Notorious e-mail scam finds believers

Seattle Times ^ | December 29, 2003 | Jim Stratton

[sarcasm]

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a windowless room, in a nondescript house on the other side of the world, Rupert Sessions glimpsed his fortune.

It was a metal suitcase, choked with $100 bills and protected by armed guards and a combination lock. The money had brought Sessions, an Ormond Beach, Fla., retiree, all the way to the Persian Gulf.

He and a West African associate were there to collect the $21.5 million in the case. But he was concerned because the bills looked discolored.

Don't worry, officials told him, that's just a security measure. We can clean the cash up.

Finally, Sessions thought, it's ours.

How scam unfolded


February 2002: Rupert Sessions of Ormond Beach, Fla., receives an e-mail asking for his help in moving millions out of a bank in Togo, in western Africa. In return, he is promised a cut of the money.

March 2002: Sessions' contacts in Togo begin asking for money to complete the deal: $5,000 for a medical certificate and $12,000 for an absentee-collector fee.

April 2002: Local authorities, prompted by a call from Sessions' son, tell Sessions the deal is a scam. He ignores their warning.

February 2003: After months of correspondence, Sessions travels to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he is shown a suitcase full of money. The bills are coated in a black powder. To remove it, his hosts say they need $285,000.

August-September 2003: After Sessions pays to clean the money, his associates say the process turned the money red. They say they will try again for $60,000. Sessions gives up, saying he has no more cash. He estimates his losses at $320,000.

There was, of course, no $21.5 million. Sessions, a 73-year-old retired electronics specialist, had been fleeced by what may be the most widespread fraud on earth.

He had poured more than $300,000 into a "Nigerian 419" scam, the label describing the e-mails that promise millions but deliver nothing.

He sold stock, got a second mortgage and hocked two of his cars. For more than a year, he gave virtual strangers every dollar he had. He bought them gold pens, cellphones and a laptop computer. He spent so much that he now fears losing his home.

"It's all gone," Sessions said. "Everything."

Still, Sessions was so mesmerized by the well-spoken West Africans that to this day he does not think he was scammed. He ignored police warnings that the deal was bogus and instead blames his losses on corrupt foreign governments. He has not filed a complaint with authorities, and he keeps on his coffee table the carved wooden elephant and antelope given to him by his "associates."

"I consider them my friends," he says. "They're not criminals."

Authorities say they are, and they're part of a long-running fraud that takes its name from Section 419 of the Nigerian penal code. The scam emerged from that country in the 1980s, with swindlers sending letters and faxes. The Internet broadened their reach to millions of targets.

Today, everyone with an e-mail address has seen the pitch: A West African lawyer, banker or dignitary wants to get a huge stash of money out of the country. If the victim helps, he'll be cut in.

As the mark gets hooked, he is asked to help finance the transaction. The payoff is always just over the hill.

Rupert Sessions' trip to financial ruin began Feb. 2, 2002.

A man claiming to be a banker in the West African nation of Togo e-mailed Sessions saying he was worried about millions of dollars left in the account of a dead German businessman.

The account had been dormant for years — ever since the businessman and his family died in a plane crash, the e-mail said. The "banker" needed help moving the money. Otherwise, the government would confiscate it.

That's where Sessions fit in.

All he had to do was fill out some forms and allow the banker and his associates to transfer the money to his account. Then the group would divvy up the cash.

Sessions was wary, but intrigued. His $250,000 nest egg had been scrambled by the stock market's slide. He and his partially disabled wife needed the money.

So he responded. Tell me more, he said, but don't ask me to do anything illegal.

No worries, his prospective associates replied. The deal was risk free. Trust us, they said.

And Sessions did. The more he corresponded, the more credible the West Africans appeared. They sent the German family's death certificates — "Certificat de Deces, Republique Togalaise" — and an inheritance document.

They earned his confidence, saying in one e-mail, "God has brought us together as brothers."

Sessions had no idea the story about the dead executive had been around for 20 years. He didn't know that the scammers routinely exploit a victim's faith in God. And he never noticed that the "government documents" looked more like certificates a first-grade teacher might hand out.

Instead, he blamed — and still blames — corrupt government officials. If only they paid off the right people, he thought, the money would be released.

