I am Barrister Michael Duncan, a solicitor at law. I am the personal
attorney to Mr (my father's name) a national of your country, who used to work with Shell Development Company in Nigeria. Here in after shall be
referred to as my client.
On the 21st of April 2001, my client, his wife and their only son were
involved in a car accident along sagbama express road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost there lives.Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives this has also proved unsuccessful.
After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to track his last
name over the Internet, to locate any member of his family hence I
contacted you.
I have contacted you to assist in repartrating the assets and Capital
valued at US$15.5million left behind by my client before they get
confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Security Finance Firm
where this huge deposits were lodged.
The said Security Finance Company has issued me a notice to provide
the next of kin or have the account confisicated within the next fourteen official working days. Since I have been unsuccesfull in locating the relatives for over 2 years, now I seek your consent to
present you as the next of kin to the deceased since you have the same
last names,so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you.
Therefore, on receipt of your positive response, we shall then discuss the sharing ratio and modalities for transfer. I have all necessary
formation and legal documents needed to back you up for claim. All I require from you is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee that this will be executed
under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.
I waiting to hear from you soon.
Best regards,
Barrister Michael Duncan
________________________________________________________________
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Haven't heard from my dad in years, but I highly doubt he was in Nigeria in his life. And he certainly never had any $15.5 million in assets, to my knowledge! Plus, while my last name is far from common, there are several people with it mentioned on the Net, so how did he get on to me & only me?
The whole thing stinks to the high heavens, to me. Anyone else come across a scam like this?!?
posted on November 19, 2003 05:18:57 AM new
bad spelling.
if you can search the wall street journal archives,there is a korean american in st louis who got scammed,he lost a few hundred thousand dollars .
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on November 19, 2003 09:00:25 AM new
Yes, unfortunately innate greed would drive some people to respond to this. Mention of $15.5 million could blind them to all else. But not many, I hope. You have to laugh--a NetZero acount?!? Bwhahahahahaha! Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on November 19, 2003 09:16:53 AM new
There was a thread on OTWA about a web site where they scam these guys BACK!. They reply to these messages, posing as real organizations and ask for various degrees of "proof" before mailing the check. Absolutely hilarious how stupid these people are.
posted on November 19, 2003 10:54:25 AM new
The top 9 e-mail hoaxes
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Income taxes are optional, Neiman Marcus has an expensive cookie recipe and more financial fictions that crowd in-boxes. These e-mail hoaxes are designed for one thing: to drain your wallet.
By Amy C. Fleitas, Bankrate.com
Ever wondered if anyone makes the money promised in those work-at-home advertisements? Or if each forwarded e-mail will really mean a donation of 10 cents from Microsoft to an orphan's organ-transplant operation? The answer is no. These stories are urban legends, e-mail rumors and scams. They are but a few of what we like to call financial fiction. The following are some of the most popular and most creative examples waiting in in-boxes.
Neiman Marcus' expensive cookie recipe
Here's what happened. My Aunt Cynthia was having lunch at Neiman Marcus with my cousin. For dessert, they had these delicious cookies and my aunt asked the waitress for the recipe. The waitress said they the recipe sold for "two fifty." My Aunt thought that meant $2.50 said OK. But when she got her bill they charged her $250. She was furious but they wouldn't refund her money. So in revenge, she's giving away the recipe to anyone who wants it.
Can you believe that? You can? Sucker. It never happened. But this rumor has been circulating for decades. A similar story about a $25 red velvet cake recipe has been traced as far back as the 1940s. If you want the cookie recipe, Neiman Marcus has gotten so sick of the bad press about this false rumor that the company posted the recipe on its Web site.
Forwarded e-mail for money or donations
Microsoft and Disney are both beta-testing an e-mail tracker and will send you money if you forward this e-mail. The Gap is testing an e-mail tracker and will send you a gift certificate. The Red Cross is using its e-mail tracker and will donate money for some poor kid's operation or to raise funds for an orphan of Sept. 11.
