World: Nigerian Scam: Beware

I always thought that nothing very interesting happened with me. I have never been part of an international spy network, nobody was bored enough to think of murdering me nobody was even interested in swindling me.

Well at least fulfilled my last wish... I finally got an email from a certain MR. IBRAHIM WATA, BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER, BANK OF AFRICA (BOA). OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO. He apparently wanted my help in the transfer of 14.5 million dollars because the dude who had this money died in an air crash. The letter has some philosophical nuggets like:There is no doubt that trust conceptually is a conundrum which leadsitself to deferring interpretation, we have decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction.

Never seen a more obvious example of a Nigerian scam. The guy is bound to ask for money for some technicality or the other and once he has fleeced me as much as possible he would vanish. Sigh. Wish I had the money to join adventures like these.

P.S. There is actually a place called OUAGADOUGOU in Burkina Faso. Strange but true.

Here is the full text of the mail:

FROM THE DESK OF MR. IBRAHIM WATA
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER,
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA).
OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO.

Alternative e-mail:mr_ibrahim_wata004@yahoo.fr

Dear Sir/Madam

I know that this letter may come to you as a surprise but due to the
urgency
of this transaction.First I must solicit your confidence in this
transaction, this is by virtue of it's nature as being utterly
confidential
and top secret. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will
make
any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that all will
be
well at the end of the day. There is no doubt that trust conceptually
is a
conundrum which leadsitself to deferring interpretation, we have
decided to
contact you due to the urgency of this transaction.

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance
department
of BANK OF AFRICA(BOA). I came to know you in my private search for a
reliable and reputable person to handle this Confidential Transaction,
which
involves thetransfer of a huge sum of money to a foreign account
requiring
maximum confidence.

I am writing to you, following the impressive information received
about you
from the chambers of commerce. I believed that you are capable and
reliable
to champion this business opportunity. In my department we discovered
an
abandoned sum of $14.5m US dollars (Fourteen million five hundred
thusand US
dollars). In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who
died
along with his entire family On August 23, 2000 through Gulf Air Flight
72
with Airbus A320 crashed off, killing all 143 people on board and you
can
view the site for more
details:http://www-tech.mit.edu/V120/N32/gulfair.32w.html

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his
next of
kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it
unless
somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as
indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately we learnt that
all his
supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane
crash
leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this
discovery
that I and other officials in my department now decided to make this
business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of
kin or
relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since
nobody
is coming for it and we don't want this money to go into the Bank
treasury
as unclaimed Bill.

The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money
remained
unclaimed after five years, the money will be transferred into the Bank
treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of foreigner as next of kin in
this
business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner
and a
Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.

We agree that 35% of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in
respect to the provision of a foreign account, 5 % will be set aside
for
expenses incurred during the business and 60 % would be for me and my
colleagues. There after I and my colleagues will visit your country for
disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as
arranged,
you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the
deceased
indicating your bank name, your bank account number,your private
telephone
and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where
in
the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text
of
the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this
transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of
fear
as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter.

Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Yours faithfully,

MR. IBRAHIM WATA
Bill and exchange manager,
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA)