SCAMS

Here is my latest:

Contact my barrister's email adderss ;barristerkojo.appiah@gmail.com
Dear good friend
I warm-heartedly make this contact with you on a positive
note Anticipating your kind consideration and co-operation,and plead for your
time and understanding in this. Firstly, my name is Mrs BARBARAH OWUSU, I am the
wife of late MICHAEL OWUSU.My late husband MICHAEL OWUSU who was a very
successful business tycoon based here in Ghana was a Gold minner and also the
chairman Executive MICHROYAL HOTEL, C.E.O OWUSU HOLDINGS and a host of other
companies died last month at the age of 56 years after a briefillness at Kolebu
Teaching Hospital here in Ghana.
In our world today,such a manner of approach
may not be acceptable or very suspicious, as we do not know each other and have
not had any sort of communication in the past, but I urge you to take my email
very seriously, considering the situation. Could you believe that the tradition
and customs of the town and village where my late husband came from demands that
any woman who does not have a male child for the husband, that when ever the
husband dies, all the properties belonging to the late husband including cash
will be shared among the late husband brothers and the woman will be sent out of
her husband house for good.
My dear, this is exactly what I am going through
right now since last month my husband died. My late husband brothers has taken
all the properties belonging to my late husband including companies, bank
accounts and as well sent me and my little daughters out of my husband house
just because I do not have a male child for my late husband.
This is a wicked
tradition and culture that has no moral value. As am talking to you now, I and
my two daughters are going through hell at the moment. Right now, I am having in
my position all the vital documents relating to the sum of $38.5 million dollars
and 800kgs of Gold which my late husband deposited with a Storage company here
in Ghana as a family treasure with my name as the next of kin before his death.
Last week I contacted the manager of the Storage company and I was told that the
consignment is very much intact,that I can as well come for it any time I feel
like.
Please remember that I cannot make use of this fund and this Gold here
due to forces surrounding me at the moment, I am regarded as a treat to my
husband brother and they have threatened to kill me. Please have mercy at the
poor widow like me and help me out of this mess.
All I want you to do for me
is to assist me transfer this fund and this Gold to your country immediately
before my late husband brothers will have knowledge of it and claim it just like
the way they did to others.
I strongly believe that the only way I can secure
this money and this gold for myself is to act fast now and transfer this money
and this Gold overseas,that is the main reason why I am contacting you for your
assistance.
Please note that, as soon as this fund and this Gold is
transferred to your country,you will stand the chance to have 20% percent of the
total fund while 80% percent will remain for me so that I can be able to take
care of my two kids my late husband left behind for me. Remember that my
children are the only happiness I have here on earth and I cannot stand to watch
them go through such pains.
You will be greatly rewarded and be entitled to a
percentage of the proceeds from the any investments for rendering me this most
needed assistance. I look forward to hearing from you immediately so that I can
direct you what next to do for us to commence the
Transaction.
Sincerely,

MRS BARBARAH OWUSU.
MRS BARBARAH
OWUSU
contact my barrister's email adderss ;barristerkojo.appiah@gmail.com

That's an angle that I have not quite seen before Abe. Interesting that she has access to a computer, yet in between odd use of capital letters and poor spelling, little else but a lawyer. Good one!

Oh my goodness!

I forward all of those, from Ghana and Nigeria, to: http://www.justice.gov/spam.htm

I can't believe some people actually fall for them ... but they do!

Here's another:

Dear friend,

I can't imagine how you will feel receiving a sudden business letter from a remote country in far away Burkina Faso west africa and probably from some one you have not closely related with. But all the same, i believe we do not need to be of blood relatives before we can establish cordial/business relationship. Having said this, i think it is very important at this juncture to introduce myself to you.

