Didn't realise this was still going on.

About a year or so ago the wife (of all people) actually received one of these letters.

Tempted?

No!

Thinking of the old adage, "If it's too good to be true, it usually is," it went straight in the bin.

Anyone who participated in that scheme SHOULD be darn well embarrassed!!!

You mean like these two letters ? which I forwarded to the department of justice , fbi, cia and nigerean department of justice :-)

FROM THE DESK OF DR. PATRICK UDO ODION
CONTRACT REVIEW PANEL
FEDERAL SECRETARIAT COMPLEX (ANNEX)
NIGERIA.

REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

First I must solicit your strictest condfidentiality
in this transaction. This is by virture as being
utterly confidential . You have been recommended by
Nigeria chamber of commerce of your ability and
reliability to transact business of great
magnitude of this kind.

We are top officials of the Federal Government of
Nigeria Contracts Review Panel who are interested in
importation of goods into our country with funds that
are presently trapped in Nigeria. In order to
commence this business, we solicit your assistance to
enable us transfer into your account the said
trapped-funds.

The source of this funds is as follows: during the
immediate past military regime here in Nigeria,
Military Government Officials set up companies and
awarded themselves contracts which were grossly over
invoiced in various ministries. The present civilian
government has set up this panel to look into
contracts awarded to local/foreign contractors, for
which payment has not been made. In the course, we
have been able identified many inflated funds that are
presently floating in the Bank of Nigeria ready for
payment. However, by virtue of our positions as civil
servants and members by my colleagues of the panel to
look for an overseas partner into whose account we
could transfer the sum of US $30,000,000.00 (Thirty
Million U.S. Dollars). We have a complete
understanding of the workings of this form of endeavor
and as civil servants, we shall need some financial
assistance in completing the project where you decide
to assist us.

We have agreed to share the money thus:

20% for the account owner (You)
75% for us (The Officials)
5% to be set aside in setting all foreign expenses and
local expenses (by us) incidental to the actualisation
of this project.

As a token of our gratitude as soon as you confirm the
arrival of the funds in your Account, we shall arrange
for you the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of
Automobile Gasoline (AGO), for spotlifting as less
than market price. One of my colleagues, Mr. A. Abba,
is directly in charge of Crude Oil allocation .

We wish to invest our share of the proceeds from the
project in your country. This is where we need your
assistance most in the area of investment.

Please, note that this transaction is 100% safe, and
we intend to effect the transfer within 10 banking
days from the date of receipt of the following
information via email address and fax numbers above,
your full names, company name and address confidential
telephone and fax numbers The above information will
enable us write letters of claim and job description
respectably, using your company's name to apply for
the payment and re-award the contract to your company.
We are looking forward to doing this business with
you and solicit your confidentiality in this
transaction.

Please acknowledge the receipt of this letter using
the above email address. I will bring you into the
complete picture of this pending project when I have
heard from you.

Yours faithfully,

DR.PATRICK UDO ODION
______________________________________________________
AND THIS ONE
______________________________________________________

Attn:The Company President.

Respected dear,


I know you will be surprised to read from me, but please consider this

As a request from a family in dare need of assistance. First I must

introduce myself I am MR PASCAL BAMU from Angola. I am the first son and the only son of BRIGADIER ALLOYSIUS
BAMU, I presently residing in

Ghana West Africa.


I got your contact from a business directory in Ghana chamber of

commerce and industry and I on behalf of my widowed mother MRS SUSAN

BAMU decided to solicit for your assistance to transfer the sum of

US$33.7MILLION(THIRTY THREE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED

STATES DOLLARS) inherited from my late father into your personal or company's

account. Before my father's death he was a brigadier in charge of arms

and ammunition purchase for the Angolan armed force in his 'WILL' he

specifically drew my attention to this sum of US33.7MILLION, which he

deposited in a safe box of a private security company's in south

Africa.


INFACT MY FATHER SAID AND I QUOTE;


“my beloved son, I wish to draw your attention to the sum of

US$23.7MILLION(TWENTY THREE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE

DOLLARS)which I deposited in a box with security company in Ghana

West Africa, During the war I was dedicated and committed to winning

the war against the rebels until I found out that senior army officers and

top Government functionaries were busy helping themselves with Government

funds and properties and sending them to foreign countries. Due to this, when

I and the special adviser to the president were assigned by the (president Eduardo Santos) to purchase arms from south Africa,
we saw this as a golden opportunity and diverted the money which we shared and I got a total sum of US33.7MILLION. in case
of my absence on earth caused by death only, you should solicit for a reliable foreign partner to assist you to transfer this out of
Ghana West Africa for investment. I deposited the money in your name and you can claim it alone with the deposit code. Your
mother has all the documents. Take good care of your mother and two sisters”


From the above, you will understand that the lives and future of my

family depends on this fund, as much I will be very grateful if you can assist us.

