Tell them your lawyer’s name is Haywood Jablowme.
Here’s a guy who supposedly went through the entire process. No idea whether it’s true or not, though.
OK. Finally got another one of these – from MR. MOHAMMED SANI ABACHA. Slight twist. A different requirement:
Right! Like I’m going to do that travel for them! The sender gives these email addresses: mohammedabacha@quickhosts.com OR m_abacha@thisiscyberia.com
The email address on the header is different: mohammed_abacha0@lycos.com
I’m amazed these emails are still making the rounds. :rolleyes:
http://www.saps.org.za/crimeprev/nig.htm
Full details of the 419 scam.
http://macintyre.com/pages/static/press_clippings_fraud.htm
Lots of information from a TV journalist who has investigated this fraud himself.
damn good.
Sure enough, she responded!
Dear … …,
Thanks for your e-mail.But I cannot understand you
very well at all.The most important things in this
transaction is this:I want to know your willingness in
assisting me because you have not answered me the
recommended informations needed from you ; even as
well the name of the lawyer you are talking about.
Do you think that your attorney can fly down from
your country and come to no mans country and work >how
do you think that is possible.That if you are willing
to assist me that you should send down the
informations needed from you to enable my lawyer
forward an application to the reserve bank .
And bear it in mind that I don’t have any bank
account because I am a refugee here.I am not working
.The money is still deposited in the security
company.My full name is Miss Jabulani Chuganzani.Home
address:no. 9 yeo street Yeoville Johannesburg South
Africa.My telephone number :27-73-2620-657 .
You should confirm if you are willing to help me or
not.Does it mean that even your attorney doesn’t have
name self? or you are not capable to do this
transaction?.Thanks.
Best regards,
Jabul. Chuganzani(Miss)
I haven’t responded yet to this email.
I’m going to tell her that I’m definitely interested in helping. But beyond that, I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I tell her that I spoke with MY lawyer and we believe that HER lawyer might be trying to skim money from her. Should I try to bounce her around with nonsensical questions?
Any more ideas?
Hmmmm…
I just re-read my OP, and just now realized that she never DID tell me what MY reward for all of this should be!
Yeesh… the NERVE of some scammers!
photocopy your butt, scan it, send it to her and tell her that is where she can put her deposit.
BTW, they could possibly use your name further on as part of another scam.
I hate these things. I usually take the response addresses and sign them up for a bunch of mailing lists. Kind of hard for them to find thier pigeon while sorting through a boatload of junk mail.
**Grizz[/B} – check out Option 2 in my post earlier (that’s where the S.A. lawyer is stealing)
another Option –
** Option 4. Falling in Love Proposal** tell her you think you’re falling in love with her, and if she has a cute smile, you’d consider marrying her (which would give her US citizenship) and you could both retrieve the funds then, and she’d no longer be a refugee.
Profess your true love and concern for this poor refugee, and offer her a grander out than mere money…!!!
To:
Miss Jabulani Chuganzani
no. 9 yeo street Yeoville
Johannesburg South
Africa
telephone number :27-73-2620-657
As a gesture of good faith, I have paid three men from the National Front $1000 to find you and meet with you to learn more about the terms. I have also offered them an additional $2000 if they meet you and get the additional information you have and return it to me.
However, they are having trouble finding the street address you provided. Could you be more specific about your exact location.
A Mr. Tony Soprano will be trying to contact you in person within the next day or two.
Looking forward to a continued business realtionship.
PS
I hope you are sincere, as the three men are quite eager to earn the additional $2000 and they will be unhappy if they are unable to reach you to provide the information to me.
Just for the record, the reason you see this scam or its multitude of variations so frequently, is because sometimes, it works (big time!):
Source: http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Business/nigerian.htm
The whole article is worth a read.
Oh…My…God.
Now, there’s a SECOND Nigerian Scam letter in my email… and I haven’t finished toying around with the FIRST one yet.
Keeping my lies straight is going to be tough!
I realize this can be tricky business but, I’m curious; what would happen if you were to set up an actual bank account in a bank completely seperate from any bank you do business with. Set up the account, then take cash out leaving only about $5.00. Then, go ahead and give the bank account number, hell, even your name. See what happens. If she takes the 5 bucks then the FBI/CIA could take action. If, in fact, 15.5 mil winds up in the account, you’re sitting pretty.
Just curious.
There is no 15.5 mil, say it with me.
It’s exactly the combination of earnest hope and huge reward that these scammers play on; sure you (probably)have nothing but $5 to lose in the process, but I wouldn’t give them your real name or address; too risky.
There is no 15.5 mil.
After going back and forth for a few emails, I would try and get some up front cash as well.
For example:
Dear Princess Scamsalot,
I don’t know what you have heard about the American banking system, but not everybody can just deposit $15.5 million into a regular bank account. For sums that large, a special account needs to be set up. The cost for setting up the “high end” account is $2500. I don’t have that kind of money available to me, but you do have it available. If you will overnight a cashiers cheque for $2500, I will take time off from my job and ensure that the account is set up properly. If I get the cheque by Monday, I will email you all the account details by Wednesday.
This will probably call their bluff. If you don’t have the $2500 they will probably lose interest in you.