I am.Mr Abraham.Collins the director in charge of auditing and accounting section of International bank of africa(IBA) Ouagadougou Burkina-Faso west africa.
It is my pleasure to solicit your assistance in this business proposal. I am contacting you because, i do not want to transact the business with anybody who is known to any staff of this bank or anybody around here to avoid any possible blackmail or leakage at the end of the transaction.The proposal: During our investigation and auditing in this bank, my department came across a very huge sum of money belonging to a deceased person who died on 25 july 2000,in a plane crash and the fund has been dormant in his account with this bank without any claim of the fund in our custody either from his family or relation before our discovery to this development.the said amount was u.s $12.000.000m (Twelve Million United States Dollars) as it may interest you to know,

meanwhile all the whole arrangement to put claim over this fund as the bonafide next of kin to the deceased, get the required approval and transfer this money to a foreign account has been put in place and directives and needed information will be relayed to you as soon as you indicate your interest and willingness to assist us and also benefit your self to this great business opportunity. In fact i could have done this deal alone but because of my position in this country as a civil servant(a banker),we are not allowed to opperate a foreign account and would eventually raise an eye brow on my side during the time of transfer because i work in this bank.

This is the actual reason why it will require a second party or fellow who will forward claims as the next of kin with affidavit of trust of oath to the bank and also present a foreign account where he will need the money to be re-transferred into on his request as it may be after due verification and clarification by the correspondent branch of the bank where the whole money will be remitted from to your own designation bank account.

I will not fail to inform you that this transaction is 100% risk free. On smooth conclusion of this transaction, you will be entitled to 40% of the total sum as gratification, while 5% will be set aside to take care of expenses that may arise during the time of transfer and also telephone bills, while 55% will be for me and my partner. Please, you have been adviced to keep "top secret" as i am still in service and intend to retire from service after we conclude this deal with you.

I will be monitoring the whole situation here in this bank until you confirm the money in your account and ask me to come down to your country for subsequent sharing of the fund according to percentages previously indicated and further investment, either in your country or any country you advice us to invest in.

All other necessary vital information will be sent to you when i hear from you.
I look forward to receive your immediate response.

Yours Faithfully,
MrCollins. Abraham.

There are so many versions of this scam it isn't even funny.
And it has been going on for years.

And yet people keep falling for it :

Check out http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp if you wish to read the details.

The internet is a wonderful tool when used properly.

But sadly it has also become a P.I.T.A with all the junk email, misinformation email, and scams like this one .....

Well said, JoElle. I am often amazed at the things sent to me by family and friends. Even after having sent them links to check out the alarming tips especially, I still get the dire warnings. It is a shame that some are so gullible. 'There's a sucker born every minute' is a phrase that will never die I suppose.

Damn, you mean these are scams? I though I had Barbarah Owusu and Abraham.Collins all to myself, although Honest Abe still hasn't told me why he puts a period after his first name. Live and learn.

On the upside, this recent conviction took place in Canada. As the story unfolded I learned a couple of things about why these things originate in Nigeria...English is the official language, following colonization there by the British. Many Nigerians take advantage of higher education, which in addition to providing them with better than average English, has provided a certain level of business savvy. Finally, the law in Nigeria is really loosy goosy, so if they are operating based in Nigeria, they're tough to catch. Stupidly, this fellow was operating quite brazenly in Canada, after being convicted of the same thing in the US. No accounting for the criminal mind, is there? Anyway, these operations are sometimes referred to as Nigeria 419, the section of Nigerean law that is supposed to catch these folks.

This is the story from UPI, which is under copyright but reproduced here for your information...

Nigerian e-scammer convicted in Canada
Published: May 8, 2008 at 11:47 AM



WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 8 (UPI) -- A
Nigerian man pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy in Winnipeg, Canada, in
connection with e-mails promising money but demanding "good faith"
deposits.

Toluwalada Owolabi, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of
conspiracy to commit fraud after a Winnipeg doctor tipped off police he
was about to arrange a wire transfer of money through Owolabi, the
Winnipeg Sun reported Thursday.

Police set up a sting operation
at the unidentified doctor's home Sept. 7 and made the arrest as the
men discussed a transfer of $7,800 to a bank in Guyana, the report said.

Owolabi was convicted of wire fraud in New York in 2003, and served 27 months in prison before being deported to Nigeria.

A year and a half later, he arrived in Toronto, married a Canadian woman and claimed refugee status, the newspaper said.

Owolabi
will be sentenced May 29, and prosecutors are seeking a 30-month
sentence, which is long enough to require deportation after he serves
it, the Sun said.

Oh Abe the problems with misunderstanding, you headed your post,
'here's my latest', surely you don't mean you're pretending to be a
Nigerian:affraid: