The wife let me know she doesn't believe she's ever gotten one of the "Nigerian scam" (also known as a 419-scam, due to the country code) e-mails. An offer, usually from some lawyer, bank executive or employee, prince, or even a persecuted person to move large sums of money through your bank account. Sometimes it's because a long lost friend or relative has died (usually in the same plane or train crash), or I've just been randomly sought out or even recognized as a person of character from my on-line activities. In return, I'd be allowed to keep a generous portion as a reward for my efforts.

All it takes to participate is enough of your personal information and access to your bank accounts to steal your funds and identity.

I get them a lot. I think it has to do more with having the same e-mail address since 1995 (yes, I have so kept it for that long). It's just out there, getting swept from all of the stolen or sold lists, or pulled from age-old USENET posts, or early domain registrations (I now use an alias, and "protect" my registrations with my registrar), or they get pulled from those huge lists of forwarded jokes and other e-mail chains.

Just the other day I got one, and it's not even in English! (Google Translate says it's Indonesian.) I thought I'd share, in case you also don't get any, either, and wonder what the fuss is about.

Dear,

Perkenalkan nama saya Ria Citra Saya ringgal di London namun berasal dari Indonesia . Saya bertemu seorang bankir. Mr Clement berniat untuk datang berinvestasi di Indonesia.Dia menasihati saya untuk mencari seorang teman di Indonesia yang dapat membantu dia berinvestasi. Apakaha Anda bisa membantu Mr Clement?


Mr Clement sendiri adalah seorang Direktur Executive yang mengurus pengkreditan dan Nota Luar Negeri di Bank Of Citibank (UK) PLC. Beralamatkan di 11 Earl Grey Street Edinburgh EH3 9B. Dia ingin mentransfer uang sebanyak
5,000,000.00 pounds dan menggunakannya untuk berinvestasi di Indonesia .

Apabila anda berminat membantu, mohon anda bisa membantu juga dalam:

1. Membantu dalam hal transfer dana yang dimaksud
2. Memberikan arahan dalam hal-hal yang patut diinvestasikan
3. Membantu membeli harta perumahan di Indonesia


Apabila anda berniat untuk membantu dia dalam tranksaksi ini, anda diberikan 30% dari jumlah dana 5,000,000.00 Pounds. Mr Clement akan sangat senang apabila anda bisa membantu dengan memberikan NOMOR TELEPON anda. Ini supaya Mr Clement bisa memberikan informasi lengkap tentang cara, prosedur dan berbagai macam hal yang berhubungan agar dana ini bisa ditransfer atau tersedia untuk anda.


Saya menunggu balasan dan reaksi positif anda.
Apabila anda BERMINAT membantu saya dan Mr.Clement, silahkan memberikan

BALASAN BERUPA EMAIL: KE [email protected]

Hormat Ria

This poor, childless woman seeks my help in distributing her unnamed fortune to charity:

Dearest in christ ,

I go through your profile to mail you for a permission to go ahead. As you read this I don't want you to feel sorry for me because I believe everyone will die someday.I am Mrs. Elizabeth Maher. I am married to Mr.Phil Mauri who owns a cocoa exporting company in Ivory Coast for twenty Years before he died in the plane accident we were married but without Any children. Since his death I decided not to re-marry. I have been diagnosed with Oesophageal cancer which was discovered very late due to my laxity in carrying a proper health scheme. I have decided to give alms to charity organizations as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth.I wish to request for your assistance in a financial transaction, to invest and help distribute the money charity organizations ,I will expect to hear from you if you think that you can do this for me.
I need someone with a humane disposition to handle this transaction with a firm promise to use the funds for charity please respond a.s.a.p as I am lying critically on my sick bed with this terminal disease.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Elizabeth Maher

And I've been invited to defraud an estate (I'm not the relative he's looking for, but he's willing to overlook that and accept my claim, for a cut):

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re:Last Will and Testament

I am writing to notify you of the TESTAMENT of our deceased client (MichaelMILLER), who unfortunately lost his life in the Air France worst disaster.
The deceased was a prominent business man who travelled to Brazil on Holiday with his wife when they met their tragic death: on Monday, June 1, 2010,
when an Air France Flight 447- Airbus A330-200 jet crashed over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people aboard.

My client before his death made a deposit of Fifteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,500,000.00) However; I was mandated by
our team of professionals to search for the relatives of the deceased regarding his deposit as the holding financial institution wants him to come
forward for the endorsement of the reinvestment documents.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his Next of Kin or relatives to come over to sign the reinvestment documents or claim
his deposit because the financial institution cannot release these funds unless a formal application is made on the inheritance claim.

Regrettably, I learnt that his supposed Next of Kin, which could be his wife, died along with him in the ugly air disaster leaving nobody with the
knowledge of this huge deposit except me as the personal lawyer attached to monitor his deposit. It is in this regard that I decided to solicit your
assistance, by presenting you as the Executor of the Last Will and Testament of the deceased.

NB: This transaction is very confidential and 100% risk free as I will provide all the relevant documents that will enable you act at the executor
of the Will. This transaction shall be executed under legitimate and legal procedures that will protect you from any breach of the Law.

Therefore, do not hesitate to revert back to me. Your response via email is preferred or call: A signed copy of this letter, notification of your
address, your telephone and fax numbers.

Best regards,
Ferrando Jorge Muley Luis
Email:[email protected]

And it also seems that I've won the lottery:

Attn: Please,
We wish to notify you again that you were listed as an heir to the total sum of Five Million British Pounds.

A regular mail was dispatched to you but no reply from you. We request you to kindly acknowledge officially to enable us process your inheritance.

Yours truly,
Admin
London UK.
Inquiries:+447024097981

These were all in my GMail spam folder, so they've been received in the last 30 days. I'm not certain this is all of the offers, but they were easy to pick out from all of the offers for organ enhancement (of some kind).