Following the evolution of the Nigeria Scam

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but in the past 3 days I’ve gotten 3 versions of the Nigeria Scam.

One isn’t even based in Africa. The email subject was “WANG” and it was from China (or so the guy said. I don’t believe him). It talked about having me (because he knew me from a mutual acquaintance and knew I could be trusted with the money) stand in as the relative of a Chinese man.

Now, I don’t know if the notaries in China are blind or what, but I’m having a hard time believing I could, in my current state, pass for natural-born Chinese;)

Not to mention the fact that … oh, right! It’s fraud!

It gets more exciting, though. Because although I deleted that email, I just got one from “South Africa”, titled “WIDOW”:

"I am writting to seek for your noble and profeesional assistance in investing fund my late husband died and left behind. By introduction,I am
Mrs Iyere Dumba a South Africa and wife of late Chief Edward Dumba.

Chief Edward Dumba my late husband was a well known Cocoa dealer inthe whole west Africa before he died. After his return business trip from Abidjan-Cote d’Ivoire he was attacked by unknown assassine in his house where he was rushed to the hospital and later died after some days. (May his soul rest in peace) Before he died in the hospital he disclosed to me about the sum of Fourty One million five hundred thousand US dollars ($41.5,000.000) he deposited in
a private security /safe deposit company in HOLLAND.

According to my late husband he deposited the money in a trunk box and decleared it as family treasure for security reason, he instructed me to claim the money and invest it overseas with a trustworthy person/company for our future life. This is my reason for contacting you to know if you can render me a good assistance in which the money will be transfer to your bank account for a lucrative investments you will advice in your country or some where you will introduce.

Please I am appealing to you to assist me hence I have it in mind to establish a rewarding relationship with you by giving you 15% of the total sum. I have visited the security company with all the related documents issued to my late husband at the time he deposited the money and confirm it real. Note that immediately the money is been transferred to your account you will then make arrangement for our coming over to meet you for the investment. Please help a widow woman like me as you will never have any thing to regret.

Looking forward to receive your positive response.

Thanks and God bless you

MRS. IYERE DUMBA."

Two days ago I got one actually from “Nigeria”, but the details were sorta skewed from the original Nigeria scam (the money was different, the percent was different, and it’s now evolved to where it says you can put the money in either a US bank or a foreign bank).

Where else has this thing been, so to speak?:slight_smile:

2

I recently received a version of it, purportedly from Dubai. In part it says:

The rest is about him distributing his considerable accumulated wealth to charites, with the usual 10% for you. These scammers are nothing if not creative

3

I’ve seen this or versions of it for several years. I used to get them in the mail before email was so popular. For the fun of it, I used to save the emails, then when I had several, forward them back and forth to each other. I suppose it caused a little initial confusion for them, but I never heard back from anyone. Goes back to the old saying - “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

4

Here ya go, Patrick. In Nigerian scam evolving? I posted two I’d received that were mutations on the hundreds I received that were Oil Ministry related.

One purports to inform me that I’ve won some bad-ass swag in a lottery while the other, one of my favorites, claims to be from an organization in Nigeria called the Board for National Rebird :D, set up to pursue refunds for those who’ve been scammed. It includes the priceless line:

Ten years or so ago, when these arrived by snail mail, you could tell at a glance what they were, because they came in brown envelopes with the flap on a short side. They were all supposedly from some slickster at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and I knew they were getting my name from industry directories; they’d often be addressed:

President Ringo
Geophysical Company
Houston, Texas, USA

That’s the only mail I ever received addressed to President Ringo.

5

Ya know, in the begining I was kinda glad no one sent me these things. Now I feel as though I’m out of the loop, sitting at the dorky kids’ table, eating a soggy PB&J. I gaze wistfully toward the cool kids who’re discussing their ultra-cool Nigerian Scam 2000’s and sigh.

Le sigh

6

I could foward one to ya. :smiley:

7

I posted a link to an article a few days ago on the same topic. It seems some of the Nigerians are setting up fake bank websites to sucker more people in.