The world famous Nigerian Scam is different though. Yes, the emails in flowery, forelock tugging prose from the 1920s are amusing, but this scam is not at all funny.

As well as having cost many people phenomenal amounts of money, it has resulted in murders!

Here's the typical sort of email which is sent:

Dear Friend, (For Your Personal Attention)

This is important, and requires your immediate attention.  My name is
MOSES BLAHR, the former Chief Security officer and Personal Assistant to
ex-President, Charles Taylor of Liberia.

During the civil war in Liberia, my former boss depended on the sale of diamonds to run his government.  Due to the embargo placed on my country by the United Nations, payments for arms were done through intermediaries for onward forwarding of cash to the arms dealer.  To this end, my former boss had the habit of storing cash in his personal custody.  Bank to bank transaction was impossible as it was closely monitored by the United Nations watchdog.  Sometimes, arms paid for were not supplied due to the bottlenecks along the supply route caused by international observers.

With the recent declaration of peace in Liberia, the African Heads of Government intervened and former President Taylor was negotiated out of power and advised to accept asylum in Nigeria. The president hurriedly made a farewell speech and we left for Nigeria.  Today, we are leaving in a foreign land and confined to a suburb area town called Calabar in the eastern part of Nigeria.

I therefore decided to contact you directly having gotten your information from a handbook of your country I discovered in the former president's official study, which he left behind in his office.
 
NOTE:  In the course of leaving Liberia, we loaded several suitcases into the presidential jet that conveyed the entire family including myself and other aides to Nigeria.  I supervised the loading and offloading of the boxes.  Most of the boxes contained cash and the value was put at $145M. On arrival in Nigeria, I was able to divert one box containing the sum of US$20M in cash.  My boss had already complained about the missing box and I reminded him that it would likely be among the items abandoned in Monrovia before our departure.  Of course, all abandoned properties have been confiscated by the new regime and he did not ask further.  With the help of my lawyer, the box has been deposited with a private security & finance company for safe custody.
 
Can you receive this sum of US$20M and disburse as appropriate?  If yes, kindly forward your response through my e-mail indicating your interest. Upon your acceptance to work with me, I will furnish you with the details of my lawyer who will give you more confidential information about the transaction and also work with you to effect the claim.  Due to my status as an asylum seeker and still serving under my former boss, I cannot directly spend the money here.    Wile confirming your interest, you should furnish me with your private phone, fax line, full names and address to enable my lawyer open communication with you.

For accepting to assist me, I have two options for you.  Firstly you can choose to have certain percentage of the money for nominating your account for this transaction.  Or you can go into partnership with me for the proper profitable investment of the money in your country.  Whichever the options you want, feel free to notify me.

I implore you to maintain the absolute secrecy required in this transaction.  I must use this opportunity to implore you to exercise the utmost indulgence to keep this matter extraordinarily confidential whatever your decision may be.  I await your prompt response.

Let me state here that I will need your assistance to enable me settle  in your country after the transaction. This is therefore my only chance to break even and I need your assistance.  Please respond immediately indicating your interest. 

Regards,
MOSES BLAHR

That has a certain Je ne sais quoi, wouldn't you say?

There is one thing to do:

Delete the email.

DO NOT reply (at all) thereby confirming they have a valid email address. If you do that, your email address will be onsold and an avalanche of spam will result.

For those of you who are idiots, let me spell it out clearly: These emails are not genuine and are sent by desperate criminals.

Foolish people receiving the email respond saying they're happy for the "commission" of "millions" to be deposited to their account. They subsequently receive exciting updates indicating all's going well and excitement builds.

Suddenly, an unexpected hitch. A corrupt official has the money and is ready to make the deposit, but requires a bribe of $500.

If the sucker actually sends the money, next come a few administrative levies, government duties, transfer fees etc.

Eventually, the sucker has transferred thousands and still the millions are not deposited.

This scam is perpetrated by people running software which trawls the internet hacking domain names from domain name registrar's sites.

