sum is downright ridiculous. Anyone with US$ 3,200,000 (formated as 3.200,000 in the mail) could find financial gurardians by other means than sending e-mails to hidden e-mail lists.

It’s just another 419 scam:

from mary ugo <m.ugo28@yahoo.com>
reply-to m.ugo27@yahoo.com,
to m.ugo28@yahoo.com,
date Nov 11, 2007 12:21 PM
subject Urgent Attention

From:Mary and Robert Ugo
Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

Dearest One,
Permit us to inform you of our desire of asking you to be a guardian or foster parent to us and then help us out in what we are about to tell you.
I’m Mary Ugo(18) my Brother Robert Ugo (16). We are the children of Late Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Ugo (Orphans). Our father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant here in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote D’Ivoire. He was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip. Our mother died when we where babies.
Before the death of our father on Sept. 2005 and before his death he secretly called us by his sick bed and told us that he has the sum of Three million two hundred and thousand United State Dollars USD ($3.200,000) deposited in a
suspense account in a banks here in Abidjan.We now want to transfer it out and use it for investment purpose in your country

Because of this we are honorably seeking your assistance in the following ways:
(1) To serve as a guardian to us and then assist us transfer the money into your bank account. (2) To make arrangement for us to come over to your country to further our education and then settle there parmanently. We shall offer you 20% of the total money for assisting us on the transfer of the money to your account.

Thanks and God bless you .
Best regards,
Mary & Robert Ugo

Now why would a Burkina Faso based financial consultant want to contact me via an undisclosed-recipients e-mail list with an offer to safe-keep 11 million dollars for a client, and find it necessary to reveal the fact that the client is a widow? I can see no reason at all, other than the fact that Hajia Faridat is an alias for a scammer and that the mention of a wealthy widow serves as a great bait for his scam. Well I don’t buy it. It’s a 419 type of scam.

from hajia faridat <hajia_faridat33@hotmail.com>
reply-to hajia-faridat@hotmail.com,
to undisclosed-recipients,
date Nov 3, 2007 5:47 PM
subject PARTNERSHIP & INVESTMEN

Dear Sir,

I am a financial consultant based in Burkina Faso. I have a client (a widow) she has USDM11,000,000 with a private equity investment trust company for safe keeping only. She wishes to invest in a stable economy.

Her interest is in companies with potentials for rapid growth in long terms. My client is interested in placing part of her fund in your company,if your country’s bilaws allows foreign investment.

You can contact me for more details via my e-mail address with your reference.

Yours faithfully,
Hajia Faridat.

NB: The fund is free from drug and laundering related offences

Ibrahim Mohammed is a scammer alias who’s seeking for a better life and a new guardian who can help him take care of his 6.7 million dollar inheritance.

Again, a scam directed to gready victims who very much wants the poor boy’s money, and will be willing to pay a lot of fees, bribes and commissions in order to help Ibrahim to transfer all of his money out of the care of his oncle and into your bank account.

In the end, there will be no money. Only a neat sum of pay-offs.

Here’s Ibrahim’s mail:

from “ibrahim_mohammed01@centrum.cz” <ibrahim_mohammed01@centrum.cz>
to unlisted-recipients <>
date Nov 2, 2007 7:13 PM
subject Dearest One

Dearest One

Assalam alaikum, may the peace of gracious Allah be with you. Please I have problem which I need help from you that’s why I decide to write you for help.

I have a proposal for you. However it’s not mandatory nor will I in any manner compel you to honour it against your will. I am in a difficult state of mind and was moved to send this proposal to you after my prayer.

I am Ibrahim Mohammed, the only son of my late parents. My mother died when I was just 4 years old, and since then my father took me so special. My father was a highly reputable business magnet (a cocoa merchant) who operated in the capital of Ivory Coast during his days. It is sad to say that he passed away mysteriously when he came back from business trips abroad in France. His sudden death was linked or rather suspected to have been masterminded by our uncle who travelled with him at that time. But Allah knows the truth.

Before death of my father he called me on his bed side and told me that he has the sum of Six million, Seven Hundred Thousand United State Dollars. US($6.700,000) left in fixed/suspense account in one of the banks here in Abidjan ,that he used my name as his only son as the next of Kin in depositing the money.

