African millionaires wanting to use my bank account

Factual Questions
1

What should I do? I put my profile on match.com and oneandonly.com. Both times, the only responses I have had are from “African millionaires” wanting to do business with me or marry me so they can share their money. The first one I strung along, asking personal questions about him etc. I also pointed out that I could open a bank account for him and then he could desposit the money. He lost interest eventually but it was fun for a while. I know these scams have been going for a while but using these internet dating services seems a bit off. Telling the cite moderators didn’t do much either. Any ideas? Do you think they are really in Africa?
The following is the most recent one (sorry if the formatting is incorrect, I’m not all that computer literate)
EMMANUEL DAVID
TELL:[deleted]
E-MAIL: [deleted]
Abidjan-Cote [deleted]

         UGENT BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into Personal and business relationship with you. I got your contact through www.match.com.
I prayed over it and selected your name among other names due to its esteeming nature. I must not hesitate to confide in you for this simple and sincere business . I am Evangelise Emmanuel David Nelson the son of Mr David Nelson from KWATANATAL ZULU in Republic of South Africa (SA) l am 28 years of age. My Father owns a limited liability Cocoa and Gold company in JOHANESBURG South Africa before his untimely death. After his business trip to Abidjan-Cote d’Ivoire, to negotiate on a Cocoa and Gold business he wanted to invest in Abidjan-cote d’lvoire .A week after he came back from Abidjan. He had a fatal motor accident with my Sister which my Sister died instantly but my Father died after five days in a private hospital on that faithful afternoon. I didn’t know that my Father was going to leave me after l had lost my Sister. But before he gave up the ghost, it was as if he knew he was going to die. He my Father, MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE. He disclosed to me and my Mother that he deposited sum of ($10,300,00)(ten million three hundred thousand united state dollars)into one of the Bank here called (BICICI BANK) That the money was meant for his Cocoa and Gold Company he wanted to establish in Abidjan. He handed me the document covering the lodgement and instructed me and my Mother to seek for a reliable and trust worthy business partner for life time investment abroad. Now l have succeeded in locating the Bank here in Abidjan –cote d’lvoire and I have concluded with the Bank the modalities of transferring the fund to an account abroad. Now I am soliciting for your assistance to help me provide an account facility where l can transfer the money into. So that we can invest it in any lucrative business in your country because this is our only hope in our life. I and my Mother have promise to gratify you with 15% of the total sum for your kind assistance. Awaiting anxiously to hear from you so that we can discuss the modalities of this transaction. Please kindly contact me through the above telephone or email address immediately for more discussion.
Thanks for your kind attention. May the almighty God be with you in Jesus name
Amen.
Sincerely yours,
Emmanuel Nelson.

N/B Please kindly send me reply through your private email address.

2

Not only are these scams, they are dangerous scams.

This is a variation on the Nigerian Advance Fee Scam.

Read about it here:

http://www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html

3

Just ignore it and stay far far away. Just like regular spam, really. Read the link scotth provided.

4

Ignore! A popular one in Britain is bussinesses getting letters and emails from “government officials” in Nigeria who need a bank account to hold some dodgy money in. they ask you for a loan of some money to help set up the transaction and you never hear from them again.

5

I just got this in my email. I can’t help the guy due to my being very busy playing with my pizzle but maybe someone else can lend him a hand.

FROM THE DESK OF: ABEL UDEME.
LAGOS - NIGERIA.

REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP. -
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

It is with my profound dignity that I write you this very important and highly confidential letter. First, I must solicit your strictest confidentiality in this transaction. This is by virtue of its nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL and “TOP SECRET”. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried,considering the fact that we have not met each other before,but I am assuring you that all will be well at the end of the day. We have decided to contact you by email due to the urgency of this transaction,as we have been reliably informed that it will take at least a minimum of two to three weeks for a normal post to reach you, so we decided it is best using the e-mail,which is quicker and also to enable us meet up with the first payment quarter for the year 2002 which has already begun.

However, let me start by introducing myself properly to you. I am Engr.Abel Udeme, a Director General in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and I presently head a seven man tenders board in charge of Contract Awards and Payment Approvals. I came to know of you in my search for a reliable and reputable person to handle a very confidential business transaction which involves the transfer of a huge sum of money to a foreign account requiring maximum CONFIDENCE. I and my colleagues are Top Officials of the Federal Government Contract Review and Award Panel. Our duties include Evaluation, Vetting, Approval for payment of Contract jobs done for the N.N.P.C e.t.c. In order to commence this business we solicit for your assistance to enable us transfer into your Account the said funds.

The source of this funds is as follows: In the first quarter of 2001 this committee was mandated to review and award contracts to the tune of US$400 million US dollars to a group of five firms for the supply , construction and installation of Oil Pipe lines in Warri and Port Harcourt. During this process my colleagues and I decided and agreed among ourselves to deliberately over-inflate the total contract sum from US$400 million to US$428 million United States dollars with the main intention of sharing the remaining sum of US$28 miilion amongst ourselves.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has since last year approved the sum of US$428 million for us as the contract sum, and the sum of US$400 million has also been paid to the foreign companies concerned as contract entitlements for the various contracts done, but since the companies are entiltled to US$400 million dollars only, we are now left with US$28 million dollars balance in the account which we intend to disburse amongst ourselves, but by virtue of our positions as civil servants and members of this panel, we cannot do this by ourselves, as we are prohibited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (Civil Service Laws) from opening and/or operating foreign accounts in our names while still in Government service, making it impossible for us to acquire the money in our names right now. I have therefore, been delegated as a matter of trust and urgency by my colleagues in the panel to look for an overseas partner into whose account we would transfer the sum of US$28 million. Hence! we are writing you this letter.