"With every move, the government comes up with another ridiculous fee," he said. "It's incredible."

Even more incredible is how much victims lose. The figures are fuzzy, but a 1997 U.S. State Department report put worldwide losses at "hundreds of millions of dollars" annually. Last year, the FBI said 74 people were taken for $1.6 million.

Most victims aren't taken for as much as Sessions was — the typical amount people lose is $3,800, according to the FBI.

The scammers are often well-educated and quick on their feet. The group, the State Department report says, "are the best in the world for nonviolent spectacular crimes."

And the most spectacular phase of their sting is the face-to-face meeting with the victim. To make the fraud work, the scammers need people to play guards, a chemist and government officials.

They also need a victim, and in this case they had a good one. By the time Sessions boarded a plane for the Persian Gulf in February 2003, he had spent almost a year preparing for the role. When he checked into Dubai's Marriott Hotel, he was more than ready.

Sessions had worried about this trip, but now, as he and one of his West African contacts rode through the city, he wondered if things were falling into place.

Their car stopped at a modest home in a Dubai suburb. The house, he said, was a quasi-governmental office — "almost like an extension of the Togo embassy."

Sessions said he was led past armed guards into a room with no windows. In the room there was a large, gray metal suitcase. In the case was the prize Sessions' had spent his life savings on: $21.5 million in stacks of $100 bills.

But the money looked strange. It was covered with black, chalky powder.

"What's that?" he asked.

Don't worry, his hosts said. Cash was routinely coated with the substance to protect it from being stolen and spent. It was easy to clean, they said; just watch.

A man wearing rubber gloves and a doctor's mask stepped forward. He poured a solution into a small saucer and pulled three bills from the case. He dropped the bills into the saucer and rinsed them.

A few seconds later, they emerged clean and green. Sessions heart raced as he inspected the bills. They were authentic.

But before Sessions could celebrate, the officials delivered the bad news: They'd run out of cleaning solution. They could make more, but it wouldn't be cheap.

The chemicals and continued security would cost $285,000. Sessions was stunned. But he was already in for so much, he felt he couldn't turn back now.

So Sessions took a $25,000 cash advance on his credit card — one of about 16 he'd gotten — while his associate promised to stay in Dubai to ensure the deal worked out.

When Sessions returned home, he and his wife sold or borrowed against everything they had left in stocks, insurance and annuities. He wired the proceeds to his partners.

Eight months later, they had all the money they needed. Sessions' share was between $60,000 and $80,000.

"You kind of lose track," he says.

With the money in place, Sessions planned a return trip. He bought plane tickets and made hotel reservations. But the day before the flight, his partners sent an urgent message.

The chemist had tried to clean the money, but it had turned red. His partners wanted to try again for an additional $60,000, but Sessions had had enough.

Or more correctly, he had nothing. There was no more money to bleed from him.

Sessions can't easily say what the last two years cost him. Between selling his investments, running up credit-card bills, depleting savings and borrowing against his house, the total comes up to about $320,000. Most of that is new debt.

Sessions, retired for a decade, is scrambling for work and putting his prized 1967 Cadillac convertible up for sale.

Anything to raise money.

To him, the scammers are corrupt foreign governments. His "friends" and the money are real.

"There was never any attempt by them to defraud me," he says.

Paul Elliott, a Secret Service agent in Jacksonville, Fla., said it's too painful for some victims to accept they've lost everything to a fairy tale.

There are moments when Sessions seems to understand. It's little things he says while leafing through the 3-inch stack of e-mails. Maybe part of him knows.

"I guess not knowing the people should have made me suspicious," he says. "They never did really explain how they got my name."

Today, the answer doesn't matter much. Sessions has more pressing things to worry about — like how to keep a roof over his head.

"I have to figure out a way to pay the bills," he says. "I thought this would help do that. Instead, it's ruined us."

[goldstategop]

People let their greed get the better of them. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The Nigerian "419" scam has been around even before the Internet and variations of it involve an appeal to do something illegal on behalf of some country's ex official or the widow of one. In the end it turns out they have nothing to do with it and you never see their promised half of the money. Only the victim is left holding the bag. Like the old saying has it, "a fool and his money are soon parted"....

