PUBLIC AWARENESS ADVISORY: ADVANCE FEE FRAUD SCHEMES

[marky]

FROM: JOSEPH WILLIAMS
DIRECTOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (MEMR)

Dear Sir,

I am an Engineer with the South African Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and I am also a member of the Republic of South Africa Contract Award and Monitoring Commitee in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. It is a pleasure involving you in this project. Although, this may sound strange but I seek your indulgence and pray you view it seriously.

Over the past twenty years, various contracts were awarded to foreign firms by my committee in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. These contracts were typically over-invoiced between US$ 5 to $25 million each. This was done deliberately. The over-invoicing was a strategy by my committee members to benefit from the projects. We now desire to transfer the total of this money, which amounts to US$ 2,234,414,963 (two billion, two hundred and thirty four million, four hundred and fourteen thousand, nine hundred and sixty three US dollars), which is in a suspense account with the MEMR, into any overseas account which we expect you to provide for us.

For providing the account where we shall remit the money, you will be entitled to 30% of the money, 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred by both parties during course of transfer, while the remaining 60%will be for my partners and myself.

I would require the following:
1) Bank details ( Name and address / Account no/Beneficiary name )
2) Private Telephone and Fax number of Beneficiary

The above information will be used to make formal application as a matter of procedure for the release of the money and onward transfer to your account. It does not matter whether or not your company ( or you yourself) does contract projects of this of this nature described here, the assumption is that your company won the major contract and subcontracted it out to other companies.

More often than not, big trading companies or firms of unrelated fields win major contracts and subcontract to more specialized firms for execution of such contracts. We have strong and reliable connections, top government contacts at the South Africa Reserve Bank and Ministry of Finance and we have no doubt that all this money will be released and transferred if we get the necessary foreign partner to assist us in this deal. Therefore, when the business is successfully concluded we shall through our connection withdraw all documents used from all the concerned Government Ministries for 100% security. We are civil servants and we will not want to miss this opportunity.

Please contact me immediately through my above Telephone or email contact, whether or not you are interested in this deal. If you are not, it will enable me scout for another foreign partner to carry out this deal. But where you are interested, send the required information aforementioned herein without delay as time is of essence in this business. I want to assure you once again that this transaction is 100% risk free both now and in the future.
I await in anticipation of your fullest co-operation.

Yours faithfully,

JOSEPH WILLIAMS
Durban, South Africa

[marky]

Sir,
ASSISTANCE REQUIRED FOR ACQUISITION OF ESTATES.
I write to inform you of my desire to acquire estates or landed properties in your country on behalf of the Director of Contracts and Finance Allocation of the Federal Ministry of works and Housing in Nigeria.

Considering his very strategic and influential position, he would want the transaction to be strictly as confidential as possible. He further wants his identity to remain undisclosed at least for now, until the completion of the transaction. Hence our desire to have an overseas agent.

I have therefore been directed to inquire if you would agree to act as our overseas agent in order to actualize this mission. The deal in brief is that the funds with which to carry out our proposed investments in your country is presently in a coded account in the Nigerian Apex Bank (Central Bank of Nigeria) and we need your assistance to transfer the funds to your country or any safe account outside your country in a convenient bank account that will be provided by you before we can put the funds into use. For this you shall be considered to have executed a contract for the ministry.

The contract sum of which shall run into US$35.5Million of which your share shall be 15% if you agree to be our overseas agent. Your area of specialization does not matter in this transaction, all that is required of you is a safe account and your willingness to assist us acquire properties in your country or a third country. As soon as payment is effected and the amount mentioned above is successfully transferred into your account, we intend to use our own share in acquiring properties abroad. For this too, you shall serve as our agent.

It might interest you to note that last year, a similar transaction was carried out with one MR. LIEN CHAN of Taiwan but after securing the payment approvals, and payment effected, MR. LIEN CHAN changed his numbers and addresses, and was no where to be found on our getting to Taiwan. That was how we lost US$11.5 million. According to what we found out later he is some sort of well-known businessman in Taiwan, but I would advise everyone to stay away from him and not believe anything he says. At any rate, this time around, I will be with you before the remittance is made into your provided account to avoid future occurrence and allow trust to play a very minimal role until performance is seen. You are requested to communicate your acceptance or otherwise of this proposal, after which we shall discuss in details the modalities for seeing this transaction through. If however, you are not disposed to assist, kindly destroy this letter in view of the confidentiality of the proposed transaction andinterest of personalities involved.

