The lamest email scam to date:

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

This was received in my inbox today:

Greetings to you,

SCAMMED VICTIM/ $500,000 BENEFICIARIES.
REF/PAYMENTS CODE: ECB/06654 $500,000 USD.

On behalf of the Obama’s Foundation and UNITED NATIONS, we wish to notify
you as a beneficiary of $500,000 USD in compensation of scam
victims.This is to bring to your notice that we are delegated from the
Obama’s Foundation and UNITED NATIONS in Central Bank to pay 150 victims
of scam $500,000 USD (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) each. You are listed
and approved for this payment as one of the scammed victims to be paid
this amount.
According to the number of applicants at hand, 114 Beneficiaries has
been paid, over a half of the victims are from the United States, we
still have a pending of 36 compensations left to be paid. Your
particulars was mentioned by one of the Syndicates who was arrested as
one of their victims of the operations, you are hereby warned not to
communicate or duplicate this message to him for any reason what so
ever as the U.S. secret service is already on trace of the other
criminals. So keep it secret till they are all apprehended. Other
victims who have not been contacted can submit their application as
well for scrutiny and possible consideration
Do contact HSBC INTERNATIONAL BANK, United Kingdom Branch for
verification and release of your $500,000 USD that we have deposited
with the HSBC BANK,UK.
The account log on will be presented to you by the bank in order to
access the funds before releasing into your nominated bank account.
You will transfer the funds into your nominated account on-line as the
HSBC BANK,UK will provide the necessary information to you. Please if you
are willing to accept the funds, do contact the Managing Director of the
HSBC BANK,UK with the following details:
You are to fill the appropriate form and submit to the bank.
[1] Full Names:________________
[2] Contact address______________________________
[3] Direct Telephone No: ___________________
|4| Occupation : ____________________________

Managing Director of the HSBC BANK,UK
Name: Mrs. Joan Cole
Private Email:mrsjoancole105@yahoo.com.hk
Telephone:+447766822807

Yours Faithfully,
Dr.Caravan Marvis
Coordinator.
OBAMA’S FOUNDATION AND UNITED NATIONS© 2009

It’s so laughable I can’t even Pit it.

#2

I wish my name were as cool as ‘Caravan Marvis’.

#3

You know it is a bad time in the banking industry when a financial institution like the HSBC Group can no longer afford thier own e-mail system and must rely on a free Yahoo account.

#4

I wonder if Caravan has a younger sibling named “Tent”. Yep, lousy scam.

“your particulars WAS mentioned …” indeed.

#5

Back off Spartydog! That’s my money, I’ve already filled out the form and everything. You got that e-mail by mistake.

#6

“Marvis Caravan” would be cooler still.

#7

Ah, but that is her PRIVATE email. That way you know that it will get right to her and be “for her consideration only”

#8

You know those quizzes that tell you what your stripper/porn/rap name are? Someone should make a quiz telling you what your Niagran e-mail scam name is.

#9

But sadly, there are lonely, aged people out there who will fall for it all over again.

I really think that people who scam these people should be sent to prison for one day for every dollar they scammed.

#10

Oh YES! :smiley:

#11

But you were supposed to keep this secret! The secret service is on trace!!!

#12

I know what you meant. But the term “Niagran scam” brings to mind the idea of an advance-fee fraud scam around going over waterfalls in barrels. :slight_smile:

#13

Or a scam somehow having to do with quickie marriages or honeymoons.

#14

My thoughts were that “Niagran” was a portmaneau word denoting scams involving drugs for erectile dysfunction being sold by pharmacies in a West African country.

#15

I am sort-of impressed with the thought process behind this, though. Who’s going to answer it? Why, people who have already fallen for internet scams at least once. They’re sort-of going for a repeat business model for internet scams.

#16

I’d love to know the background to these scams in Nigeria. I’m picturing a slightly rundown internet cafe on a dusty city street, with mismatched plastic chairs and a selection of old and yellowed 486s sharing a 56k modem. At each computer, an earnest young man with dollar signs in his eyes chews on a pencil thoughtfully as he composes his latest masterpiece, guaranteed to have bank account details and cash deposits rolling in within days…
I’m pretty sure it isn’t like that, of course. But what is the story? Centralised Mr Big paying desperate locals a pittance to send out emails and speak to victims on the phone? Local entrepreneurs selling “Scam-a-Yankee” kits, including template emails and details of how to sign up for a Yahoo account? Is it a “cottage industry” or something more sinister?

#17

Actually, I saw a show (Dateline/48 hrs/etc.) a few years back and it was exactly that. Young men sitting around in a run-down internet cafe on a dusty city street.

#18

Ask at 419eater and they’ll tell you all you wanted to know and more how these scams are set up.

I don’t remember all of it, but usually there’s this big boss called the oga or chairman. Then there’s all the peons sitting around in Internet cafes. The ones who can actually write a little are the ones who answer the victims. The others just send out the initial emails.

#19

If you want to see the kind of shops scammers set up at look at this site

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

Its a different type of scam, but just remove a bit of the UKness in exchange for something Nigerian.

#20

“According to the number of applicants at hand, 114 Beneficiaries has
been paid…”

Yet another scammer flagged by subject-verb disagreement…

What is the Nigerian education system coming to?