I am 19 years old and a university undergraduate before I abandoned my school due to my uncle’s bad treatment to me since death of my father. The death of my father actually brought sorrow to my life coupled with my uncle’s late bad behaviour to me. I am confused and really don’t know where to start from.

I am in sincere desire of your humble assistance to help me have the money transferred to you as my guardian for better life for me and invest the money into a business to be looked after by you.

What I am doing is as lead by my faith. I hope you are somebody I can trust that will not take me for granted or take undue advantage of my helpless condition because of my manner of approach to you.

If you know you are capable of handling this and help me rearrange my life. Please consider this my proposal and get back to me for more information.

My salaam to your family.

My sincere regards,
Ibrahim Mohammed.

The amount of scam mails ending up in my e-mail accounts are just incredible these days. In todays catch is also a Miss Angela Kennedy, and I must say that the scammer behind the alias has a lot of imagination. There are some really good story tellers in Nigeria, that’s for sure.

So who want’t to act as Angela’s foreign partner and investment manager? I might add, that the position includes paying endless fees, bribes and commissions. Probably also some invented lawyer and barrister fees to get Angela out of jail…

from         angela kennedy <angelakenn-37@hotmail.com>
to         drmz_2009@yahoo.com
date        Oct 27, 2007 5:38 PM
subject        HELLO

My dear, I am miss Angela from Asmara, Eritrea, single and 21 years old. After accessing your details in the internet i copied out only your email address. Immediately after going through your information i made up my mind to contact you for long term relationship, because you are my choice of trust and i see nothing wrong with the choice that i have made in you. Now that i am in a state of absolute confusion I must let you know that my daddy was the Financial controler to the Common Wealth North African Region.

About my parents; My mummy died in labour when she was giving birth to a baby in the hospital in Asmara, and both my mummy and the baby died together, then i was only 11 years of age. My daddy died in a car accident and the car driver that jamed my daddy’s car ran away and my daddy’s lawyer and my daddy’s brother are among the suspects, and they are all against me because of my daddy’s properties in Eritrea.The following information is my purpose of choosing you. Before my daddy died he made me  the beneficiary of the amount of 14.5 Million gbp£ in his account with Citi Bank in Dakar, Senegal, i have the bank certificate of account in my travelling bag in this prison. on my way travelling to Dakar, Senegal i arrived this Gambia on transit, on the same night i arrived Gambia i was attacked by 2 big boys in my guest house (hotel) room, they robbed me, collected my hand bag that contained all my  money, as if that was not enough, they tried to rape me so i collected the nearest object in the room and hited one of them on the head and screamed to the hearing of the neighbouring compounds and people came out and descended on the criminals, the next morning the police came to the guest house and arrested me, since then i have been kept under awaiting trial here in this central prison of Gambia because the criminal i heated died as a result of the severe beating given to him by the neighbourhood.

I am among the girls newly appointed to head the girls sector in this prison, hence i have the advantage to use the prison computer to communicate with you, and i will be very glad to also have a detailed information about you. From here i communicated with citi bank and they said that because of the written agreement that my daddy signed with them that i must be present in their bank to withdraw the money by myself OR that i should ask my foreign partner to receive the money on my behalf, they said that i should email them the names that is in my foreign partners Id card or international passport etc etc so that they will send the money to my foreign partner. but the problem is that i dont have a foreign partner, so i want you to me my foreign partner and also be my fund and investment manager. i know that i am taking a big risk but there is nothing else i can do than to trust someone and to trust someone is by choice and you are my choice of trust. All that the bank wants me to give to them are;

(1) your name that is in your id card:
(2)  your nationality:
(3) your address:
(4) your telephone number:
(5) your occupation:

Give me the information so that i will send it to the bank. The money is my only hope in life. as soon as  Citi Bank send the money to you, you will use some of the money to get me a lawyer/s to fight for my case and get me out of here, then the same week of my release you will fly down here in Gambia  and i and you will depart to your home in your country together.

