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Don't cry for me, Nigeria...
2002-09-12
Today's sad story, from my email...
I PRINCE ABUGIWA ALI, SON OF THE LATE AMBROSE ALI,(FORMER EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF BENDEL STATE, PRESENTLY EDO STATE. MY FATHER WAS ARRESTED AND DETAINED BY THE MILITARY THAT TOPPLED THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN 1983. MY FATHER DIED IN DETENTION DO TO LONG DETENTION AND TORTURE DO TO A MISSING FUND UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION. SINCE THEN THE FAMILY HAD BEEN UNDER SURVELLANCE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE SITUATION IS NOT HELPING MATTERS.
Golly. Been in detention and under torture since 1983, huh? Pulled his legs off back in '88, did the thumb screws in '89, then lopped off his thumbs in '90. Boy, that musta hurt. And I'll bet he was innocent all the time, huh?
RECENTLY, SEARCHING THROUGH MY FATHER'S SECRET DOCUMENTS I FOUND OUT THAT, THE FUND WAS TRANSFERED TO A SECURITY VOLT IN EUROPE WHERE HE MY FATHER (CHIEF AMBROS ALI, LATE), DEPOSITED THE FUND BEFORE HE DIED. THIS FUND IS A TOTAL SUM OF FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION US DOLLARS($450,000,000).
Holy cow, that's a lotta jack! So he wasn't innocent? He raked off almost half a billion that shoulda been going into developing the country he was entrusted with? Must really hurt, knowing your old man was a crook, and boy-oh-boy, a crook on the grand scale. You're gonna give all that money back, ain'tcha? 'Cause of all those starving Nigerians, who don't see the oil money as it flows in? You know, the little kids with the distended bellies and the flies walking across their little faces?
NOW I WANT TO SET-UP A BUSINESS IN EUROPE WITH THE FUND, AND HEREBY DECIDED TO CONTACT YOUR ASSISTANCE TO HELP IN RETRIEVING THE FUND FROM THE SECURITY VOLT IN EUROPE.
Oh. You're a crook, too, huh? Is this something that runs in the family?
IF YOU CAN DO IT, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED 30% OF THE TOTAL FUND AND TO DEDUCT ALL EXPENSES THAT WILL ACCRUE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF RETRIEVING THE FUND.
Wow! For me? A faceless name on a spam list? But you're a crook — you just admitted it. So what's to say that I'd ever see a nickle of the swag if I was dumb enough to throw in with you?
ONCE, I RECIEVE YOU CONSENT OF ASSISTANCE I WILL MAKE EVERY DOCUMENT AVAILABLE THAT WILL LEAD TO THE RETRIEVING OF THE FUND. pLEASE I WILL LIKE YOU TO SEND ALL REPLY THROUGH EMAIL BECAUSE MY FAMILY IS UNDER SURVELLANCE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IN THIS CASE I HAVE KNOW ACCESS TO TELEPHONE.
They're checking your snail mail, but they don't look at your ISP, where all this spam would have to originate? Boy, that's unusual. I think I'd look there, too. So what do I do with these documents? Pull the money out of the vault and put it in another bank account? Why couldn't you do that? Just hop on a plane and fly from Lagos to Luxembourg, since you're gonna be going to Europe to start your "business" anyway. So why would you need me?
PLEASE, MAKE THIS BUSINESS A TOP SECRET, BECAUSE IT IS MY LIFE AND MY FAMILY'S LIFE. ANY LEAKAGE OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC WILL LEAD TO THE ARREST OF THE ENTIER FAMILY.
Hmmm... Trusting fellow, ain't he? How much will you pay me to keep my mouth shut, Princie?
PLEASE, SEND YOUR PHONE NO., FAX.
Sure thing. I'll get right on it...
I NEED YOUR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND CO-OPERATION FOR THIS BUSINESS.
Only I will do, huh? How very flattering...
BEST REGARDS,
You're welcome...
PRINCE: ABUGIWA ALI(JR).
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#3  The scam culture in that country is so bad even service clubs like Rotary have to warn their members against blindly accepting visits from Nigerian clubs, without all sorts of bona fides and written promises that they won't be attempting to immigrate (apparently State is wise to this and watches Nigerian visas closely; would they were as careful with terror-list folk).

On the other hand, blaming the entire country is a bit strong -- before this burst out into e-mail in the last couple of years, one single Nigerian scam cartel using snail mail was believed responsible for 80% of the frauds detected by the FTC.
Posted by: Dan Hartung   2002-09-13 01:09:37  

#2  Ah, the famous 419 scam!
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
check this for a more exhaustive detail of these guys. morale of the story, dont answer correspondence from nigeria.
Posted by: Frank Martin   2002-09-12 09:34:39  

#1  I have at least four of these scam mails sent to me over the past month.

These f*cks were infamous for passing fake c-notes during the World Cup in Foxborough (MA) back in '94. Is the concept of 'work' foreign to these schmucks?
Posted by: Raj   2002-09-12 09:20:42  

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