Here’s a web site you might check out:
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
Gives complete instructions on what you’re supposed to do when you get a Nigerian scam letter. To quote:
"1. If you are a United States Citizen or Resident and have suffered No Financial Loss write “No Financial Loss - For Your Database Operation 4-1-9” on the documents you received and fax them to the US Secret Service Task Force handling scam matters at (as of 08/2002, the fax # is (202) 406-5031. See the Secret Service web sites below for the most current info.) Actual hardcopy of the 419er document(s) is required to add your 419ers information to the Task Force Database for legal reasons, merely telling Task Force about it will NOT suffice.
You may also email the 419er documents, especially any Banking Data they may have given you, marked No Loss, to Task Force Main in DC; that is also acceptable. "
There’s also particular information for other countries. It’s worth doing, because some scammers have been caught this way.
The instructions are slightly different for folks who have suffered financial losses. And there are many. Hard to believe, but this scam appears to actually be the third to fifth largest industy in Nigeria, netting over $250 million per year. The U.S. Secret Service gets reports of about 100 victims per day, and receives 300-500 pieces of scam literature forwarded to them each day. Official estimates are at least 3,000 such letters are mailed or faxed each week; and that’s only the hard copies, doesn’t count the emails. This scam is widely known as the “419” scam, named so after the provision of the Nigerian penal code that relates to fraud.
Part of the reason for this scam’s astonishing success (besides human gullibility and greed, of course) is that complicity appears to go up to high branches of Nigerian government. Victims have been enticed by meetings held in government building offices (Central Bank of Nigeria!) and other trappings of officialdom.
People have been beaten, kidnapped, and murdered by the scamsters. According to the State Department, by 1996 over 15 people had been murdered after they travelled to Nigeria to participate in this “opportunity.” Many more have been beaten or subject to threats and extortion. Some of the cited web pages give particulars on this.
A couple more web sites:
U.S. State Dept. report:
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/africa/naffpub.pdf
U.S. Secret Service
http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml
(about halfway down the page):
http://www.treas.gov/usss/financial_crimes.shtml
http://www.justiceonline.org/consum/nigerian.html
http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2609884,00.html
There are many more informative web sites on this scam, including blow-by-blow descriptions on what happens when taken to conclusion. Just do a search on “Nigerian scam” on your search engine of choice.
These are some pretty evil people. Personally, I would not choose to have extended dealings with one of them. But that’s just me.
A few months ago I spoke with an acquaintance who is allegedly involved in a US government operation to catch some of these ‘Nigerians’. I say ‘allegedly’ because I don’t know the person well enough to know whether or not he is telling the truth. He basically did the same thing you are doing - followed up on the contact and began ‘negotiations’, then contacted some government agency - I think the FBI, but that is not who he is working with, they passed him on to some other agency and for the life of me I can’t remember which one. Apparently they took him up on his offer to help because he is a retired Navy something-or-other and so trustworthy. (You can tell I paid a lot attention to all of this, can’t you?)
If he was truthful, this is a pretty complicated deal - all kinds of fake corporations and fake foreign bank accounts with fake balances, etc., supposedly established to help ‘launder’ the supposed funds - all involving the participation of various foreign governments. (He claimed a fake account in some British bank, for example.) I’m afraid I didn’t take him seriously, as I don’t know him well and thought it was ridiculous that anyone would fall for this scam to start with, much less that the US government would be interested.
If he was telling the truth, though, apparently this is much more than a few scam artists screwing a few people out of a few thousand dollars; there is something bigger going on behind the scenes, maybe to do with terrorist networks and funds.
My acquaintance could have been full of baloney, too - it sounds a little too ‘James Bondian’ for me. shrug Dangerous shit to be playing with, if it’s real.
Aha! Thanks, gaeila, that’s it - it’s Secret Service and Treasury agents my acquaintance said he was working with. Maybe he’s on the level after all; I wasn’t sure if I should believe him or not. I’m never sure when people tell me stuff like this, as I would never tell anybody if I were involved - but for some reason I inspire people to tell me things they won’t tell their best friend - kind of a curse, if you think about it. 
…on the other hand if these are american con-artists that youare dealing with then the chances of them tracking you down are greatly improved.
I mean I live in South Africa I’d never heard of this 'til this thread came along.
It is much more likey that these are american con artists who are hoping that you will let something slip.
Also: the crisis in Zim is real but ol’ Bob is being careful to only kill white farmers, I mean thats the point right? While it is possible that a wealthy black farmer might have been taken out by Bob if he was an opposition member there is no way they could repossess the farm. Not even Zim law is that crooked. If the scam artists were from anywhere in southern africa they would know that. We are talking about an intelligent, organised, international ring of tricksters here yeah?
Also: can anybody give me a break down on that phone number? The Jo’Burg area code is 011 so even tho that may be a ZA number (I really dont know my international area codes that well) it aint in Joeys.
My point is: disconnect dude. For all you know these mails have been sent to you from somebody at the office who feels like screwing you. It might not be as far away you hope. Maybe THAT’S the scam.
…and just for the record that bit about her not being able to access the account because she is a refugee is total crap.
“No I am sorry maam we cant let you open your account because you were forced to flee your homeland.” Give me a break! ZA has the most human-rights conscious constitution on the planet! Just so’s you dont think we all still live in mud huts down here 
cheers