Mr. Godwin Emefiele emailed me ....

[xrunner]

Received this today. I wish it was more than $8.3 million but it ain't a bad sum.


FROM THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR,
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)
GOV.GODWIN EMEFIELE.
E-mail: godwinemefele9@gmail.com
URGENT NOTICE,
ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY
 
I am Mr. Godwin Emefiele from Central Bank of Nigeria, I have come to make so many things right from the way the corrupt government officials has made it to be. Payment of Inheritance fund, overdue payments and compensations without causing heart break to beneficiaries is my priority. Is my pleasure to inform you that your deliveryman has arrived with your cash trunk boxes value $8.3 million dollars being your inheritance /compensation payment? He is currently in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington, on transit.
 
I want you to know that you have 24 hours to email or call him now with this line (360)-602-7134 or email: donaldosso55@gmail.com then speak with the diplomatic deliveryman for directives, his name is Mr.Donald Osso. As he has been waiting to hear from you to enable him get to your home address without missing his way.
 
Most importantly you are advised to send your full data to him, which include your Full Name, Current Residential Address, Direct Cell Number, closest airport to you and A copy of any identity card to verify that you are the right receiver to avoid mistakes.
 
Note that you must call Mr.Donald Osso as soon as you receive this email for more discussion; direct line is (360)-602-7134. Also reconfirm your full current address and valid phone number to the Delivery officer via his above email address once you receive this email to enable him deliver your cash consignment boxes to your house without any further delay.
 
You are advised not to waste his time at the airport, so that he would not be stranded in any way because he will return if he finds out that you are not doing anything to get him over to your house.
 
CONGRATULATIONS.
MR.GODWIN EMEFIELE,
EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR,
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
E-mail: godwinemefele9@gmail.com

[Ampera]

Totally legit.

[Sredni]

Transferring money is always problematic.
I prefer diamonds:

[Seekonk]

Only godwinemefele1 is the real one, don't get fooled by the other emails made to look it.

[SeanB]

Totally, he is a legit businessman, operating out of his office in a small dusty internet cafe in Lagos.

[VK3DRB]

I found this hilarious. How to get a Nigerian scammer back...

http://www.419eater.com/html/john_boko.htm

Actually, for a Nigerian scammer, he had some talent. I guess the opportunities we enjoy in modern western countries are few in crap third world countries. Maybe some of these scammers are forced into this type of work, else starve. Like the Indian scammers from the "Microsoft Help Desk", I don't think they do it because they choose that profession. Mind you, they wouldn't think twice about scamming elderly pensioners or lonely people out of their life savings.

[SeanB]

Most of the Indian scammers work in call centres where they have multiple support lines to a few common agents to follow the script. They do the scam in free time, so they appear busy and on the phone to the call centre metrics, and simply use a different set of notes to work from. Sadly often the local managers are on to the act, and hide the logs from the actual paying big companies and split the profits with the call centre staff as non taxed money.

[FrankBuss]

I found this hilarious. How to get a Nigerian scammer back...

http://www.419eater.com/html/john_boko.htm

Actually, for a Nigerian scammer, he had some talent.

The carvings look nice, especially the C64 was very detailed, even the special CBM graphics images on the front side of the keys But it was not from the scammer. On the bottom of the page you can see that the scammer made $45,000 per month if he didn't lie, and he didn't do the carvings, but ordered it from a local artist, who probably got a normal payment for it.

Prices for such wood carvings are very low. For example you can get a 20 cm detailed eagle for EUR 20:

[SeanB]

I prefer to find one of my Zimbabwean carvers, they make a personalised one, and some pretty cool tables as well. Bit more expensive though than $20. The one local shop has some lovely elephants from one of them, they are magnificent.

[GreyWoolfe]

I wish I had a dollar for every one of these I get.  It would be good part time income.

[FrankBuss]

I prefer to find one of my Zimbabwean carvers, they make a personalised one, and some pretty cool tables as well. Bit more expensive though than $20. The one local shop has some lovely elephants from one of them, they are magnificent.

I guess the cheap ones are mass produced with CNC machines. Load the model, click a button, wait a bit, done:



But I wonder how they could make a profit with it. Such a machine costs like $50,000 (which means at least 2,500 eagles) and then maintenance costs and drill bits etc.

[xrunner]

Oh shucks I got busy and forgot! My 24 hrs has expired and now I can't get the money. 

[VK3DRB]

Most of the Indian scammers work in call centres where they have multiple support lines to a few common agents to follow the script. They do the scam in free time, so they appear busy and on the phone to the call centre metrics, and simply use a different set of notes to work from. Sadly often the local managers are on to the act, and hide the logs from the actual paying big companies and split the profits with the call centre staff as non taxed money.

Once I was called by and Indian scammer from the Microsoft Help Desk who said I have a virus on my computer. The dialogue was something like this...

In a fake cockney old age pensioner's accent, I said "I don't own one of those computer things. I am too old. But my grandson has one I think. Give me you phone number and I will get him to call you."
He then asked "Do you have an iPad?"
I then said "I wore one of those when I had me cataracts done, but that was a few years ago now. These glasses from Spec Savers do the job. And I got them on special."
He asked "Do you have a mobile phone?"
I said "No. This telephone has an electric wire that plugs into the wall. No batteries needed, except for my hearing aid. I am too old for one of those fangdangled wireless phone contraptions. But why don't you call old Horry down at the bowling club? He has one. Horry is a bit younger than most of us, you know"
Then he told me to where I can stick my phone and promptly hung up.

[SeanB]

What i did with the last one, put on the confused OAP voice, the rambling around and playing totally clueless. He cut after a minute. Better to swear at them though, especially in a language they very likely have absolutely no idea of what you are saying to them.

[xrunner]

New one today -



Dear e-mail owner
 
I am sorry to encroach into your privacy in this manner; I found your name listed in the Trade Center Chambers of Commerce directory in Iraq, I find it pleasurable to offer you my partnership in business. I only pray this time that your address is still valid. I want to solicit your attention in receiving money on my behalf.
 
I am Capt. Davis Ariel, officer in the US Army; i am one of the U.S. Army deployed to Iraq in the beginning of the war in 2003, and also a West Point Graduate presently serving in the Military with the 82nd Air Borne Division Peace keeping force in Baghdad, Iraq. I am on the move to Syria from Iraq as the last batch just left, and i really need your help in assisting me with the safe keeping of two military trunk boxes which has just arrived the USA from Iraq. I hope you can be trusted? Though, I would like to hold back certain information for security reasons for now until you have found time to visit the BBC website news below to enable you have insight regarding what I intend to share with you, believing that it would be of your desired interest in one way or the other.
 
Click on this BBC news listing to confirms what I want to share with you: [link removed as precaution]
 
if you can be trusted, I will explain further when i get a response from you. Get back to me having visited the above websites to enable us discuss in a more vivid manner to the best of your understanding? I must say that I'm very uncomfortable sending this message to you without knowing truly if you would misconstrue the importance and decide to go public.
 
In this regards, I will not hold back to say that the essence of this letter is strictly for mutual benefit of you and I and nothing more. I will be more vivid and coherent in my next email in this regards. Meanwhile, could you send me a mail confirming you have visited the site and understood my intentions? Am standing by for your urgent response now that we are leaving Iraq to Syria.
 
Please get back to me via e-mail: capt.davisa@gmail.com
 
Thanks.
Best regards.
Capt. Davis Eric Ariel

[Kjelt]

The problem is getting worse because the scammers are getting better each year.
These are obvious and only the too gready will fall into the trap.
There are numerous of emails from companies with their correct logo, layout and even correct sender email adress (which is spoofed and the return address will give it away) where lots of people are falling into.
Oh well as long as someone from Microsoft calls and asks for your password and other data and people are giving it to them the world will be an unsafe place.

[bitseeker]

Wow, xrunner, that's a much more vivid and coherent one you got this time. However, I'm afraid you've blown the opportunity again. He said that he's "very uncomfortable sending this message to you without knowing truly if you would misconstrue the importance and decide to go public." He's probably gone into hiding now. Ah, well. Better luck next time.

[xrunner]

Wow, xrunner, that's a much more vivid and coherent one you got this time. However, I'm afraid you've blown the opportunity again. He said that he's "very uncomfortable sending this message to you without knowing truly if you would misconstrue the importance and decide to go public." He's probably gone into hiding now. Ah, well. Better luck next time.

Yea prolly missed a golden opportunity. 

But, he's taking a big risk -

if you can be trusted

Everyone here knows that's not true. 

[bitseeker]

Yeah, it pays to be a forum member to know who you're dealing with.

[Dubbie]

There is a reason that these are written in a way that only the terminally gullible and stupid would fall for them.

That is exactly the demographic they are targeting. Something more slick might widen their pool of responses. Included in that pool will be those who will twig on to the fact that it is a scam and end communications. This is a waste of effort for the scammer. They need to be putting their effort into the marks that will pay.

[bitseeker]

That's an interesting way to look at it, Dubbie.

[Kjelt]

Or the scammers themselves are still highly uneducated and "stupid", still gread makes also smart people stupid as been proven over and over again.

[Brumby]

There is a reason that these are written in a way that only the terminally gullible and stupid would fall for them.

That is exactly the demographic they are targeting. Something more slick might widen their pool of responses. Included in that pool will be those who will twig on to the fact that it is a scam and end communications. This is a waste of effort for the scammer. They need to be putting their effort into the marks that will pay.

That's an interesting way to look at it, Dubbie.

I think that is exactly the way to look at it.

If I think back, I seem to recall that these scams were fairly well "dressed up" - and while this may have resulted in a lot of bites, there were going to be a fair number who would smell a rat before dishing out any money.  These are the ones the scammers won't want to deal with.  As Dubbie said, they are a waste of effort, as the scammer was never going to get anything out of it - just waste time.

Better to make it interesting enough to those who aren't going to examine things too closely.  Much better chances of a pay-out.  The ones I see come through now aren't even laughable any more.

[xrunner]

I guess the way to look at it is statistically. If you have 10,000 emails on a list, you write a goofy email asking for money to help ship or distribute a "cash box" or some other bullshit. The spammers send it out and go back to their day jobs - if they have any. There's always statistically a chance that one or two fools will bite. The more emails you have the higher the chance that you will get bites.

Sometimes I wonder why they go to all that trouble to concoct such a complicated story. Why not just write this -

"I live in Nigeria and I'm so poor that my family cannot eat or live in a house. Please help us if you can. If you can send any money we would be so grateful."

[Brumby]

Greed.

I think they don't see a hundred $10 donations as valuable as a $1,000 scam.