Reply me only on email: Angelakenn777@hotmail.com  ONLY.
I am waiting for your reply
Miss Angela Kennedy

This is more like it 20% of 24,000,000 US$ makes 4.8 million! But it’s just another charity scam where the 419 scammer has come to peace with god after a life of wheeling and dealing. The scammer alias of Mubule F Nzembe asks us to help him place his huge hidden treasure of 24 million dollars in charity projects, and promises us a 20% fee for the trouble. The greedier of us might plan to place some of that money in charity projects “of our own”, and that is just what the scammers are counting on. The greeder the victim, the easier it is to make him or her pay all the fees, bribes and commisions that the scammer will invent down the way.

    from        Mbulu Nzembe <m_bu_8@hotmail.com>
reply-to         nzembe9@yahoo.com.hk
to         undisclosed-recipients <>
date        Oct 30, 2007 5:56 AM
subject        *****SPAM***** Greetings and peace

Dear Beloved,

Greetings and peace of the Lord unto your household. This letter may   come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not met The   message could be strange but real, if you pay some attention to it.I could  have notified you about it at least for the sake of your  integrity. Please accept my apologies in bringing this message of goodwill to  you I have to say that I have no intention of causing you any pain or  harm.

My name is  Mbulu .F.Nzembe, a merchant in Dubai, in the U.A.E.I have been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer which was discovered very late, due to my laxity in caring for my health. It has defiled all forms of medicine, and right now I have only about a few months to live, according to medical experts.
I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared for anyone not even myself but my business. Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focus on my business as that was the only thing I cared for. But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world.

I believe when God gives me a second chance to come to this world I would live my life a different way from how I have lived it. Now that God ! has called me, I have willed and given most of my properties and assets to my immediate and extended family members and as well as a few close friends.

I want God to be merciful to me and accept my soul and so, I have decided to give alms to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E,Algeria and Malaysia. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this my self any more.
I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and distribute the money which I have there to charity organization in Bulgaria and Pakistan, they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contended with what I have left for them.

The last of my money which no one knows of is the huge cash deposit of twenty four million dollars($24,000,000)that I have with a security company in Amsterdam Holland.
I will want you to help me collect this deposit and dispatched it to
charity organizations.I have set aside 20% for you for your time and patience.If you are willing to help me,
Please reply on this nzembe9@yahoo.com.hk with the following:

1.YOUR FULL NAMES
2.YOUR PHONE NUMBER
3.YOUR FULL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.
God be with you.
Mbulu.F.Nzembe

Another benevolent scammer has turned up.  Mrs Maryann Gbagbo is just one more of the scammer aliases that involves our gread. Who would not want to lay their hands on her inheritance of 2.8 million dollars? This is a classic 419 scam, where a childless widow wants to give her money away to charity projects. The sting is to want us, people without real charities to answer, and in the long runt to start paying for bank fees, bribes, shipping companies…. endless expenses that all end up in the scammers pockets.

Don’t buy it. Don’t believe it. It’s all a 419 scam.

        from        maryann gbagbo <maryann_gbagbo@yahoo.it>
reply-to         maryann_gbagbo20@yahoo.fr
to         maryann_gbagbo@yahoo.it
date        Oct 30, 2007 9:34 PM
subject        From Mrs Maryann gbagbo
signed-by        yahoo.it 

From Mrs Maryann_gbagbo.
Dearest One,

With Due Respect And Humanity, I was compelled to write to you under a humanitarian ground.

My name is Mrs Maryann_gbagbo. I was born in Baltimore , Maryland , I am married to Mr.John Gbagbo, director J.R Industries Cote d’Ivoire.We were married for 36 years without a child. He died after a Cadiac Arteries Operation.

And Recently, My Doctor told me that I would not last for the next six months due to my cancer problem (cancer of the lever and stroke).
Before my husband died last year there is this sum $2.8 Million Dollars that he deposited with a Private Finance Company here In Ivory Coast. Presently this money is still in the Vault of the Company.

Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to any good God fearing brother or sister that will utilize this fund the way I am going to instruct herein.

I want somebody that will use this fund according to the desire of my late.husband to help Lessprivilaged people, orphanages,widows and propagating the word of God.

I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this fund, And I don’t want in away where this money will be used in an unGodly way. This is why I am taking this decision to hand you over this Fund.

I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going.I want you to always remember me in your daily prayers because of my up coming Cancer Surgery.

Write back as soon as possible any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another person for this same purpose, Hoping to read from you asap.

God bless you as you listing to the voice of reasoning,

Mrs Maryann_gbagbo.

One funny thing with Nigerian 419 scammers is that they have so many difficulties with understanding first names and surnames. Reverend Brian Williams would have a much better pick than Reverend Williams Brian, don’t you think? As always when the scammers use addresses that I have never sent one single mail from, however, it’s published at one of the sites that I run.