We are now living in Ghana West Africa as asylum seekers and the financial

law of Ghana does not allow asylum seekers certain financial rights to such huge amount of money. In view of this, I cannot
invest this money in West Africa, hence I am asking you to assist me transfer the money out of Africa for investment purposes.
For your efforts, I am prepared to offer you 20% of the total fund, while 10% will be set aside for local and international
expenses and 70% will be kept for my family and me.


Best regards,


MR PASCAL BAMU

Glad to see I'm not the only one who knows a BS scam when I see it. Even if I WERE to attempt to respond, I'd set up a new account at a different bank just to see what happens.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Here is one from China I just received


SUBJECT SAYS: Notification for Payment Received !!!,

This email confirms that you may receive $6,000.00 (Commissions)
Payment for LAST month for your 1 hours work a day.

TRANSACTION INFORMATION:
Amount: $6,000.00

Item/Product Name:
Number of Survey 12/day X 30/days = 120

Item/Product Comission:
Average $/Survey = $50

Total: 120 surveys X $50 = $6,000


THIS IS A KIND OF EMAIL
YOU SHOULD RECEIVED AFTER YOUR FIRST MONTH

Could be nice, don't you think ?

*****************************************************
Hello!
Here is the Greatest Opportunity ever presented on Internet
YOU SURF THE WEB ALREADY,
SO WHY NOT GET PAID FOR IT......
There are numerous market research companies
on the web willing to pay you strictly in cold CASH
(Guaranteed $15-$125 and more per survey) for simply giving
your opinions by participating in their surveys!
The more you sign up with, the more money you make!
How much you make is up to you.Easy calculation:
Let’s say that you have one hour a day the most
of the survey will take 15 minutes
so you can fill out 4 surveys a day.
If you take 4 survey at $50 = $200 by 30 days = $6 000 a month
What about now if you spend 3 hours a day?
WOW $18 000 a month to stay home
and care about your family
The companies are sending you checks
usually 3 to 5 days after you did fill it out.

Tell Your Friends About us!
We will pay you EVERY DAY for each sale you do!

The rewards continue! Telling your friends
about us is an outstanding business decision...
Not only will we pay you for completing a survey,
But you will get pay for each survey that your friends fill out too!

So don't wait another second join us NOW and have your friends sign up today!


ACT NOW AND GET YOUR COMPLIMENTARY 3-DAY/2-NIGHT DREAM VACATION
as a special introductory offer!
ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!


To get all details



Push button below.






YOU WANT TO BE REMOVED?
Push button below to be REMOVED

Button? We don't need no stinking button!

After you post your credit card numbers along with expiration dates and I personally guarantee that you will not have to worry about getting ripped off by these letters any more.

This message was edited by Sheik_Yerbouhti on 05/27/02 21:24.28.

Don't give them any info
I contacted ICQ about this e-mail , their reply follows this fake but real appearing e-mail.
_______________________________________________________
Return-Path:
<[email protected]>

From:
[email protected]
Subject:
Dear ICQ user please submit this form so that we know your account is active.
To:[email protected]



Dear ICQ user,

The ICQ Inc. is refreshing its databases to delete the inactive accounts. Please fill in your ICQ Number and your Password then submit this form.
This is everything that you have to do to keep your account active. Don't reply to this mail. After your submission you will be forwarded to our
homepage and will be able to read the latest news about ICQ Inc. Unless you confirm us that you are using your ICQ legally by filling the empty
spaces, you won't be able to use your ICQ account after our refreshing is over. For security purposes, your ICQ# is not specified in this email.
Please note that your ICQ Password is case sensitive.

With best regards ICQ Inc.


ICQ Number:

Password:

Re-enter Password:




I Lost My Password

This message was edited by kabster on 06/16/02 13:10.17.

This was ICQ's Reply
_______________________________________________________
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to write us.

Let me assure you we are doing our best to fight these cases of chain
letters.

Please note that the ICQ team will never ask its users to forward any
message, or send your password or do anything to keep your ICQ account
active.
These messages are spam, and should be ignored.

If we ever wish to ask our users for anything, we will use a system message
or an ICQ announcement.

ICQ has various features to protect your privacy and ignore these messages:

Please click 'Main' menu button -> Security & Privacy permissions-> on the
left under ' Permissions ' choose 'Messages ':

You may check the preferred options:

* Accept Messages Only From users On My Contact List.
Checking this option will make ICQ ignore all messages from people who
are not on your list.

* Do Not accept Multiple Recipients Messages From all users/users not on my
contact list
Checking this option will make ICQ ignore only multiple Recipients
messages from the people you choose.

* Do not accept WWPager Messages

* Do not accept EmailExpress Messages

We continuously work on reducing the amount of spamming in the ICQ network,
and we will need your cooperation to keep ICQ as clean from these messages
as possible.

