A couple of amusing scam e-mails

Discussion Open Forum
1

Lot’s of wedding photographers in the US and Canada get these e-mails from Nigerian scam artists, or is scam idiots …

[quote]Here are all the e-mails:
hello, how do you do? My name is Frederick, i’m from Ireland (Europe) i will be coming over to the states soon to start my new job with my company branch and i’ll be getting married just before then to my lovely lady named jessica in the states…So i need a wedding photographer to take care of all the pictures for the ceremony from the church to the hotel reception. I will like to find out what your plans are for the month of febuary 1, which is the date of my wedding. Please kindly let me know your availability for this date and also the cost/pricing of your service to be rendered. I will need to know as much information needed so as to futher with the wedding arrangements. Waiting to read from you soon. Thanks and God bless you. Frederick benson.

Wow, i’m very glad you will be available on my wedding date. I will like a Bronze special package for my wedding event that won’t be more than 6 hours of hot and sizzling photography as i will be sending some pictures to my wife’s family in Brazil and Germany and also would love my special package to include a parent’s album and all copy of images on DVD and CD. Well more about me, i currently reside in Ireland, Dublin and my wife has travelled to Nigeria for shopping but we will be having our wedding event in Radisson Miyako Hotel,San Francisco and we’ll be having our honeymoon in thesame hall we’re having our wedding ceremony. I’m a pretty laid back person, easygoing, quite outgoing and well mannered. I believe in the law of karma, that is do unto others what you want to be done unto you and also that what goes around comes around. My best feature is my Honesty! I believe honesty is the best legacy. I am sure you will not regret working for me on my wedding event because i’m willing to take good care of your team and also i will request for the best price from your studio because i wouldn’t like to look elsewhere. Please get back to me with your best pricing rate for the package that includes everything that i’ve listed, i’m in a haste. Thanks Frederick Benson.

Hello, Thanks for your mail, Am really happy to read from you…I will love to let you know that am very much intrested in you working with us, So i will want you to email me the total cost both for the service and for your ticket and all that, And as soon as you do that i will also want you to email me your mailing address, So as soon as i get this, Paymeny will be mail out to you via cashier check.Pls mail me asap. Regards Frederick

Hello, Thanks for your rapid responde…Am really happy to know you will be able to work for us…Well am okay with all you said and am okay with the price…So i will be mailing out the check to you, And as soon as i mailint it out i will let you know.Pls mail me back asap. Regards Frederick Benson

[/quote]

From the same author

[quote]hello, how do you do?

My name is Frederick, i’m from Ireland (Europe) i will be coming over to the states soon to start my new job with my company branch and i’ll be getting married just before then to my lovely lady named Susan in the states…So i need a wedding photographer to take care of all the pictures for the ceremony from the church to the hotel reception. I will like to find out what your plans are for the month of December 30 which is the date of my wedding. Please kindly let me know your availability for this date and also the cost/ pricing of your service to be rendered. I will need to know as much information needed so as to futher with the wedding arrangements. Waiting to read from you soon. Thanks and God bless you. Frederick

Follow-up e-mail;

Wow, i’m very glad you will be available on my wedding date. I will like Basic wedding with photo cd $1000 for my wedding event that won’t be more than 6 hours of hot and sizzling photography as i will be sending some pictures to my wife’s family in Brazil and Germany and also would love my special package to include a parent’s album and all copy of images on DVD and CD. Well more about me, i currently reside in Ireland, Dublin and my wife has travelled to Nigeria for shopping but we will be having our wedding event in Tampa, Fl and we’ll be having our honeymoon in thesame hotel we’re having our wedding ceremony. I’m a pretty laid back person, easygoing, quite outgoing and well mannered. I believe in the law of karma, that is do unto others what you want to be done unto you and also that what goes around comes around. My best feature is my Honesty! I believe honesty is the best legacy. I am sure you will not regret working for me on my wedding event because i’m willing to take good care of your team and also i will request for the best price from your studio because i wouldn’t like to look elsewhere. Please get back to me with your best pricing rate for the package that includes everything that i’ve listed, i’m in a haste. Thanks

[/quote]

2

While not really amusing this is a recent arrival from my email box.