Thank you in anticipation of your co-operation.


Best Regards,

SAMUEL OPAKA
N.B.

PLEASE DO RESPOND TO opaka100@hknetmail.com IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROPOSAL

[daltongang]

hahahaha.

seriously what's up with these guys lately? they are really cranking it up. my spambox has been swamped, 4 or 5 every day.

[jlick]

Some of the posts here have advocated replying to these '419' advance fee scams to taunt the spammers. I would highly recommend not doing this. People have been killed by 419ers when the scam has unraveled. It is known that at least one group of 419ers is operating in Taiwan. Do not taunt them from any address that can be traced back to you. I'm not aware of any violence from 419ers here, but it has happened elsewhere.

James Lick
Chairman, Asia Pacific Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
http://www.apcauce.org/

[Jack Burton]

Some of the posts here have advocated replying to these '419' advance fee scams to taunt the spammers. I would highly recommend not doing this. People have been killed by 419ers when the scam has unraveled. It is known that at least one group of 419ers is operating in Taiwan. Do not taunt them from any address that can be traced back to you. I'm not aware of any violence from 419ers here, but it has happened elsewhere.

James Lick
Chairman, Asia Pacific Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
http://www.apcauce.org/

is this why one of the scammers uses 3 different taiwan bank accounts in his scam on that website?

[Anonymous]

Sir,

I am Dr. Sali Ibrahimette, Project director Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a member of Contract Tenders Board of the same corporate group. Your contact was reliably introduced to me at the Foreign Chamber of Commerce and Industry in your country in my search for a reliable individual and/or company who can handle a strictly confidential transaction, which involves transfer of a reasonably large sum of money to a foreign account.

This money results from various contracts awarded by our corporation on behalf of the Federal Government, which were deliberately over-invoiced to the tune of $1,115,500,000.00 (one billion one hundred and fifteen million, five hundred thousand United States dollars). Due to the large number of transactions regularly handled by our corporation, this over-invoicing was not noticed. After the completion and commissioning of the contract, the contractual sum was paid to the contractors, leaving the over invoiced sum in the reserve account with the 1st Pacific Bank of Lagos.

We therefore require the partnership of a foreigner or foreign firm to assist us in form of a trustee and provide an account for this transfer.

In my last meeting with my colleagues, it was unanimously agreed that 25% of the total sum would be given to you. That would leave 70% for me and my colleagues, while 5% will be used to reimburse the expenses that may be incurred during the course of this transaction

I assure you that his transaction is 100% one hundred percent risk free as we have concluded every arrangement to protect the interest of everyone involved. Likewise all modalities for the successful transfer of this money have been worked out with the Finance Ministry and the 2nd Atlantic Bank of Upper Volta to facilitate the remittance of this money to your designated bank account.

I believe that the two banks mentioned in this letter do actually have branches in your country, although they may operate under different names, such as "Citibank" or "Barclays." I am sure that you can see by giving these kinds of references, this entire transaction rests on a very firm legal basis.

My partners and I want to believe that you are completely honest and will not raise any misgiving with respect to this transaction. More importantly, that you will keep this transaction very confidential so as not to jeopardize this once in a lifetime ambition. In other words, you should not notify your government authorities about this letter or our intended partnership.

Finally if this business is of interest to you, then kindly contact me via telephone / fax number or the email address above. Your immediate response will be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Dr. Sali P. Ibrahimette

Note:Please respond with your telephone and fax to enhance our communication to my private email address: sali_ibrahim@hotmail.com

[winter]

it has come to this! Forget Nigeria and Chad, now it's from ...well, see what landed in my mailbox today.

.......


Mr.Chan Fung
Manager of Land Bank,
Kincheng Branch.
6,Minsheng Rd,Kicheng Chen,
Kinmen (Jinmen) Hsien (Xian), Fukien.Taiwan
R.O.C.

I am Mr.Chan Fung, Bank Manager of Land
Bank,Kincheng branch, Fukien,Taiwan. R.O.C.I have urgent
and very confidential business proposition for
you.

On June 6, 1999, a British Oil
consultant/contractor with the Chinese Solid Minerals Corporation,
Mr. Smith Lawrence made a numbered time (Fixed)
Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at
US$30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Dollars) in my
branch. Upon maturity, I sent a routine notification
to his forwarding address but got no reply. After
a month, we sent a reminder and finally we
discovered from his contract employers, the Chinese
Solid Minerals Corporation that Mr. Smith Lawrence
died from an automobile accident. ............

