Get Rich Quick Scams
All the latest Scams Revealed!
|
Want to learn about legitimate ways to make extra
money? Get the facts in the free guide to
|
|
Easy Money Scam Alert: Nigerian Letter Scams Explained
By Shelley Lockwood
This scam is also known as 419 fraud, the Nigerian connection, the advanced fee fraud and 419. It's been around since the 1980's and is now flourishing in cyber space.
The letters are heart wrenching, they bring tears to your eyes, they are SCAMS! While the sender appears to be reaching out for our help, they are in fact counting on our greed to suck us in. Do not respond to them! Delete them!
Police departments are warning local businesses, and advising strongly against responding in any way. Special task forces exist to fight this international crime.
The way the scam works is, the victim is lured in to responding. Once the correspondence begins, suddenly small complications arise. Perhaps an unexpected tax needs to be paid, an advance fee is required or maybe a bribe of a government official is necessary. Of course their cash is tied up so guess where the money comes from to cover this? You guessed it, the victim.
The amounts they ask for appear small compared to the financial gains at stake. Before the victim knows it, they have been bilked of their life savings.
Many victims are too embarrassed to even report that they have been scammed. The estimates for loss by victims is in the billions.
The best thing we can do, is spread awareness. Please help by informing your friends and family about this scam.
There is a site dedicated strictly to this scam, however I will not include a link as I do not necessarily support their privacy policy. If you are a victim of this scam, or would like to submit letters that you have received to an active law enforcement task force you will find instructions at this site. It is called the 419 coalition web site (easily located through a search engine). Please keep in mind that they are using a tracking software when you visit.
Examples spelling errors and all!
Subject: Urgent Business Proposal
FROM THE MAYELE FAMILY
PLOT 2025,APAKPA,COTONOU,
REPUBLIC OF BENIN.
TELEPHONE:229-016299.
Dear Sir. Date:12/03/02
Please do accept this letter as a distress call from a
lost brother-looking out for somebody to love and be
loved that will make this world worth living-in again,
after two major disasters first in the hands of our
supposed leader President Mobutu Sese-Seko who cut
short my father W.T.C attack of Sept.11th 2001 which claimed the life of my most trusted confidant (Mark Giovanni).
Sir, I am Joeseph Mayele the son of late General
Mayele who was brutally assassinated by the President
of my country (THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO)
before his ouster by late Laurent D. Kabilla.I was
privileged to have undertaken several tours with my
late father prominent amongst which was the trip to
Cotonou-Republic of Benin where I was made a
co-signatory to my late father firm. Where he left an instruction that on no account in the event of his death must the fund be released to me without the presence of an Investor, guardian or fund manager
Now, my problem is that on 8th of August, Mark
Giovanni visited me in Africa and I took him to the
security company in Cotonou where I introduced him as
my Guardian and indicated our interest to have these
money transferred to the U.S and certain documents
were signed and he returned to America, before the
cold hands of death snatched him away in the terrorist
attack of 11th Sept.01 where he was busy doing his
lawful duties.
Sir, I know that you can accommodate me and the said
funds since you were three that was recommended to me
but I prayed concerning the three names and even went
on agreement prayer with my fellow brethren and you
were singled out and confirmed as a suitable
candidate, hence I write to solicit your fatherly
love, guidance/assistance in the realization
/investment of these fund with GOD as my guiding
light.
Do be informed that our traumatic experience in the
hands of Mobutu and his cohorts in 1996 and the
attitude of this present regime and my late father
supposed friends towards us will not allow me confide
in any of them. I was on asylum in Cote d Iviore but
had since the visit of Mark Giovanni changed base to
Cotonou, as this will also help me keep an eye on the
said fund. The amount involved is
$18,000,000:00(eighteen million U.S dollars) only,
excluding accumulated interest. I will be most
grateful and owe my loyalty to you if you are humane
enough to assist me in receiving these funds as my
guardian and direct me in useful investment areas, and
also, help me secure a permenant stay in your country
after you or your representative have come down and
confirmed the existence of the aforementioned/sign all
the relevant documents for the transfer of the funds
to your to-be nominated bank account with the security
company/bank along with letter of agreement with a
memorandum of understanding(M.O.U) concerning the
specifies between both of us.
Sir you can reach me on my e-mail: mayelejoe@yahoo.com
for further details/understanding of the messge.
Thanks.
Joeseph.
=========================
-----Original Message-----
From: mrba_n9 ba_n9 [mailto:ba_n9@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 2:17 AM
To: ba_n9@hotmail.com
Subject: (urgent reply needed) FROM TRADE AND INVESTMENTS LIMPOPO
FROM TRADE AND INVESTMENTS
LIMPOPO
HEADOFFICE
130A MARSHALLSTREET
POLOKWANE
0699
Tel:+27-83-349-7969
Dear, We the officials of LIMPOPO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRADE AND INVESTMENTS
beg you to be our foreign representative to easily accept/transfer the sum
of US$27 million into your designated account overseas.