[cmsgop]

Damm, Thats Sad....

[Nik Naym]

Unless this guy is senile or something, I just can't feel at all sorry for him. How dumb can a human being get?

Nik

[goldstategop]

Its more like he's denying he was defrauded. Its the same psychological mechanism that helps people cope with the death of a loved one or the loss of a job. I don't blame him for not admitting he was made a fool of. For most people, face is the only thing they have left once everything else is gone.

[Prime Choice]

"I consider them my friends," he says. "They're not criminals."

It's obvious we're not dealing with a lot of brain thrust here.

Someone ought to educate this poor sod on why they're called "confidence men."

[kingu]

Hmm, pretty dumb, I'd say. I'm really curious as to if the scammers are so good as to keep someone from getting any more of the scam e-mails once they've been hooked in..

It'd be interesting if the reporter had thought to ask if he had gotten any more appeals from Africa while he was arranging all of this, and what he had thought of those e-mails at the time.

[goldstategop]

Uh huh. Friends don't steal from you and friends don't betray you. This guy's rationalizing the loss of his life savings. And instead of being rich like he thought, he's figuring out how to keep his roof over his head. Serves him right that to this day he has no idea whatsoever he got taken to the cleaners.

[goldstategop]

You would think people would be skeptical of claims of instant wealth with little or no hard work involved. Even millionaires didn't get it handed to them on a silver platter.

[Prime Choice]

Friends don't steal from you and friends don't betray you. This guy's rationalizing the loss of his life savings.

Right on the (ummmm) money. ; )

And instead of being rich like he thought, he's figuring out how to keep his roof over his head. Serves him right that to this day he has no idea whatsoever he got taken to the cleaners.

That's what really bothers me. The guy got suckered and for that I am truly sorry for his plight...but then he makes excuses for the same people who took him to the cleaners. That just burns me up.

Such idiotic statements only show that he's learned absolutely nothing from his odyssey of avarice and gullibility. And it pains me to say that nobody would be doing him any favors if they tried to help him out of the hole he dug. The moment he would get out of that hole, the sooner he'd figure a way to dig a new one of equal or greater depth.

[DB]

His wife doesn't deserve it.

[goldstategop]

She should file for divorce and if she bought into it, she's as stupid as her husband.

[Ronin]

It's still amazing to me that they can find people who have not heard of this scam and who can still be suckered.

It's been around for so damn long.

[RonHolzwarth]

here is one of the ones I got. There was another, but I think I deleted it right off!

FROM THAHANI ADAMS.
phone:27-721472521
FAX+27-11720-3173

Dear,

With due respect, trust and humility I write this
letter to you seeking your help and assistance though
it’s difficult since we have not met before.

I got
your good contact from the South African Information
Exchange (SAIE) regarding your business profile and
sincerity, I believe that you are capable and reliable
in handling this urgent international transaction of
this sort. I am MR,THAHANI ADAMS, the son of COMRADE
BORDER ADAMS the Zimbabwean former Minister for Youth
& Gender Equality who is also a businessman and
politician, in the Zimbabwean political arena.

My
father was the famous politician who stood firm
against President MUGABE'S idea of continuos fight in
Democratic Republic of politician who stood firm
against President seizure of white farms and the
distribution of it to the blacks without compensation
to the owners. Because of my father’s sincerity he was
killed on the 14th April 2002 by a planned motor
accident along Mashonaland in Western Mashona province
of Zimbabwe, the planners of the accident are said to
be dissidents soldiers occurred suspected to have the
backing of the government and President Mugabe.

Sir,
when this accident occurred at about 10:15 am
Zimbabwean time my father did not die on the spot
rather he was rushed to Harare hospital by unknown
soldiers and my father managed to sneak a written
message to us, explaining his condition concerning one
diplomatic box he concealed under the roof of his
private bedroom containing US$16.5 M (Sixteen Million
Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and other
vital documents which was meant for his political
campaign in the next election June2002. He instructed
me to take my brother and younger sister with the box
and leave Zimbabwe immediately for our safety, which
we successfully did and now we are in South Africa
with the money deposited in a security company with
the original documents of deposit intact.