Once they have a domain name, they bombard that domain with emails
addressed to "info", "sales", "admin", "john", "jane" etc. until they get a reply
with a valid email address from a sucker.

Incredibly, income to Nigeria from this scam became that country's largest item of foreign revenue.

A number of suckers transferred tens of thousands of dollars and were given first class flights to Nigeria to pay the final bribes in cash and in person. They were picked up at the airport at Abuja by a stretch limousine which took them to a nearby field were they were killed and their corpses robbed of the cash.

This con is called Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes

The Nigerian Government passed Amendment 4-1-9 to the Nigerian Crimes Act outlawing the practice. Of course, this didn't stop The "Nigerian Scam" which subsequently also became known as "The Section 419 Email".

Victims are almost always requested to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete a transaction. Individuals are often told that a visa will not be necessary to enter the country. The Nigerian con artists may then bribe airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a serious offence in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim's illegal entry may be used by the fraudsters as leverage to coerce the victims into releasing funds.

Violence and threats of physical harm may be employed to further pressure victims.

In June of 1995, an American was murdered in Lagos, Nigeria, while pursuing a 4-1-9 scam, and numerous other foreign nationals have been reported as missing.

Several reasons have been submitted why Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud has undergone a dramatic increase in recent years. The explanations are as diverse as the types of schemes. The Nigerian Government blames the growing problem on mass unemployment, extended family systems, a get rich quick syndrome, and, especially, the greed of foreigners.

Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate. In all likelihood, there are victims who do not report their losses to authorities due to either fear or embarrassment.

I enjoyed this recent newspaper report:

Many of us have been angered by endless scam emails and letters offering millions of dollars if you send details of your bank account and some money to clear the way.

But a computer operator in the UK decided to do something about it. He decided to scam the scammers, and ended up getting $129 from them in a hilarious sting.

Computer "scambaiter" Mike (no surname given), 42, received a random email from a man claiming to be Prince Joe Eboh, chairman of a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Eboh said he needed to get money out of Nigeria and was offering to transfer $US25 million to Mike's account if he would send his bank details. Mike was promised $6.25 million if he helped.

Mike sent an email back, calling himself Father Hector and saying he would love to help but he could only have business dealings with members of his religious order, the Holy Church of the Order of the Red Breast.

Eboh said, of course, he would convert. Mike sent him details on how to paint a red circle over his breast to join.

Eboh duly sent Mike a picture of himself with painted breast and signed a membership form vowing not to covet his neighbour's ass, to never listen to hip-hop and to honour the words of church guru Shiver Metimbers. Eboh pleaded for $18,000 to register the church in Nigeria so he could transfer the $25 million.

Mike hit back, saying that under church rules he had to pay a clearance fee of $80 before he could withdraw $18,000. As a monk he had no money and asked Eboh for it.

Surprisingly, Eboh sent Mike the money by courier, which cost him $49. Eboh was down $129. He then got a message from church elder Father Mike Myers saying Father Hector had run off with $18,000 in church funds.

Father Hector sent a last email telling Eboh he had lost the money investing in a business exporting snow to Siberia and run off to join a circus.

There is big money behind the scams. US police estimate $US200 million is conned from American citizens by this sort of scam every year.

It's unknown how many Australians fall for the scam, but this month a financial planner in Victoria pleaded guilty to defrauding clients by giving $1.04 million of their money to a Nigerian scamster.

Mike said the scamster was caught by the same thing that trapped his victims: greed.

"It's greed that makes this scam work," Mike said from his Manchester home. "The prince was desperate to get $18,000 and the scammer was scammed by his own greed."

Then, this:

The Australian mastermind of a global internet scam was sentenced to at least four years behind bars.

Nick Marinellis pleaded guilty in the NSW District Court to 10 counts of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice over the so-called Nigerian or West African scam.

The ruse fleeced victims of $5 million.