This is a total sum from an over invoiced/overestimated sum from awarded
contracts to foreign firms
since 1995 for developing LIMPOPO PROVINCE and South Africa in general.
Dear, this is very confidential to us since it is only few of us in office
that know about this deal. If you cannot assist us, please do not let any
other person know about it so that our work and position in office would not
be jeopardised.
If you are willing to assist us, kindly contact us on our direct mobile
phone+27-83-3497-969,so that we can give you the detailed information on how
to achieve a smooth transfer.or you send mail
immediately.
An urgent and kind response will be highly appreciated.
Thanks and with best regards,
Mr. Banard Yoveile(senior officer/staff)
_________________________________________________________________
Search & browse smarter, faster - download MSN Search Toolbar today, it's
FREE! http://toolbar.msn.co.za?DI=1054&XAPID=2083
=============================================================
Subject: LETTER FROM A BANK MANAGER
FROM MR.ROBERTS KEITA
BIA TOGO S.A
13 RUE DU COMMERCE
LOME-TOGO
Private Tel: 228 902 -63-24
Private email:robkuk@arabia.com
ATTN: DIRECTOR/CEO
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Roberts Keita a senior Manager at BIA Bank here in Togo. Though we have not related in the past, I am compelled by the important nature of the opportunity at hand to contact you so that we can explore avenues
for cooperation in this mutually rewarding project.
A very wealthy deceased customer of our bank, Mr. Talbot Camara a Sierra Leonean and one time minister for natural resources in that country left some large amount of money in a special domiciliary account with our bank since his death in 1998.
In his will which has just been made available to us by his Lawyer and family, he shared his other wealth located in some other bank accounts judiciously among his family members and local welfare organizations,
But requested specifically that the money in this account with our bank be allocated 100% to a foreign organization or individual trustee who will utilize it strictly for charity. In this Will also, he gave sole authority for the nomination of this foreign trustee to his personal Lawyer - Mr. Donald Lukeman and the Head of the Domiciliary Account Department of my bank, which position I am occupying at the moment. So, the choice of a foreigner for this project is in strict compliance with the WILL of the deceased account holder who believes that the fund will be better utilized by a foreign trustee since there will be no
Interference or manipulation by local authorities.
Due to the exigencies of Togo lese legislation, there became the need to acquire a Letter Of Administration from the Togo lese Probate Registry to give legal impetus to the execution of this Will in Togo. For this reason, the execution of this WILL could not materialize until last month when the court in Togo issued the final Letters Of Administration.
Having secured this Letter Of Administration from the court, the authority for the appointment of an administrator for this fund now lies solely in my hands and that of the Attorney. Both of us (Myself and the Attorney) have met several times over this issue and have agreed mutually among ourselves to transact this inheritance in a way that will be beneficial to us, and the foreign trustee. In fact, we have decided to utilize only 20% of this fund for charity while reserving the rest for ourselves. After deducting the overall cost (both foreign and local) incurred in executing this project, whatever balance left from the outstanding 80% will be shared equally between myself, the Attorney and the foreign partner who will assist us to receive this money as the appointed trustee.
Also, the foreign partner will receive in addition to his share, the 20% earmarked for Charity under the strict agreement that this part must be spent for Charity through him or his organization in compliance with the wish of the late account holder.
My reason for contacting you therefore, is to solicit for your cooperation in this project so that your name or that of your company can be used as the appointed foreign trustee to whose care this money will be transferred.
However, it may require that you shall be physically present here in Lome, Togo with my assistance to complete the necessary procedures.
There is absolutely no risk involved as we have the copy of the Will and Letters of Administration to back the transaction. But you must also understand that a transaction of this nature and magnitude requires absolute secrecy so that no one else hears about it especially, our mutual agreement to utilize and disburse this fund as stated in the paragraph above.
If you accept to offer your cooperation for this project, please reach me urgently through the above Telephone, or email address to enable me give you the full schedule of the transaction. You should also provide me with your private telephone and fax numbers for intimate communication.
Best Regards,
Roberts Keita
From: Mrs Phumzile Ngcuka [mailto:phumzilengcuka@zwallet.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 6:14 PM
To: directory@global-e.biz
Subject: Trade Mission
Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Mail: Private Bag X9111, CAPE TOWN, 8000
Street: Room 739, 120 Plein Street, CAPE TOWN
Dear Sir/madam
URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
I am Mrs Phumzile Mlambo, Minister of Minerals and Energy South Africa.
