Classic email scam!

[BlackVelvetElvis]

Check out what I just recieved:

May I use this medium opportunity to introduce myself

to you? I am a Sierra Leone National. and my name is

Andrew . The son of Sabartha johnson my father have a

Diamond and mining Corporation in Sierra Leone before

the war finally broke out. Things have never been the

same and presently, I am seeking refugee in Ghana. I

pray that my decision to contact you will be

given a genuine approval considering the facts that we

have not known each other before.

Before my father was killed he deposited some huge

amount of money in Ghana with a security company in

save box, which was deposited as described to be

containing precious items and personal effects I have

Worked out arrangements to get this box containing the

fund to be taken out of Africa. Now I need your

assistance to receive the box in your country as

soon as it arrives and the safe keeping of it. When

the box arrives, you will meet the diplomatic

officials and they will assist you. All the

documents covering the legality of the money will be

send to you from Ghana.

as soon as the box arrives in your country.

As you can understand, presently we are in very tight

situation and hence I

have not been able to pay the demurrage that the box

has accumulated that is the reasons we have not remove

the box from the company. Every day that

the box spend in the company for safe

Keeping, it accumulates demurrage of $20 per day. This

is why I work out

this strategy to take this box out of Africa. There,

you will receive it as our trustee or beneficiary. I

and my brother have worked out %20 of the amount for

you and your family,%10 kept aside for all expenses

and the remaining %70 is what I and my family will

invest and live with in your country.

I know you will be wondering how I got your contact. A

christian brother in Accra gave your contact to me.

Who assured me of your reliability and trustworthy

concerning this business I will be very Grateful if

only you can help me out of this transaction of the

whole thing.Because I want this cash to be moved

overseas for investment under your care without any

further delay. Do call me as soon as

You receive this letter for any further information

that you need to know.

Pls kindly send me your private phone and fax number

to enable me send you

the legal document that is covering the two boxes.

I am counting on you, looking forward to hear from

you.

Thanks and God bless you.



Andrew sabartha johnson

What should I do with this, my friends? Should we have some fun?

[jeff30997]

1. The old Nigerian scam,mmmh?

Check here:

http://www.quatloos.com/scams/nigerian.htm

[Systematic Chaos]

2. I say GO FOR IT, HAVE A BALL!!

I put these people about 20 rungs on the ladder beneath pond scum, and when I get one of their e-mails I create a temporary address at some free e-mail site just so I can spam their mailboxes with endless lines of insults and other stuff, hoping that important messages from people they're trying to successfully con will get lost out the back door when their inboxes overfill.

Check out this site for some INCREDIBLY funny e-mail exchanges. In particular, the one from last year where some guy gets the scammer to send HIM money. I almost couln't breathe I laughed so hard at the end.

http://www.scamorama.com/

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I about died laughing reading that anti-scammer's exchange as well!

That was brilliant!

And yeah, these guys are utter lower-than-pond scum.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

5. I am now in "leading him on" mode.

I'm such a flirt! :eyes:

[pnorman]

6. Thanks for that one!

That Nigerian Scam is based on what was known as the Spanish Prisoner Swindle, which goes back to Elizabethan times. I don't kow whether or not it's a record, but I have over 200 of those that I've saved in the past year and a half. Most of them are "from" Nigeria, but there are a few purportedly from the Phillipines. I also have one that seems to be making an appeal to fears/prejudices about White people being persecuted in an African country.

On edit: Here's the website that traces that scam back to 1588: http://www.rationalreview.com/rationalreviewold/archive/tlknapp/tlknapp020102.html

pnorman

[pnorman]

9. (Replying to my own posting!)

I cited the above URL to date that Spanish Prisoner Swindle back to 1588. I just read it in detail, and see where they likened a Bush State of the Union Adress to that scam. Read this and smile (grimly):

>
>
It's a simple con. Some bad news, a silver lining ... all it requires is a little time and just a teeny, tiny bit of sacrifice on your part to rake in a big windfall. I'd be tempted to write the successes of "Spanish Prisoner" con men off to extreme greed or naivete on the part of their victims if I hadn't watched the President of the United States try -- with some apparent success -- to pull the same scam on 270 million Americans just the other night.

In its "State of the Union" form, the "Spanish Prisoner" goes like this:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States of America."

"Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens ..."

"As we gather tonight, our Nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers."

"Yet the state of our Union has never been stronger."

And then it's time for the close. You see, Mr. Bush has an inside connection to some really good stuff. What kind of stuff? Well, "freedom." And "peace and prosperity." A lot of it. You see, this old guy -- name of Tom Jefferson -- left it lying in a vault in the White House, where it's been unused and accruing interest for nigh on 200 years now.

There's just one problem. Mr. Bush can't get it out of the vault without your help ... and it only requires a little time and just a teeny, tiny bit of sacrifice on your part to rake in a big windfall.

Sound familiar? It ought to. Let's take a look at what kind of deposit will be required before Mr. Bush can get that stuff out of the vault, hide it in a bag of pretzels and hand it off to us as he feigns another choking incident during his next press conference.

"America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror ... we will be partners in rebuilding that country..."

After more than a decade of supporting Osama bin Laden in his efforts to kick the Soviets out of Afghanistan; after several years of supporting the Taliban with millions of dollars in "counter-narcotics" aid; and after three months of carpet-bombing the country under the pretense that by doing so we are somehow "punishing the terrorists" (even though not a single one of those thought to have carried out the September 11th hijackings has been identified as an Afghan national), at the cost of at least 4,000 innocent dead ...

We are now expected, as part of the deposit toward redeeming our Spanish Prisoner, to rebuild the damn place.

"Thanks to the work of our law enforcement officials and coalition partners, hundreds of terrorists have been arrested ..."

The second installment on our deposit is the acceptance, at face value, of the claim that the hundreds of detainees (actually, by many accounts, more than a thousand) held without charges, without counsel, incommunicado and unidentified are, not having been tried -- and to be tried by unaccountable and supremely powerful military tribunals, if ever -- to be presumed guilty of whatever crimes Mr. Bush might care to lay at their feet.

"While the most visible military action is in Afghanistan, America is acting elsewhere. We now have troops in the Philippines ... working with the Bosnian government ... patrolling the coast of Africa ..."
>
>

pnorman

[unteagles]

4. old, old scam...

from snopes:

"The Nigerian Scam has been emptying the pockets of victims for decades — first through letters, then with faxes, and now via e-mail. In its earliest incarnation — which dates to the 1920s — it was known as "The Spanish Prisoner" con."

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm

[Capn Sunshine]

7. you HAVE to check this out!!

The Darth Vader one is unbelievable. :lol:

http://www.scamorama.com/savimbi_8d.html
http://www.scamorama.com/darth-danga.html

[RebelOne]

8. I get at least 3 of those per day.

Go to www.419eater.com and see what these people do to those scammers.