Rev Williams Brian probably doesn’t exist, and neither does the half a million dollars he sais he wants to give away. So you got his mail too? Well, that is proof enough that this is just another scam.

    from        Rev Williams Brian <revwilliams@ig.gov>
reply-to         john_smithprivate@hackside.net
to         [harvesttrap]@lindqvist.com
date        25 Oct 2007 10:46:33 -0000
subject        YOUR BANK DRAFT IS READY CONTACT MY LAWYER…

WILLIAMS ENGINEERING COMPANY
152 ISLAND WAY
VICTORIA PARK
LAGOS.

Dear Friend

I am Rev. Williams Brian from Canada, I have been an international
contractor that collect contract from Big Company and countries, I get
involve in one contract in Nigeria which I was refuse my payment, I was
down and almost lose hope.

After 2 years of this contract I later talk to God to assist me in
getting this money that if this money for this contract can be pay to
me, I promise to benefit someone with the sum of $500,000.00 draft
payment to my surprise I was called upon by the Nigeria Government
something last month that my contact file have been look into and it is
ready for payment.

I never believe until I was advise by my Pastor and later move down to
Nigeria to my unbelievable surprise I was paid this money.

Due to my pledge to God i have agreed to show the person that i will be
sending the $500,000.00 through ballot system on the internet which
happen to be your email so you are lucky so what you have to do now get
in touch with my Lawyer Mr. Justin Albert and instruct him on how to
send your $500,000.00 Bank draft to you.

BELOW IS THE CONTACT OF MY Lawyer
Mr. Justine Smith ALbert
Office Phone: +234808-337-8147
E-mail: john_smithprivate@hackside.net

Send to my Lawyer your contact address and telephone number,let him
make arrangement for the shipment of your draft to your doorstep and
also you can give him a call to confirm you address again after sending
it to him i do not want you to feel any thing scam because i am a Rev
and i will never do anything like that i have promise God and what i
want you to believe now is that this is the opportunity which God have
promise you this year so it is better you have it in time before it
went again from you so contact my Lawyer in time.

And for your information presently i am in the United Kingdom for
another contract so i want you to go into prayer with me for the
successfully of this contact

With Best Regards,
Rev Williams Brian

The do-gooder scammers are a very special category of 419 scammers. Their purpose is to invoke our own scammer within. To make us want to lay our own greedy hands on a large sum of money that the scammer sais to want to give away to a good cause.

In this case, we are to believe that the scammer alias Mrs Aminah Osuman has  accidentally sent her plea to us, and if we play along we can very well come over her large inheritance.

There is one irregularity in this mail, in that no sums are mentioned. Often ridiculously large sums ar mentioned. But it is, nevertheless, a scam. If you would answer her mail you would probably end up paying a never-ending stream of small or medium sized fees.

from        aminahosuman@yahoo.co.uk
to         undisclosed-recipients <>
date        Oct 12, 2007 1:29 PM
subject        CONFIDENCIAL LETTER FROM MRS AMINAH OSUMAN ABDULKARIM

CONFIDENCIAL LETTER FROM MRS AMINAH OSUMAN ABDULKARIM

Dear

My greetings to you and your lovely family! This mail might come to you as a surprise and the temptation to ignore it as unserious could come into your mind; but please consider it a divine wish and accept it with a deep sense of humility .My name is Amina Abdulkarim from libya. i was married to late osman abdulkarim of blessed memory who is an oil explorer in libya and kuwait for twelve years before he died in the year 2000. we were married for twelve years without a child.

he died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. since his death i too have been battling with both cancer and fibroid problems.when my late husband was alive he deposited a substantial amount of money in millions of dollars with a deposit company oversea. recently, my doctor warm greetings told me that i have only six months to live due to cancer problem. though what disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. having known my condition i decided to donate this fund to either a charity orphanage home or devoted god fearing individual that will utilize this money the way i am going to instruct herein. i want this organization or individual to use this money in all sincerity to fund charity homes (motherless homes), orphanages, and widows.i took this decision because i don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are into radical organization and i don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an unholy manner. hence the reasons for this bold decision. please, pray for me to recover as your paryers will go a long way in uplifting my spirit.

i don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health, because of the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always. i don’t want them to know about this development.as soon as i receive your reply on email, shall give you further directives on what to do and how to go about actualizing this project.i will also issue a letter of authority to the deposit company authorizing them that the said fund have being willed to you and a copy of such authorization will be forwarded to you. i want you to always pray for me. any delay in your reply will give room in sourcing for an organization or a devoted individual for this same purpose.until i hear from you by email; my dreams will rest squarely on your shoulders.
remain blessed.

