Is This What They Meant By Suspicious Behaviour?
Received in my e-mail this afternoon:
Compliments of the day to you.
I wish to extend this mutual business proposal to you with the hope that you will accept. I am the principal auditor of Department of Petroleum Resources. In the course of discharging my duty last year, I discovered an over invoiced contract payment due for payment to a foreign contractor.
I am writing you to seek your assistance and collaboration to enable me use my position in Government to secure the approval for the payment of this over invoiced contract claim to your bank account. This particular contract was awarded to a Foreign Contractor and was over estimated to the tune of US$36,561,000.00 (Thirty Six Million, Five Hundred and Sixty one Thousand US Dollars Only). The foreign Contractor has received full payment for the actual contract value, leaving behind the sum of US$36,561,000.00 which represents the over estimated contract value currently lying at the Central Bank of Nigeria. The over estimated value of $36,561,000.00 was meant to be a Kick Back to the Government officials that awarded the contract. These Government officials have been removed from office and they had no chance of collecting the money before leaving office. As a result of updated payment advise at the Central Bank, it has been awaiting transfer to a Foreign Account.
Having done all the necessary groundwork, this money is now in our possession and I am looking for a trustworthy person into whose private or company's account this money would be transferred. Upon the transfer of this money, 70% of the sum will be for me, 25% shall be for you the account owner, while the remaining 5% shall be set aside to refund expenses made in the course of this transaction. Be assured that this business is safe but the keyword is the confidentiality, due to the nature of the transaction and my position in the ministry.
Kindly treat as urgent.
Yours faithfully,
Godwin Oni.
Previously: The Babyssssssitter
Subsequently: Bottom of the Heap
Comments
I keep getting letters which are more or less like this one. Sometimes it is Nguru Mueze, an international consultant with ties to some African millionaire. Other times it is Usman Kamara, son of late former
Director of finance, Chief Vincent R. Kamara of the Sierra-Leone Diamond and Mining Corporation. I’ve had princes of middle-eastern countries contact me as well — all with similar proposals which involve me receiving a large transfer of funds into my back account. It was amusing at first; now it’s just getting annoying. I do still appreciate some of the goodly English though: “and my words is
my bond” or “since I cannot be able to see you face”. :-)
If only a way to get-rich-quick existed. Sigh…
— Patrick | Nov. 1, 2001 — 2 PM
Ah, 417 scams — thus called because the scams originate from Nigeria, and have the area code of 417 — are actually quite fascinating; I first came across one when we got a paper-version of a letter like this. Anyhoo, I did some research and found out that these scams are the 4th biggest source of ForEx for Nigeria — multinational, postmodern proof that a sucker is born every minute.
— M-J | Nov. 4, 2001 — 12 PM