My Colleagues and I have agreed that if you or your company can act as the beneficiary of this funds on our behalf, you or your Company will retain 20% of the total amount (US$28 million), while 60% will be for us (OFFICIALS) and the remaining 20% will be used in offsetting all debts/expenses and Taxes incurred both local and foreign in the cause of this transfer. Needless to say, the trust reposed on you at this juncture is enormous. In return we demand your complete honesty and trust. You must however NOTE that this transaction will be strictly based on the following terms and conditions as we have stated below;

a) Our conviction of your transparent honesty and diligence

b) That you would treat this transaction with utmost secrecy and confidentiality

c) That you will not ask for more share or try to sit on the funds once it is under your custody, or any form of blackmail.

c) That upon receipt of the funds you will release the funds as instructed by us after you have removed your share of 20% from the total amount.

Please, note that this transaction is 100% legal and risk free and we hope to conclude this transaction seven bank working days from the date of receipt of the necessary requirements from you . We are looking forward to doing business with you and solicit your Total Confidentiality in this transaction. There is no cause for alarm. I give you my word that you are completely safe in doing business with us. Transactions like this have been successfully carried out in the past by most Government executives.

Here in my country there is great economic and political disarray and thus looting and corruption is rampant and the order of the day, thus explaining why you might have heard stories of how money is been taken out of Nigeria, this is because everyone is making desperate attempts to secure his or her future, so that when we retire from active service we donot languish in poverty. I will explain more to you when I have heard from you.

Please acknowledge the receipt of this letter using the above e-mail address. I will bring you into the complete picture of this pending business transaction when I have heard from you and also receive your confidential telephone and fax numbers to enable me fax to you all necessary information you need to know about our pending business transaction. I will also send to you my private telephone and fax numbers where you can always reach me.

Your urgent response will be highly appreciated to enable us transfer the funds under this first quarter of the year 2002.

Thank you and God Bless.

Yours faithfully,

Abel Udeme
N.B. PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION
IS 100% LEGAL AND COMPLETELY FREE FROM DRUG MONEY OR MONEY LAUNDERING.

N.B. PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION
IS 100% LEGAL AND COMPLETELY FREE FROM DRUG MONEY OR MONEY
LAUNDERING.

6

I got one a week ago from a different person but the same company. Ignore it it’s a scam. Well known about now in UK. Perhaps they’re venturing to America now looking for more gullible bastards.

7

Here is the email I got:

8

MelCthefirst

I’ve edited out the phone number, the email addresse, and the Abidjan-Cote (whatever that is) from your post. We don’t need to publish that information.

scotth’s link gives where you can report it if you choose.

As others have pointed out this is a scam. I wouldn’t respond to them at all.

DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator

9

>> they’re venturing to America now looking for more gullible bastards.

Hmmm… you talking to me? :wink:

10

In addition to scotth’s helpful link, allow me to provide this link to an advisory from the United States Secret Service:

PUBLIC AWARENESS ADVISORY REGARDING “4-1-9” OR “ADVANCE FEE FRAUD” SCHEMES

11

And thanks for the links.
I know it’s a scam, I translated one sent to a colleague about three years ago when I lived in Japan. What can a web site moderator do about this sort of thing? If you post something on a public web site, do you just have to put up with it?
Will playing along for a while get me in any trouble? I have no intentions of going to Nigeria or giving them my bank account number.

12

DANGEROUS even if you just play along. These people have killed folks who don’t pay, and can get quite a bit on you even if you just play along. DO NOT TOY WITH THEM. They killed one guy in a hotel room with a silenced pistol.

13

Yeah, don’t mess with them! I sent them a nasty email calling them scammers and telling them that I had erported them to the CIA.

The next morning I woke up in a bathtub full of ice water and both my kidneys were gone! :eek:

14

I was called to help a user print a death certificate from Nigeria. I mentioned the scam and was ignored. Do they send you JPGs as “proof” to gain your trust?

15

Dr. Matrix:

No big mystery there. Abidjan is the capital city of the country Cote D’Ivoire, (French for Ivory Coast, which might sound more familiar to you) in Africa.

16

I can’t count how many of these letter I rec’d. If they have an address like yahoo.com, I forward it to the abuse folks & identify it as spam & scam. I used to forward them to Secret Service, but all that is so time consuming. I’d rather use my time here. :slight_smile:

17

This American has been familiar with this scam for a while.

It can be dangerous, especially if some peculiar combination of niavite and greed lead one to travel to Nigeria:

From http://www.quatloos.com/scams/nigerian.htm
“The US Secret Service reports that in June of 1995 an American who was pursuing one of these scams was found murdered in Lagos and that numerous other persons have been reported missing.”

Notwithstanding the relative security of email, I would not toy with these guys.

18

About five years ago, I had to travel to Nigeria on business for a ten-day stay. There was some concern, anyway, and the need to get shots and visas and so forth.

Then, three days before I was to leave, I got one of those scam letters about holding money from Nigeria blah blah. It wasn’t even email, it was a poorly typed and poorly photocopied letter. I knew it was a scam, of course, but my worry was that they had somehow “targeted” me, knowing I was heading to Lagos.

Gave me a few disquieting hours. We figured it was just coincidence, and so it appears to have been.

19

The GM at a hotel I worked at in Cleveland came into my office one day, waving a letter saying “We can make a few bucks on this, we’d make budget this month.”

Oy! I threw the letter in the garbage and laughed hysterically after he left my office.

20

What surprises me is how long this scam has been operating… according to the always entertaining Snopes, it has been active since at least the early 1990’s.