You can View My Profile at:http://www.gov.za/gol/gcis_profile.jsp?id=1047
I got your address while as the head of a delegation on a trade Mission to your country last year in my search for a reliable individual/company who can handle a strictly confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a reasonable sum of money to
a foreign account
This amount of money is total sum of US$42,000,000.00 (Forty Two Million United States Dollars), already extracted from various contracts awarded by my
Ministry as a result of deliberate over-invoicing based on a mutual understanding reached between me and the contractors that were awarded these contracts.
The money is now floating in the suspense account of Federal Reserve Bank of South Africa awaiting claim by Foreign Partner which status we now want you to assume.
In my last meeting with other officials involved, it was unanimously agreed that 30% of the total sum will be given to you. 60% will be for my colleague, and me.
While 10% will he used to reimburse the expenses that may be incurred in the processing of the transfer.
I assure you the transaction is 100% risk free as we have concluded every arrangement to protect the interest of every one involved. Likewise, all modalities for the successful transfer of this money
have been worked out with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Reserve Bank of South Africa to facilitate the remittance of this money to your designated account.
However. I would want to believe that you are honest enough and will not raise any misgiving attitude in any aspect of the transaction, more importantly, you
will keep this transaction very confidential so as not to tarnish the confidence reposed on these official by the Government of South Africa.
Your immediate response will be highly appreciated. Please treat this information as confidential.
Reply via email to the address: phumzilengcuka@rediffmail.com
Best regards,
Mrs Phumzile Mlambo
The Nasties Article List:
Home assembly scams revealed
The truth about medical billing scams.
Envelope stuffing scams revealed
My own personal story about how I was scammed into buying a franchise.
Avoid online and work from home scams
Beware scam artists posing as drop shippers
Misleading campaign and the $5 solution.
Work at home scam alert Fake suppliers exposed!
A chainletter by any other name is still a chainletter. Chain letter scams revealed
Beware this so called lawyer approved biz op
Easy Money Scam Alert: Nigerian Letter Scams Explained
Avoid online and work from home scams.
Those e-mails you get promoting foreign lotteries are scams
Spam revealed how scams arriving by bulk e-mail hurt everyone.
The do not spam registry scam exposed
Some suggested techniques for dramatically reducing the amount of spam you receive from your website e-mail addresses.
The 12 scams most likely to arrive via spam e-mail
Beware ecards may be delivering more than you bargained for
Find out just some of the ways spammers harvest email addresses
email scam revealed beware ebay second chancers
Beware the cable descrambler spam scam.
Unless you are protected your digital products can easily be downloaded for free.
Beware domain registry scam artists
Our domain name and website were held hostage. Read all about it so you can make sure it doesn't happen to you.
2004 fraud trends FTC report
According to the FTC these were the top 10 consumer complaint categories in 2003
Some interesting numbers about e-consumer complaint trends from April 2001 to June 2002.
Do you know how well you are protected when using your credit card to make online payments?
Credit card scams explained
A brief outline of the consumer fraud complaint trends for 2001, 2002 & 2003
What is online phishing? Learn the warning signs
Beware when posting your resume online.
Spoofing or Phishing scams are on the rise. Read about them and learn how not to be scammed by them.
Article about an AOL e-mail hoax that floated around.
Self defense tips for seniors to avoid investment scams
Learn how to spot internet investment scams versus real investment opportunities
Links to all kinds of articles about scammers being busted
Are you a safe cyber surfer? Read these important pointers and make sure.
Attention to All Scamsters
This section is dedicated to spreading the awareness of computer viruses and how to stop them.
It's not bad enough we have to worry about viruses, we also have to try and figure out which ones are real viruses and which ones are only hoaxes.
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Feature
misleading marketing tactics exposed at last
Have you ever been mouse-trapped?
My SFI experience
A sneaky spamming method revealed.
Free Gifts that are promised after the sale are a thing to watch out for
Here's a dishonest marketing method.
An article explaining internet spam and how to escape it
ebay scam alert beware of fake escrow services
Telephone bill cramming scams explained
Look out for the "local singles" 800 cramming scam
Watch out for this order scam!
Look out for these prepaid subscription or free magazine scams.
Beware this misleading method called domain slamming commonly used by many domain registrars.
How a small rebate check in the mail turned out to be an ISP scam.
Ever entered a sweepstakes draw and ended up with a monthly bill?
Don't be "crammed" by this website trial scam.
MLM
The opinions on MLM ops vary. Here are just a few!
MLM opinions vary, some love it, some hate it, some think it's an outright scam. Check out some of our MLM poll results.
A person's views on MLM
Commentary: The Truth About MLM Programs
Checklist to use before joining an MLM op
How Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Frauds Work
Editorial Reviews: Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors
Discover the dirty little marketing tricks online home business opportunities are using to take your money!
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert
Discover the dirty little marketing tricks online home business opportunities are using to take your money!
Read William's personal struggle promoting Imagine 2020 only to never receive his commissions.
People share their Imagine2020 experiences
Robert L. Fitzpatrick discusses Multi-level marketing
|