Judge Barry Mahoney sentenced Marinellis to five years and three months jail with a non-parole period of four years and four months.

The sentence will be backdated to October last year when the 40-year-old was first jailed.

Judge Mahoney said a significant sentence was needed to deter others from committing similar offences.

"None of the matters are trivial and the modus operandi was complicated and devious," he said.

Marinellis will be eligible for release on February 28, 2008.

Here's a beauty I received recently - A genuine Con ARTIST:

This is an official notification of the availability of a package deposited in your name and it is not a sales solicitation or SPAM.

We are Diplomats that use our immunity and status to safekeep special and valuable packages and baggage in trust for reputable clients that are honest and trustworthy.

We work in collaboration with top firms and Governments of various countries as we have earned a name as a service whose hallmarks in reliability and confidentiality are revered.

International missions, Fellow Diplomats and Embassies of the world have used our services to satisfaction.

A benefactor whose identity can not be disclosed because of the Non Circumvention and Non Disclosure Agreement that was signed with the said benefactor when the packages were being deposited made you the beneficiary of a package containing some amount of money and stated clearly that you should only be contacted when the time signed for it to be in our care elapses and the time has already elapsed that is why you are being contacted.

The Non Circumvention and Non Disclosure Agreement signed with the benefactor mandates us to fully divulge and disclose the benefactor's identity 18 months after the beneficiary has received the funds.

The  funds in the package is USD1.5M (One Million,Five Hundred Thousand U.S.Dollars) and we confirm that these funds are fully free of any liens, or encumbrances and are clean, clear and non-criminal origin and are available in the form of CASH.

You are hereby advised to send your Full Contact Information as well as the name of the closest airport to your city in the format stated below so that the funds would be brought to your Country of residence by 3 Diplomats who would accompany you to your bank (if you want them to) to deposit the funds in your name and submit all documentations that has to do with the origin of the funds in other to exonerate you from any form of investigations or interrogation and to authenticate the fact that the funds are clean and has no links whatsover with either drugs or terrorism.

The Requested Information is to ensure that no mistake or error is made and it should be forwarded in the manner stated below:

Your Full Name: ______________________________

Your Complete Address: ________________________________

Name of City of Residence: ____________________

Name of Closest Airport to your city of Residence:_________________________________

Direct Telephone Number:____________________________________

The Telephone number is very necessary because the number would be called by the Diplomats before the funds would be handed over to you so as to ensure that the package is handed over to the right person.
So,its mandatory you send your Direct Telephone Number preferably your Mobile or Cell Phone Number.                         
 
Complete the above and send back to me as soon as possible.

Congratulations in advance.

Thank you and I sincerely Remain

Anna Holmes
annaholmes2002@web-mail.com.ar
annaholmes3@web-mail.com.ar
 

Here's another beauty!

ATTN:
Sir/Madam,
You are hereby informed that we have concluded investigation into the
persistent delay in your payment and have approved the immediate transfer of
your funds into your nominated bank without further delay.

The transfer of your funds into your bank account has been scheduled to take
place on the 12th of march 2005 at the hours of 12.45pm Nigerian time.

Your are hereby advise to contact the Payment Commission setup to ensure
Foreign Payment Implementation by reconfirm your banking information's once
again, so that mistakes can be corrected before the stipulated date of transfer.

You are also  advised  to contact Dr. MRS FAITH BELLO on telephone number:
2348033251787or email: bellofaith555@yahoo.com) to enable her confirms the date
stated above.

1]YOUR FULL NAME

2]YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS

3]YOUR COMPANY NAME

4]YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER

5]YOUR DIRECT FAX NUMBER

6]YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER

7]NAME OF BANK

8]ADDRESS OF BANK


Failure to comply with the above instruction will amount to the cancellation
of your payment rights.

Yours truly,

Chief DR KAYODE  NAIYEJU

Secretary to the President.

There's lots of good stuff in The Bonza Help Centre...