Please note that while the privacy and security features offered on ICQ are
designed to assist in protecting users privacy, they can not guarantee
privacy protection against all exploitations.

Higher levels of privacy may be reached using encryption technology with
your ICQ. For privacy concerns, you may also wish to review the ICQ Security
Tutorial at [Link: icq.com]


We thank you in advance.
The ICQ Team.

Yep, I received this one also, too many times to count.

Here's a new one .
And I will bet money they make their money on your call.
A lot of money like 2 or 4 hundred bucks billed to your phone by an offshore company. And supposidly you have no recourse. (saw this one on 60 minutes)

-------- Original Message --------
Return-Path: <[email protected]>
Received: from rediffmail.com ([216.139.169.131])by emu (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id
From: "COL. CYPRIAN AMALA" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: ASSISTANCE
Sender: "COL. CYPRIAN AMALA" <[email protected]>

Reply-To: "COL. CYPRIAN AMALA" <[email protected]>


FROM: COL. CYPRIAN AMALA.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO.
Tel No: Your country Intl. access code +873762692483
Fax No: your country Intl. Access code +873762692485
[email protected]


Dear Sir/Madam,


SEEKING YOUR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.

Please Permit me to make your acquaintance in so informal a manner. This
is necessitated by my urgent need to reach a dependable and trust wordy
foreign partner. This request may seem strange and unsolicited but I will
crave your indulgence and pray that you view it seriously. My name is COL.
CYPRIAN AMALA of the Democratic Republic of Congo and One of the close
aides to the former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, LAURENT
KABILA of blessed memory, may his soul rest in peace.

During the military campaign of LAURENT KABILA to force out the rebels in
my country, I and some of my colleagues were commissioned by the Late
President Kabila to negotiate the supply of arms and ammunition from
abroad worth Twenty Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars
only (US$20,500,000.00) to fight the rebel groups. We were then given this
money privately by the then President LAURENT KABILA, without the
knowledge of his Cabinet Members. This was mainly because some of us and
some Cabinet members never wanted more wars and most of the Cabinet
members were opposed to the fighting. But when President Kabila was killed
in a bloody shoot-out by one of his Body Guards a day before we were
schedule to travel out of Congo, we immediately decided to put the funds
into a private security company here in Congo for safe keeping. The
security of the said amount is presently being threatened here following
the arrest and seizure of properties of Col. Rasheidi Karesava (One of the
Body Guards to Laurent Kabila) a tribesman, and some other Military
Personnel from our same tribe, by the new President of the Democratic
Republic of Congo, the son of late President Laurent Kabila, Joseph Kabila.

In view of this, we need a reliable and trustworthy foreign partner who
can assist us to move this money out of my country as the beneficiary. WE
have sufficient ''CONTACTS'' here to move the fund under Diplomatic Cover
to a security company in Europe in your name. This is to ensure that the
Diplomatic Baggage is marked ''CONFIDENTIAL'' and it will not pass through
normal custom/airport screening and clearance.

Our inability to move this money out of Congo all this while lies on our
lack of trust on our supposed good friends (western countries) who
suddenly became hostile to those of us who worked with the late President
Kabila immediately after his son took office. Though we have neither seen
nor met each other, the information We gathered from an associate who has
worked in your country has encouraged and convinced us of your country and
hence with your sincere assistance, this transaction will be properly
handled with modesty and honesty to a huge success within two weeks.

We would please need you to stand on our behalf as the beneficiary of this
fund in Europe. This is because we are under restricted movement and watch
and hence we want to be very carefull in other not to lose this fund which
we have worked so hard for. Thus, if you are willing to assist us move
this fund out of Congo, you can contact me through my email address,
Tel/Fax nos. above with your telephone, fax number and personal
information to enable us discuss the modalities and what will be your
share (percentage) for assisting us.

Please note that There are no RISKS involved in this Deal as every ones
Security is Gurranteed as far as we follow the required guidlines. I will
hence furnish you with further details of this Deal as soon as I am
assured of your Sincere interest to assist us. We wish to inform you that
this deal is based on Mutual Trust as we cannot conclude this deal on our
own without trusting someone. Also, friends are discovered and friends are
made and we hope to build a lasting friendship of trust from this deal.

I must use this opportunity and medium to implore you to exercise the
utmost indulgence to keep this matter extraordinarily confidential, What
ever your decision, while I await your prompt response. Thank you and God
Bless.
Best Regards


COL. CYPRIAN AMALA (RTD). [email protected]

N\B. When you are calling my line, you dial your country Intl. access
code, then you dial directly, do not include my country code i.e. (243).
Just dial your country Intl. access code + 873762692483 and my fax number
is your country Intl. Access code + 873762692485


This message was edited by kabster on 06/16/02 13:12.02.