Please reply (aminahosuman@yahoo.co.uk)

MRS,AMINAH OSUMAN ABDULKARIM.

Pastor Powell and Armed Hassan are two new scammer aliases that I haven’t come across earlier. I cannot find any other accounts of these aliases, but the content of the mail is a good example of a classic 419 scam, and the originating computer has the IP Address 77.70.128.170 which is registered in Nigeria.

from Pastor powell <pastorpowell7@sify.com>
date Oct 11, 2007 3:45 AM
subject URGENT

Dearest in Christ,

I am Pastor Powell, I just got your contact on my
personal search of the person i am willing my money to. I was mistakenly
injected with the injection that they used on a HIV AIDS patient, That
was how i contacted this strange illness two years ago. I have willed
the sum of $FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS to you, That is the only
money left in my account now. Pls contact the bank director were i have
account with his email address(armmedhassan@yahoo.co.uk) his name is
Armed Hassan, he will help you and also transfer this money to you
immediately. Pls be serrios and make sure that this money is being
transfered to you. cos i have few days to live as the doctor said and
always pray for me as you receive this email.

God Bless
you.
Pastor powell

Oh. Just one more thing. I wonder how the other six Pastor Powells feel about it?

Steve Mackay (or Steven Mackay) and Helen Mackay are two e-mail aliases used by a gang of scammers that buy cars, television sets, dogs, skies, and various items that are sold via the web.

The scam is setup by a buyer that contacts sellers and agree to buy whatever is sold. He or she then sends a check with a surplus of a few thousand Euros. The scammers ask the buyer to send the surplus forth, to a shipper who will pick up the sold item, and ship it to England.

The check is often cleared by the bank, and the seller sends the extra 5-6000 Euros forth. But now shipment agency or shipper ever turns up. Instead, the bank does, after a week or so, with the message that the check has bounced or is false, and that they have taken back the money.

In the end, the seller has lost 5-6000 Euros and seller looses a lot of money.

This scam is pursued by a well organized gang, and has been performed throughout Europe and the US.

A good sign is that the scammers never bargain over the price, but is really quick to agree on purchasing the item, and just as quick to send a check with instructions on what to do with the extra money. If you get contacted by Steve Mackay, Helen Mackay, or any of their other aliases. Just ask them to do an electronic transer, or send cash. They won’t, and you won’t get cheated on your money.

Jacinta Malaki isn’t a new name when it comes to 419 emails, but she seems to have changed her address since earlier mails. (She also seems to have moved from the Ivory Coast to Sierra Leone since the last attempt.)

It’s a classic 419 setup with a young girl asking for assisntance, and you will most probably find a young male scam artist from Nigeria at the other end if you would reply. Don’t. Just stamp it as spam, get rid of it, and move on.

from jcmalaki2004@yahoo.ca
to undisclosed-recipients <>
date Sep 29, 2007 9:40 AM
subject From Jacinta Malaki.

From Jacinta Malaki.

Good Day Dear,

I deem it a respect and honour as well as priviledge to write you, on my deep conviction about you,after my deligent search for a honest and trustworthy someone,of which I have chosen you to assist me for the transfer of an inheritance,which I inherited from my late father that was poisoned to death by his bussiness associates.

My name is Jacinta Malaki,I am 21yrs old,a native of Sierra-leone in West African region in the local districk of Konobo and am the only child of late Chief Kenneth Malaki,my late father is a Diamond Officer in the Republic of Sierra-leone.But before his death in a private hospital here in Abidjan,Ivory coast, he told me of a fixed deposit of US$12,000,000 he had with a prime bank in Abidjan,which he made me the next of kin,my mother died when I was two yrs old.

I have met the bank manager and declared to him my intention to transfer this fund out of Africa,as adviced me by my father for my security and of the money,which I want to, further my education overseas,and he is asking me for my guardian,in order to terminate the Fixed investement and release of the fund,as signed in the Agreement Bond with the Bank Authority , in case of sudden death.,which I need your assistance to present you to the bank as my guardian for the transfer of this money into your account.

Please remember the confidentiality and urgency my mail required while I expe