If you believe any of these stories, I have some bad news for you. There is no such thing as an e-mail tracker. Coke won't send you free cans. Gerber won't send you savings bonds. Cracker Barrel won't send you gift certificates. A Britney Spears' video won't pop up as the result of you forwarding an e-mail. And AOL has a public relations department that gets news out a lot more efficiently than any chain mail ever could. You get nothing but the embarrassment of knowing that everyone you forward this e-mail to will think you're a fool.
Nigerian scam letter
Greetings, sir. I got your e-mail address from a very confidential source -- the Internet. I am the prince, minister and Grand Poo-ba of one of many foreign nations that you stupid Americans have never heard of. There is a billion, kazillion dollars in an account here that rightfully belongs to my family and my people. Due to some horrid-bloody military coup in which my entire family, several accountants and various goats lost their lives, I cannot reach this money. But you, an American who has never heard of my country, can march right into the corner branch of God-Forsaken-War-Torn-East-of-Nowhere-Africa and deposit this money right into your fat American bank account. For your trouble, I'll give you a few million off the top -- because what's a few million between confidential best friends who have never actually even heard of one another?
OK, let's start from the top. Do not kid yourself. You are not so important that the High Priest of Anywhere will e-mail you requesting help. Rid yourself of your delusions of grandeur -- or as we say back home, you may sing "Like a Virgin" into your hairbrush every night, but that doesn't make you Madonna.
Here's what will happen when you give strangers your bank account information: They will take your money. Period. End of story. You get nothing, but you lose a lot.
Work at home
Old scam, new format. You should immediately run from anyone who promises lots of money for little work that requires no experience. While there are companies that allow their employees to work from home, they require job skills and interviews, just like regular jobs. Work-at-home scams will ask you to purchase supplies and equipment from them to perform the "job." That's how they make their money. You will lose -- not make -- money.
You won! And you didn't even enter!
How can you take anything seriously that uses so many exclamation marks?!!!!! Guess what!!!!! You didn't win anything!!!! These people will try to finagle money out of you by saying you need to pay taxes or fees to collect your prize!!!!! Or they will give you a free trip that requires you to buy very expensive airline tickets through their agency!!!! Don't be a sucker!!!!!
You'll receive $5,000 for sending $25
Here's how it works. Send $5 to the five people on the list or to the address that will send you the "reports." In return for your money you'll get -- nothing -- because this is a scam. Well, maybe you'll get something -- a conviction for mail fraud because this is illegal.
Tricking the traffic court
The Web-watching site Truthorfiction.com reports that a rumor is currently circling e-mails accounts claiming that there's a sneaky way to keep a traffic ticket off your driving record: pay a little more than the amount on the ticket. The court will send you a refund check. If you don't cash the check, the computer won't mark your case as closed and the ticket will never show up on your record. This idea is great in theory, lousy in reality. It doesn't work. Here's a way to keep tickets off your record that does work: slow down.
Tax or long-distance charges on e-mail
You got a forwarded e-mail from your friend that says you will soon be charged for your long-distance e-mails, just like you are charged for long-distance phone calls. Oh, really? And what will the phone company use to compute your bill -- its e-mail tracker? Calm down. No one is going to charge you long distance for your e-mails. This is an e-mail myth.
Clinton got rid of the IRS -- no more taxes
That sneaky Bill Clinton -- did you know that when he wasn't gallivanting about with interns he was busy getting Congress to pass secret legislation that would forgive all debts and abolish the Internal Revenue Service? Alan Greenspan was going to announce it on Sept. 11, 2001 but didn't because of the terrorist attacks. Oh, wishful thinking -- or maybe not. A move like that is the equivalent of tossing what's left of our economy into a vast financial toilet and flushing with the combined might of the National Football League. In the plausible department, this rumor, reported by Truthorfiction.com, is right up there with alien cattle mutilations and Cameron Diaz spending a Friday night alone at home, eating Ben & Jerry's because she couldn't get a date -- completely ridiculous.
