Have you ever had an e-mail asking for money?

[JoeP 11]

Hiya,

 

I've had quite a few of these over the years - Nigerian 419s, Sierra Leone, Eastern Europe, etc.

 

I believe that the NCIS used to be interested but now I think it's just a case of deleting them after having a good laugh!

 

Joe

[Sam Miguel 10]

Usually from Nigeria or Ghana.

 

I've never actually had an e mail asking for money, but some stupid 'slice puppies' have asked me for my bank account details so they can pay me my 'inheritance money' from my dead auntie who perished in a pile-up with an elephant whilst driving an articulated truck on a dust track in a rain forest during a storm.

 

What alerted me to the problem, though, was the fact that my Nigerian auntie Bin-linga Winga-Woos didn't even have an HGV licence.

 

Cons. Take no notice.

[Jamie 10]

Some people must fall for these scams ... if not ... the scammers would have stopped doing this years ago ...

[RPG 10]

Its fun to "play along" with the scammers:

 

http://www.419fun.com

[robh 10]

Originally posted by Jamie

Some people must fall for these scams ... if not ... the scammers would have stopped doing this years ago ...

Yes people do fall for it, I read somewhere that the average financial loss to them is £30,000.

I believe the typical cost of sending bulk emails is about £10 per million so for the scammers it's worth sending 100 million if they just get one success a year.

 

Beware, there are plenty of more plausible sounding schemes. Sadly the ONLY approach is to regard ALL incoming email as trash until proven otherwise.

 

There is very little possibility of any spam filtering technology being successful without the cooperation of the legislators - who are so in bed with the marketing companies that in both UK and US the legislation passed last year was not merely ineffective but counter-productive.

 

How many of those email exhortations to buy (legitimate) products and services are just fronts to collect your money but never send you anything in return? Or send you something worth a fraction of what you paid?

 

I refuse to have anything to do with any organisation that sends me unsolicited mail, if they are legit then why use the tools of a fraudster?

[Martin_s 10]

Smartest move with these things is to just treat them as normal Spam and just delete them...

 

Don't reply and don't bother getting worked up about them...

 

Getting into "fun" with 419 scammers may get you into hot water if you're not careful... Granted none of the funsters have had problems as yet but the scammers have shown a willingness to kill as FBI records on American gullible idiots have shown... 20+ murders/disappearances to date..

 

So, my advice again.. leave well alone...

[noseyrosie 10]

My name is kuti. Sierra Leonean residing in

burkina faso,West Africa.I am 28years old. You will be surprise to

receive this mail from a total stranger like me,Anyway,i got your

contact through internet in my search for honest person abroad who

will assist me to invest my inherited fund abroad,this is why i

decided to approach you for assistance.

 

My father,the late,CHIEF ALI Musa was one of the

prominent Gold & Diamond dealers in my country Sierra Leone,he was

also the traditional ruler of my home town before He was murdered in

cold blood early last year alongside with my mother by the Rebels of

R.U.F when they invaded my home town.

 

When i got home from school to see the remains of my late father and

other family members,i discovered that my home had been burnt down

and my parents were both murdered by the Rebels of R.U.F that has

been fighting against the legitimate Government in my country since

1992.

 

My late father deposited the sum of(USD$20million)as a FAMILY

TREASURE IN A SECURITY COMPANY here in burkina faso,West Africa before

his untimely death,this money was meant to be used to build an

ultral mordern medical Clinic here in burkina faso,for me after i

shall have completed my studies as a qualified Doctor but the

untimely death of my parents have denied me this good opportunity.

 

Now,as the next of kin and the only child,i have made claims of

ownership of the box containing the money although the people at the

Trust Company are not aware of the true contents of the box,But i

need a reliable person outside Africa through whom i could move the

money abroad and who will subsequently help me to invest the money

wisely while i go back to school to complete my education.

 

Bear in mind that i would entrust this money in your care if you

would be willing to help me in this matter.I am also willing to give

you 25% of the total sum if you will be willing to assist me in this

matter.

In addition,i will equally deduct 5% after the transfer to reimburse

each party for the expenses that may be incurred in the course of

moving the money into your country and you make it a private and

confidential matter

 

I look forward to hear from you soonest.

 

kuti.

 

Should I play with them?

 

Any fun suggestions?

[custardcream 10]

I get them every couple of months from people claiming to be in Nigera and Sierra leone.They're wanting me to set up a bank account/use my existing one to deposit something like a million quid then i get a 10% cut or somert.......er,no thanks