[quote]Greetings,
I am Wong Siu Man the Accountant of Yew Chung Foundation
Hong Kong, an NGO (None Government Organization) setup to
raise funds for the December 2004 tsunami victims.

My organization did however raise excess funds, therefore i
seek your co-operation in order to retrieve some reasonable
amount of the total reserves. The top officials of my
organization wants to divert the said funds for personal
use, i need you co-operation in retrieving some of these
funds and subsequently engaging in charity donations around
the world. I am contacting you because i know you are
outside Hong Kong, it will be much secured doing this with you.

Note that you have to possess a personal bank account which
can accommodate up to two hundred thousand US dollars or
more weekly.

  1. You shall be entitled to 20% of any amount you receive in
    your account.

  2. 50% of any amount i transfer into your account will go to
    charity organization around the world in a view to helping
    people surviving from Heart diseases, cancer, diabetes,
    orphanages and starvation in some parts in Africa.

  3. The rest 30% will go to my personal account i shall
    provide you with in due course. I will tell you exactly how
    much funds i intend transferring when we successfully
    establish a business relationship by this email. At this
    point it is important that you know that i am not trying to
    take from the tsunami victims funds, rather these are
    floating funds in our reserves. However i do not support the
    management confiscating these funds for personal use.

This project is risk free as i am solely in charge of
accounts in this organization. Get back to me ASAP, once i
receive your response we shall from then henceforth
communicate through my confidential email address for
security reasons.

Thanks,
Wong Siu Man.
Tel: +852-3017-7008
Fax: +852-3017-7008
[/quote]

3

Did you give him a call?

4

No, but anyone else is free to.

5

I dont tend to get these wacky Nigerian scam emails, but often get fake ebay emails asking me to sign in to ‘reactivate’ my account etc…

In a rare(!) moment of stupidity, I actually did click on the fake link and signed in, thereby giving the scammers my ebay account. Within minutes, they had listed superbowl tickets on my account…

I woke up the next day to find 40 or so emails from confused buyers wondering how a guy in Australia could be selling the dodgey tickets…!

Ebay were very good about it, they locked my account soon after the tickets were posted, and even called me at hom to verify details.

But still… gotta be careful…

6

[quote=“belgian pie”]Lot’s of wedding photographers in the US and Canada get these e-mails from Nigerian scam artists, or is scam idiots …

[quote]Here are all the e-mails:
hello, how do you do? My name is Frederick, i’m from Ireland (Europe) i will be coming over to the states soon to start my new job with my company branch and i’ll be getting married just before then to my lovely lady named jessica in the states…So i need a wedding photographer to take care of all the pictures for the ceremony from the church to the hotel reception. I will like to find out what your plans are for the month of febuary 1, which is the date of my wedding. Please kindly let me know your availability for this date and also the cost/pricing of your service to be rendered. I will need to know as much information needed so as to futher with the wedding arrangements. Waiting to read from you soon. Thanks and God bless you. Frederick benson.

Wow, i’m very glad you will be available on my wedding date. I will like a Bronze special package for my wedding event that won’t be more than 6 hours of hot and sizzling photography as i will be sending some pictures to my wife’s family in Brazil and Germany and also would love my special package to include a parent’s album and all copy of images on DVD and CD. Well more about me, i currently reside in Ireland, Dublin and my wife has travelled to Nigeria for shopping but we will be having our wedding event in Radisson Miyako Hotel,San Francisco and we’ll be having our honeymoon in thesame hall we’re having our wedding ceremony. I’m a pretty laid back person, easygoing, quite outgoing and well mannered. I believe in the law of karma, that is do unto others what you want to be done unto you and also that what goes around comes around. My best feature is my Honesty! I believe honesty is the best legacy. I am sure you will not regret working for me on my wedding event because i’m willing to take good care of your team and also i will request for the best price from your studio because i wouldn’t like to look elsewhere. Please get back to me with your best pricing rate for the package that includes everything that i’ve listed, i’m in a haste. Thanks Frederick Benson.