[wix]

I recently got this in my mail box. It seems another variation on the Nigerian e-mail scam. I seem to get a couple of e-mails a day from someone claiming to be in some African country, but this is the first one I have received from Taiwan.

I never reply to any of them and I have never forwarded any of them to the police. I wonder if there is any point in doing this. Surely if the police were serious it wouldn't be to difficult to entrap some of these people.

From "Chen Quanyong" <cquanyong@hk.be>
Date Wed, 26 Nov 2003 7:41 AM
To <deleted>
Subject For your urgent and confidential attention, please reply immediately.

Compliments of the day to you

I am Mr. Chen Quanyong, (Bank Manager of a reputable bank in Taipei, Taiwan, with name withheld for now for security reasons). Your esteemed address was reliably introduced to me at the Taipei Chamber of Commerce and Industry in my search for a reliable individual who can
handle a strictly confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a reasonable sum of money to a foreign account.

A chain of events have led to my making you this offer, and these events, I believe very strongly, are not just coincidental. In June of 1999, when I was the operations Manager of this Bank, a certain foreign individual (name withheld deliberately for now) made a time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar month valued at US$10,000,000.00 (Ten Million united states dollars) in my Bank. Upon maturity, (twelve months later ), the bank sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but we got no reply. After a month, I took this issue up personally and sent another notification, this was also returned, and it was the third in a series. Finally I discovered that the depositor died in an airplane accident in march 2000, but I have not revealed this to anyone until now and the
sum and the interest being rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year at the rate of 19% per annum and as at the last value of investment on maturity, it was US$20,160,176.00 (Twenty Million, One hundred and sixty thousand, One hundred and seventy six United
States Dollars).

In order to prevent the effect of Marginal Fluctuation on the funds, which might reduce the value of the funds in the foreign exchange market, I used a system of correspondent agreement service to withdraw the funds, using my vetted power as the Mnager of the Bank and the personal account officer of the deceased, I then secretly siphoned the money out of Taiwan and deposited it with a security firm that transports valuable goods and consignments through diplomatic means to Europe which I declared to contained family treasures and valuables owned by
Late. Mr. David Abel, to be collected by the next of kin of the deceased, while the consignment actually contains the US$20,160,176.00 in cash.

With the very strong feeling that no one will ever come forward to claim the funds, the need for a foreign assistance becomes crucial as a next of kin to the depositor is earnestly being searched for and I cannot acquire the funds in my name, I request your assistance to stand in as the
next of kin of Mr. Abel and to go to the security company in Europe and claim the money since Mr. David Abel is now dead. I hope to trust you as a God fearing person who will not betray me on this money when you claim it, rather assist me properly and as expected and also help in
the relocation of my family and I to your country at the soonest possible time after the collection of the consignment. For your reliable assistance, if willing, I will reward you with 25% of the money, be rest assured that this arrangement is absolutely risk free and cannot implicate you in any
way.

As soon as you declare your willingness to assist, I shall furnish you with the details and information you will need to accomplish this task. Please respond as soon as possible whether or not you are interested in assisting me as this will enable me source for another person in the event of non-interest on your part.

Your's sincerely,
Mr. Chen Quanyong.
Fax: ++ 873 762 922 956.

[JeffG]

Q: Can anyone tell me who to contact in Nigeria to find out if a firm is real and legit or not? I tried contacting the US Embassy there, I either had my emails bounce back to me or never get answered.
A: I suggest that you contact the Nigerian Embassy in Taipei.

Q: But the Nigerian government does not have an Embassy in Taipei!
A: Well, I guess that is your answer!!

[bushibanned]

I have recieved 2 incredibly strange emails. they got my email address from something i put up for sale on taiwan ho.

the first:

jsese30@zwallet.com
FROM: MRS JOY SANKOH
Cocody Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire
TEL/ 225 05 80 59 64

ATTN:

In brief introduction,I am MRS JOY SANKOH. The wife of the late DR FREDERIC SANKOH, of the blessed memory prior to my husband assassination by the forces loyal to major JOHN PAUL KOROMAH, my husband was the Director general, National Gold and Diamond Mining Corporation of Sierra Leone.

