# The lamest email scam to date: **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079 "2009-11-18T21:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/1 "2009-11-18T21:49:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/2 "2009-11-18T22:25:29Z")
I wish my name were as cool as ‘Caravan Marvis’. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/3 "2009-11-18T22:29:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/4 "2009-11-18T23:04:13Z")
I wonder if Caravan has a younger sibling named “Tent”. Yep, lousy scam. “your particulars WAS mentioned …” indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/5 "2009-11-19T23:51:10Z")
Back off Spartydog! That’s my money, I’ve already filled out the form and everything. You got that e-mail by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/6 "2009-11-20T01:53:11Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > I wish my name were as cool as ‘Caravan Marvis’. “Marvis Caravan” would be cooler still. ---
**Author:** ![Odaran09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Odaran09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odaran09)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/7 "2009-11-20T01:56:26Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > 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. Ah, but that is her PRIVATE email. That way you know that it will get right to her and be “for her consideration only” ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/8 "2009-11-20T06:58:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I wish my name were as cool as ‘Caravan Marvis’. 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. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/9 "2009-11-20T07:39:57Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > It’s so laughable I can’t even Pit it. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/10 "2009-11-20T16:20:24Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > 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. Oh YES! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/11 "2009-11-20T16:29:48Z")
But you were supposed to keep this secret! The secret service is on trace!!! ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/12 "2009-11-20T16:40:15Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > 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. 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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/13 "2009-11-20T16:56:53Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > 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. 🙂 Or a scam somehow having to do with quickie marriages or honeymoons. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/14 "2009-11-20T17:14:02Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > 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. 🙂 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. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/15 "2009-11-20T18:15:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/16 "2009-11-20T18:26:58Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/17 "2009-11-22T16:22:00Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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? 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. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/18 "2009-11-22T16:46:46Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/19 "2009-11-23T18:57:01Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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? If you want to see the kind of shops scammers set up at look at this site > **[Prank the Monkey: The ZUG Book of Pranks - Kindle edition by Hargrave, Sir John,...](https://www.amazon.com/Prank-Monkey-ZUG-Book-Pranks-ebook/dp/B00394F32O)** > > Prank the Monkey: The ZUG Book of Pranks - Kindle edition by Hargrave, Sir John, Al Natanagara, Al Natanagara. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while... Its a different type of scam, but just remove a bit of the UKness in exchange for something Nigerian. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079/20 "2009-11-24T00:48:32Z")
“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? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-email-scam-to-date/518079.md?page=2)