Hello, Thanks for your mail, Am really happy to read from you…I will love to let you know that am very much intrested in you working with us, So i will want you to email me the total cost both for the service and for your ticket and all that, And as soon as you do that i will also want you to email me your mailing address, So as soon as i get this, Paymeny will be mail out to you via cashier check.Pls mail me asap. Regards Frederick

Hello, Thanks for your rapid responde…Am really happy to know you will be able to work for us…Well am okay with all you said and am okay with the price…So i will be mailing out the check to you, And as soon as i mailint it out i will let you know.Pls mail me back asap. Regards Frederick Benson

[/quote]

From the same author

[quote]hello, how do you do?

My name is Frederick, i’m from Ireland (Europe) i will be coming over to the states soon to start my new job with my company branch and i’ll be getting married just before then to my lovely lady named Susan in the states…So i need a wedding photographer to take care of all the pictures for the ceremony from the church to the hotel reception. I will like to find out what your plans are for the month of December 30 which is the date of my wedding. Please kindly let me know your availability for this date and also the cost/ pricing of your service to be rendered. I will need to know as much information needed so as to futher with the wedding arrangements. Waiting to read from you soon. Thanks and God bless you. Frederick

Follow-up e-mail;

Wow, i’m very glad you will be available on my wedding date. I will like Basic wedding with photo cd $1000 for my wedding event that won’t be more than 6 hours of hot and sizzling photography as i will be sending some pictures to my wife’s family in Brazil and Germany and also would love my special package to include a parent’s album and all copy of images on DVD and CD. Well more about me, i currently reside in Ireland, Dublin and my wife has travelled to Nigeria for shopping but we will be having our wedding event in Tampa, Fl and we’ll be having our honeymoon in thesame hotel we’re having our wedding ceremony. I’m a pretty laid back person, easygoing, quite outgoing and well mannered. I believe in the law of karma, that is do unto others what you want to be done unto you and also that what goes around comes around. My best feature is my Honesty! I believe honesty is the best legacy. I am sure you will not regret working for me on my wedding event because i’m willing to take good care of your team and also i will request for the best price from your studio because i wouldn’t like to look elsewhere. Please get back to me with your best pricing rate for the package that includes everything that i’ve listed, i’m in a haste. Thanks

[/quote][/quote]

hmmm…yah it seems pretty fishy…but where is the scam? I was expecting him to ask the photographer to send him a few grand to help him “free up” his funds in Ireland (Europe).

7

The scam starts when they send a cashiers cheque of an amount bigger than requested, which the victim cashes with his bank. He then has to send the balance to the scam artist … the cheque will bounce and the amount is redrawn from his account losing the money (balance) he already sent over …

8

I just received this from a friend asking if the passport is real. Hehe…Nigerian scam in Taiwan now!

[quote]From: “Mr. Liang-Chin Lee” mrliangchin@yahoo.com.tw
To: 914sfriend@hotmail.com
Subject: More Info Regards $44.5 M Proposal
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:12:01 +0800 (CST)

Dear Anita Mann,

I am Mr. Liang-Chin Lee, Executive Director of Bank Sino Pac, Taiwan. All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through,
I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you and I from the law and monetary bodies

Source of funds:

Eng. Mr. Khalid Al-madi, an Iraqi oil magnate in 2001 made 3 years bonded fixed
deposit with my bank, Upon maturity (2004), his fixed deposit was valued at
$44,500,000.00 USD (Forty-four million five hundred thousand US Dollars), my
office on sending several notice to invite him for claim, got no response but
later found out that Eng. Mr. Khalid Al-madi and family had been killed during
the war in a bomb blast that hit their home at Mukaradeeb where his oil well
was. To this end, $44,500,000.00 USD lie in my bank as you digest this email
with no one to ever claims it.