Two weeks before my husband was assassinated he deposited the sum of $25. MILLION USD,(TWENTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS)in a security company here in COTE D'I VOIRE then three days before his assisination he instructed my children (Mr Kingsley and MAXWELL ) and I to move out of Sierra Leone immediately to COTE D'I VOIRE, a nearby Country because of political crisis before the powerful Economic Community of west Africa States (ECOMOG) forces intervened which eventually resulted into brutal civil war.

The box containing the money was deposited as family valuable for security reasons without the management of the security company knowing the actual content of the box in their custody. Right now, because of upheaval political crisis, I found it very unwise to invest this funds here in African countries.

I am soliciting for your , assistance in transferring this funds to your country where there is political stability for investment wise for the future of my family. I agreed to give you 20% of the total sum in question, as your entitlement for assisting in transferring the said funds and a mapped out 5% for incurred expenses, communication, travelling and accommodation.

PLEASE REPLY ME THROUGH THIS PRIVATE EMAIL/jsese30@zwallet.com

YOUR'S FAITHFUL
MRS JOY SANKOH (PRINCE Kingsley SANKOH) FOR THE
FAMILY

i wrote back that i wasn't entirely clear to why they sent me such an email. so they resonded with this:



the 2nd:


MY DEAR

I'm GLAD TO COMMENCE BY THANKING YOU ON BEHALF OF MY
FAMILY AND I FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TO GIVE ATTENTION
TO MY PROPOSAL,HOPING THAT THIS WILL MARK THE BEGING
OF A LONG LASTING BUSINESS AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIP, WE
TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR APPROACH IN THIS COURSE AND WISH
TO RE-AFFIRM OUR TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN YOU .

I am STAYING HERE IN COTE D'IVOIRE AS A REFUGEE WITH
MY SONS AND WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MONEY IN OUR POSITION
IF NOT THE MONEY WHICH MY LATE HUSAND DEPOSITED IN THE
SECURITY COMPANY, IS OUR ONLY HOPE AND THIS ARE THE
REASON WHY I CONTACTED YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. IT IS
100% LEGAL SO FEEL FREE TO ASSIST ME .I PRAYED OVER
THIS TRANSACTION FOR SEVEN DAYS BEFORE I CONTACT YOU
FOR ASSISTANCE

I WILL LIKE YOU TO COME DOWN HERE TO COTE D'IVOIRE
FOR US TO SEE FACE TO FACE AND HOLD MEETING REGARDING
THIS TRANSACTION BEFORE GOING TO CLAIM THE BOX FROM
THE SECURITY COMPANY COSTUDY THEN WE CAN LOGDE IN THE
MONEY TO BANK FOR ONWARD TRANSFER TO YOUR ACCOUNT. BUT
ADVISE ME IF YOU COULD NOT BE ABLE TO COME DOWN HERE
THE SECURITY COMPANY HAVE AFFILATE OFFICE IN
HOLLAND AND THAILAND WHICH THEY
CAN MOVE THE BOX THROUGH DEPLOMATIC SERVICE FOR US TO
CLAIM .

PLEASE KINDLY CHOOSE FROM THE ABOVE COUNTRY WHERE YOU
WILL LIKE TO GO SO THAT I WILL ARRANGE MY SON TO MEET
YOU THERE FOR THE CLAIMING OF THE CONSIGNMENT SINCE MY
TRAVELING DOCUMENT ARE NOT COMPLETE TO TRAVELING .

ADVISE ME IF I SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER HERE WHO WILL
OBTAIN SOME DOCUMENT IN YOUR FAVOURE WHICH WILL STATE
YOU AS MY BENFICIARY AND MY foreign PARTNER TO EASY
THE CLAIMING OF THE CONSIGNMENT WITH YOU.

I have DISCUSS WITH MY SON AND WE DECIDED TO GIVE YOU
AS OUR foreign PARTNER 20% OF THE TOTAL FUND THEN 5%
WILL BE SET ASIDE FOR ANY EXPENDITURE THAT INCURE
ALONG THE TRANSACTION .

URGENTLY ADVISE ME TO ENABLE US PROCEED FURTHER IN
THIS TRANSACTION AND FOR IMMEDIATELY CONCLUSSION AND
ALSO INCLUDE YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND MOBIL NUMBER
TO EASY COMMUNCATION BETWEEN US OR YOU CAN CALL ME
WITH THIS NUMBER 225-05-80-59-64

BEST REGARD

MRS JOY SANKOH