Manny Laureano

I like this one... it's original.



Engr.Daniel Amachree
Executive Director Finance
Nigeria Telecommunication Plc
Wuse Zone 11,Abuja



Dear Sir,

I must first of all apologies for barging in on you without prior notice. I
however crave your indulgence to allow me introduce myself and the reason am writing you this email.

I am Engr Daniel Amachree with Nigeria Telecommunication Plc (NITEL) as the executive director finance.

The reason I am writing you this letter is because I need you to assist the
former minister of finance in a mutual business relationship. He is presently not in the good book of the present vindictive government because of his critics of their political manipulations and oppression, infact he is now a human right activist.This has led to the confiscation
of his international passport and freezing of all his accounts to impoverish
him which they
have succeeded.

I am his ONLY loyalist still remaining in this parastatal(NITEL)and I have
sworn to ever remain loyal to him.The reason we need your help is that I have helped him secure the sum of $14.3M (his personal money)in the foreign contractors payment account of NITEL. Because of his present situation he or I cannot do much,hence we need a foreign partner who shall help him receive this money and invest it in a lucrative business venture. He is willing to pay you consultation fees which we shall negotiate with you.

This is his hard earned money that the government wants to seize just to
make sure he remains poor forever and am sure you do not like injustice, if you have sympathy for this man of noble course and wish to help him please forward me your telephone number so that we can talk on the modalities which I have perfected.

I await your urgent response.

Best Regards,
Daniel Amachree

So, my question is : has anyone tried to answer these without, of course, laying out any money? How far can you get without paying anything? have you managed to thoroughly annoy these scammers? Any good stories about these guys getting stung?

ML

fisherman

Dear Mr. L -

On the Nigerian 419 Scam: My wife is considered an expert on 419 and is quoted in articles in national newspapers and magazines. She's developed friendships with several people knee deep in 419, including Brian Wizard, who wrote a novel based on his 419 experience with real life Nigerian thugs a few years ago. Brian did exactly what you are thinking about - responded to a solicitation, lead them on, and saw just how far he could go - including a trip to Europe, a hotel with a suitcase of money, etc. It was a good read.

My suggestion is that you live this experience vacariously through Brian's book, since there have been several deaths related to 419. It may seem like a joke to you, but these people are seriously scarey and operate in the U.S. - or anywhere there is a Nigerian Embassy or Consulate. There's too much money and political involvement for there to be humor on their end. 419 is the largest income-producing activity in Nigeria after the export of oil.

You can contact Brian Wizard at brianwizard.com. He's an interesting guy who writes folk/rock music, writes books mostly based on his Viet Nam and reentry to the world experiences, paints, etc. He's a hard guy for 419ers to track down - unlike tracking you down at your next concert!

I'd be happy to discuss this further in a private message.

Fisherman

trickg

I answered one of those emails one time with a reply that basically said "Yeah, right! Get stuffed!" For them, ANY response is good enough and they persisted in pestering me for a short while. I was pretty rude in some of my emails too. I was trying to be a jerk but it didn't seem to matter.

Of course, I knew it was a scam from the start. You'd have to seriously be kidding yourself if you thought otherwise because it fits the profile of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true."

Still Trying

I don't know anything about this Nigerian scam, but I know something about Nigeria. I lived over there for a year. I strongly advise to not have anything to do with those people. They do terrible things to people with whom they become upset.

JackD

Fisherman - sounds like they're not like your regular ebay scammer eh?

I have to ask though - who actually serious believes these things and follows through?!

On the subject of scams, have you folks in the US been getting the phonecall scams? They keep telling me I've won a holiday to Florida, and to call them back on a number (which apparently costs something like £20 a minute, and you can't hang up for 5 minutes or so).

Also on ATMS, people have been fitting devices which copy your card number and the PIN you put in.

Keep your eye out I guess!

fisherman

Actually, some are the scammers of Ebay - and use many other techniques to exploit.

What was once a Nigerian business became worldwide as they moved to South Africa, Europe, and other locations. Once the methodology and routing of payments is set up - the particular scam doesn't matter anymore, so Ebay or any other venue (and story) works. Like smugglers who do drugs, diamonds, then expand to human slaves.

Most people in the U.S. were hit in the 1990's, then the focus shifted to Hong Kong and Indonesia when their economies hit the skids. A hungry businessman who is scared to death makes a big target. Some 419 stories can seem believeable to people who know nothing about foreign transactions - and to those who know how difficult it is to do business in foreign countires where bribery is expected. Some estimates of 419 losses are $4 Billion per year, worldwide.

The Nigerians have resources at their disposal that most crooks don't have in banking and government. In fact, in Nigeria, to be a 419er is a respected profession. There is little other opportunity.

Dabbling in this quagmire and exposing your email address, telephone number, name, etc. is an easy road to identity theft. Or, a visit from someone... When it happens, telling the FBI and/or Secret Service that you opened the door will get no sympathy. In fact, the usual refrain is, "You got what you deserved."

Obviously, with every bank wire tranfer monitored, this could be stopped if anyone thought it was important.

Fisherman

ronin

Guys, check out a site : www.ebolamonkeyman.com
It is a guy who carries on these long, crazy "negotiations" withe these Nigerian scammers, and scams them!!! It is really funny. Turns the tables on the scam artists.

Manny Laureano

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. Not hand to hand fighting in the jungle. I'll leave that to the professionals. I'm more interested in see folks make these guys look like the idiots they truly are.

Well done.

ML

Anonymous

Manny,

Check this site out http://www.419eater.com/

Click on the audio clips. You are in for a real treat!