Need for urgency:

My bank has issued a notice to my office that if no next of kin come forward
for claims, the funds will be confiscated within a short time. I now seek your
consent to present you as the next of kin/beneficiary to the funds, so that the
proceeds of this account valued at 44.5 million USD can be paid to you and then
you and I can share the money 50% to me and 50% for you, which I believe is a
fair share.

Requirement:

I request that you send me the requested information below, these infoormation
are necessary for documentation, communication and firmiliarity purpose, as
soon as I have it from you, I will immediately get intouch with the lawyer
furnishing him with your information so that he can commence with the
documentation process. For transparency purpose, I have scanned my passport and
attached it to this mail for you trust as to also know whom you are dealing
with, you also will

(1). YOUR NAME (2). YOUR RESIDENT ADDRESS (3) YOUR OCCUPATION (4) YOUR PHONE NUMBER (5) DATE OF BIRTH (6) SCANNED COPY OF YOUR WORK ID or DRIVERS LICENSE

, for familiarity purpose, as you will agree, there is the need for us to know
whom we are dealing with on this ground I have had my passport scanned copy
sent to you as attached to this mail.

Obligations:

I will be in charges of processing all the related documents to place you as
the next of kith to the 44.5 Million USD, this is to be legitimized with the
help of an attorney I will be paying from my pockets to have the paper work
done. On processing the documents with your name, the lawyer will present the
documents on your behalf as your lawyer to my bank, as the director of the
bank, I will grant the transfer and then funds will be transferred to the
offshore account you have opened in your name.

You only obligation will be to open the offshore account that the funds will be
transferred to, and this offshore account will be opened with my principal
bank, and I will give you the contact information of this bank in subsequent
email as we progress, the reason for you opening the account with my principal
bank are: both banks operate same telex/swift code, so we will not be required
to pay any transfer charges or taxes, secondly, since the $44.5 Million was
deposited in bonds, the bank I am directing you to will debond the money
without charges since both banks operate same telex, as soon as the funds enter
the offshore account, you will immediately have it transferred to your personal
account
then we will now come together and share it as agreed above.

Also be informed that you will need some amount to set up and activate this
account with my principal bank as opening deposit, balance or activation fee as
its been call base on the fact that its an Offshore account, the necessity of
activating a new offshore account is to enable the account accommodate the
44.5M dollars so that when We transfer the funds, it will not bounce back. I
will provide you with the offshore contact information. Once I receive your
Identification (ID or Drivers License) for you to make contact to open the
offshore account while we are processing the documents.

Your timely response will be appreciated as I would want us finalize this
transaction within the shortest possible time. I will respond swiftly as soon
as I hear from you.

Regards,
Mr. Liang-Chin Lee [/quote]

Ready for this?

9

:bravo:

Taiwan declared independence while I wasn’t looking - the cheeky little beggars.

Apart from the very amateur photoshopping, they didn’t even bother to change the country code “SGP”. Here’s a real Republic of Singapore passport:

10

[quote=“Taffy”]
:bravo:

Taiwan declared independence while I wasn’t looking - the cheeky little beggars.[/quote]A group close to the TSU issued their own “Republic of Taiwan” passports a couple of years ago. One guy managed to travel around on one overseas, came back and showed the stamps to the media to show he’d been able to use it. The usual circus sideshow ensued. Good fun all round.

11

Or the background images – the lion is a bit of a giveaway, no? :laughing:

12

Or the background images – the lion is a bit of a giveaway, no? :laughing:[/quote]

What are you talking about? That’s no lion - it’s a feral stray dog in need of a haircut.

Ooh, I can sense a photoshop competition coming on - create the best Republic of Taiwan and Taiwan SAR passports.

13

One of the world’s top con artists in action!

:wink: