U.S. Secret Service Alert
Nigeria - The 419 Coalition Website
We Fight the Nigerian Scam.:
Posted on 12/12/2002 9:15:37 PM PST by dennisw
Nigerian email scam causes Americans to loiter in London hotel lobbies
Second biggest Nigerian business?
By Mike Magee: Wednesday 11 December 2002, 15:21
MESSAGE LABS said its software intercepted over 10 million viruses during 2002, while Spam is increasing to such an extent that it's outnumbering legit messages. And the firm said, quoting the UK National Criminal Intelligence Service, that up to five Americans per day have been seen waiting in London hotels to meet people about liberating funds.
This one is new to us. How can you tell an American in a hotel lobby has fallen victim to the Nigerian 419 scam? Does he or she have a big sign saying: "Are you the son of the finance minister of Nigeria?"
Or, as the latest one we've received says: "I am hon Dr John cabora. A diplomant from the republic gabon, also the owner of trans Atlantic crossing company".
Message Labs claims that these operations are going to gross over two billion dollars in 2003, making it the second biggest Nigerian industry.
The firm said: "Recently, Americans in particular seem to be falling victim to the scam. A recent report by the U.K.'s National Criminal Intelligence Service stated that up to five Americans per day have been witnessed waiting in London hotel lobbies to meet people connected with the scam. If this trend continues, MessageLabs predicts that Nigerian scam operations will gross over two billion dollars in 2003, becoming the second largest industry in the country."
If this trend continues, and if Message Labs is right, we think that London hotel lobbies will be packed full of people and you won't be able to get to the concierge to ask: "Where is the Porcupine pub?" (Answer: The home of roadmaps is on the Charing Cross Road.)
Nigeria - The 419 Coalition Website
We Fight the Nigerian Scam.:
Its hard to cheat an honest man.
Honestly they were hilarious ...ranging from dudes with gold reserves in their basement to 'ex-presidents' with state coffers for transfer! Any prudent person would know it is a big farce ....however again remember the Nigerians are getting 2 billion dollars a year ....hence the scam must be working, and working well!
I heard of one guy who sold his business in the US (a successful biz by the way ....guy had a family), and transferred the cash to Lagos (it was the 'deal of the millenium' and he was to make a 'huge profit').
Anyways when he heard nothing from the Nigerian dude he got worried and flew to Lagos ....where to his chagrin he discovered it was indeed a scam and he had been taken to the cleaners.
He killed himself in his hotel room rather than come back to the US.
Anyways i find it quite weird that anyone would fall for such a scam! I guess its greed ....but also i would include lack of common sense!
After all if the nigerian guy had access to the state coffers, and he has all those multi-millions, then WHY would he ask for assistance from an office manager in Missouri or a teacher in Dallas?????? Sometimes people need to ask themselves serious questions before they do stuff!
Actually as an aside i remember some other scam artists who would say they can pray and double/triple/quadruple your money! And people fell for it .....yet if they had looked at the 'miracle workers' they would have noticed those fellas were poorer than church mice! Hence the question begs to be asked: If they had the power to multiply cash through will, then how come they are poor??????
Again i say it is greed ...but greed mixed with a soft mind and feeble logic!
However i personally think this is a good thing! It just shows natural selection at work! Thus just as we do not feel bad when a wolf eats the lame deer that could not run away fast enough then we should also not pity those foolish enough to believe some Nigerian prince is going to give them 'a tenth of the total revenue from Nigeria's oil reserves!' Instead of pity such people deserve serious prayer ....they need it (together with a considerable increase in IQ).
Actually i managed to once dupe my fellow college mates into believing i was some type of esoteric African prince for ages ....and just to seal the deal i showed them pictures of me in school wearing the school uniform. They automatically assumed the school uniform was some type of royal garb, and that the school was my palatial retreat (they seemed so eager to meet royalty i never bothered to correct them! I still chuckle when i remember how they would bring their friends just to meet me ....saying i am a veritable prince here in the US incognito. What was weird is even after i told some i was not a prince they still clung to the notion ....almost as if they needed to 'believe').
LOL
I'd like to figure out how to scam the scammers.
For example, if I led them to believe I had just inherited some money - could I get them to fly me to Nigeria (first class) on their nickel? The only way to get to Nigeria from the US is through Europe. I'd just fail to make the connection to Nigeria & would instead enjoy a few days in Paris or London.
Friend, my name is Mark Williams, I have made two hundred million dollars from internet scam. I need you help in moving this money to United State America. I will give you...
Note: anyone named Mark Williams reading this, I am certainly not refering to you (Unless you happen to be the only son of the late Chief Fred Tony Williams of Sierra Leone, former general Manager of Sierra Leone mining co-operation (S.L.M.C.) Freetown)
Years ago, I received one by mail and postmaked from Nigeria complete with a Nigerian stamp and multi-colored letterhead attributed to the national Nigerian oil company.
I still have it as an interesting conversation piece.
P.S. I invested my seven million dollar cut mostly in real estate. How about you? ;-)
Great news, I just got a letter from Dr. E. Koli, the Nigerian Minister of Financial Affairs. He informs me that he has recovered the $2 billion taken from gullible Americans and deposited it into the national treasury. He just needs our help getting it out of the country - anyone wanna go in with me and split the $1 billion reward?
I've noticed that with home-grown MLM's (most of which I also happen to think of as scams). Back in the 70's, Amway was presented to me with "instant riches" as the hook. In the 80's, the presenter must have found out I was active in conservative politics, because the hook was "Amway is fighting communism in Mexico by introducing its operations there." Just this past year, a churchgoing friend tried to get me interested in a offshoot of Amway by suggesting that it was Biblical for Christians to network economically amongst themselves in the End Times, and their product distribution scheme was the perfect method to do this (and to incidentally grow rich).
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