Because ofthe country existing law, which bears asylum
seekers
refugee like us to operate an account that exceed
US$2000.00 and the fear of money not raising eyebrows
here in South Africa, I decided to write to you seek
for your help for this money to be transferred into
your private bank account as all arrangements for a
hitch free transfer have been fully taken care off. I
want to assure you also that this transaction is 100%
risk free as no other person knows this box apart from
my younger brother and I.

Sir, as for your reward kind
assistance we have resolved to give you 15% of the
total amount, 5% for any expenses that might be
incurred in the course of this transaction. We planned
to invest the rest of the money in your country under
your guidance. If you are willing to help us try as
much as possible to reach me with the above numbers to
enable us proceed in earnest towards concluding all
transaction.

Sir, bear in mind that our lives depend
on this fund and we do hope that this money will be
safe when finally transferred into your account. I do
hope of establishing a rewarding and good relationship
with you and your family after this transaction.
Hoping to hear from you as soon as possible. please
immediately you receive this mail kindly give me a
call for more detail also i will like to have your
tel& fax number for easy communication. waiting to
hear from you soon. Thanks for your co-operation and
God bless.

Best regards,
MR,THAHANI ADAMS.

[RonHolzwarth]

Whoops, sorry, I made an error in the posting above. I DID keep the other one, just for laughs! (he even had my name right, I have Xed it out here)
Here it is:

Dear xxxxxxxxx


I am Jude Momah a solicitor at law. I am the Personal Attorney to Mr.
Mark
xxxxxxxxx a National of your Country, who has lived in Nigeria for the
past
fifty years, and whom here in after shall be referred to as my client.

In April 1999, my client, was involved in a fatal car accident . All
occupants
of the vehicle unfortunately lost there lives, my client was one
ofthen.

I have contacted you to assist in repatriating most
especially,the money left behind by my client before
they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the
bank where this huge deposits were lodged.

Particularly, the City Trust Finance Company where the
deceased had an account valued at about 30 million
dollars has issued me a notice to provide the Next of
kin, or have the account confiscated.

I seek your consent to present you as the Next of kin
of the deceased since you have the same last name so
that the proceeds of this account valued at 30 million
dollars can be paid to you, as my clients Next of Kin,
and then me can share the amount on a mutual agreed
percentage.

All legal documents to back up your claim
as the deceased Next of Kin, will be provided. All I
require is your honest cooperation to enable us see
this deal through.

I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement
that
will
protect you from anybreach of the law.

Please get in touch with me, to enable us discuss further about this
transaction.

Best regards,

Jude Momah(Esq)

[Byron_the_Aussie]

I have a friend.

He's no fool, he's been a successful international businessman for decades. Earlier this year, I got the call. He'd left a suicide note and gone up into the mountains. Anyway, after a few days, he comes back down, safe. Turns out he'd lost every cent in the 419 scams. The repercussions for his family and sense of self worth have been horrible. These thieves seem to be able to manipulate people and play on all kinds of subliminal aspects of the psyche. It's too simple to assume all the victims are stupid or greedy. What I want to know is, where the hell is the much vaunted Interpol? How come these sharks move from country to country and fake documents (like UN documents) with such ease?

[goldstategop]

That's why its a scam. They all sound the same and the only thing changed between emails is the names of the persons involved. Its incredible in this day and age people would be taken in by something so obvious but some people's critical faculties apparently do desert them and they refuse to believe what's literally in front of their eyes in the sense that no rational person would get involved in something that shady - except when there is the inviting prospect of getting millions a few transactions later. Humam gullibility knows no limits.

[Aquinasfan]

Unless this guy is senile or something, I just can't feel at all sorry for him. How dumb can a human being get?

I feel the same way. But I have to admit that I know someone who's this stupid. Not many people this stupid. But at least one. It is possible to be this stupid.

[CaliGirlGodHelpMe]

If you want to read how someone gave the Nigerian scammers a run for their money, check out www.nigerianscam.com. The guy who started the site spends his free time teasing and leading on the scammers who email him. He uses various personas, such as a beautiful young girl who has always wanted to make love with an African man, etc. The answers from the scammers as they try to get money AND a date are hilarious.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

Thanks, Cali. I'll check it out. But I've got to tell you, when you know someone who's been scammed, it's very hard to find the humour in any aspect of this.