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For many
years, these advance fee scammers have tended to avoid using the
names of major real banks, typically showing a connection with a
bank in Nigeria or a completely fake bank that exists only as an
Internet Web site.
However
recently, these scammers have began identifying themselves as
officials of major banks such as City Bank, World Bank, Bank of
America and other prestigious financial institutions. An
example follows:
From: "CITIBANK LONDON" <ericbenson1@tatanova.com>
To: <ericbenson1@tatanova.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2005 10:42 PM
Subject: FROM MR. DAVID WOOD
Greetings,
I am David Wood the Bank Manager of CITIBANK 332 Oxford Street,
London W1N 9AA. I have urgent and very confidential business
proposition for you. On June 6, 1997, an Iraqi Foreign Oil
consultant/contractor with the BRITISH PETROLUEM CORPORATION MR.
HAFFEZ AL SADIQUE. Made a numbered time (Fixed deposit) for 36
calendar months, valued at US$29,500,000.00 (Twenty Nine Million
Five hundred Thousand Dollars only)
in my branch.
Upon maturity in 2000, I sent a routine notification to his
forwarding address but got no reply.
After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his
contract employers, the British petroleum corporation that Mr.
HAFFEZ AL SADIQUE died as a result of torture in the hand of Sadam
Hussein during one of his trips to his country Iraq. On further
investigation, I found out that he died without making a WILL, and
all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless. I therefore
made further investigation and discovered that MR HAFFEZ AL SADIQUE.
Did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents,
including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank.
This sum of US$29,500,000.00 have been floating as unclaimed since
2000 in my bank as all efforts to get his relatives have hit the
stones.
According to the British law at the expiration of 8 (eight) years,
the money will revert to the ownership of the British Government if
nobody applies to claim the fund and the eight years is the end of
December 2004.
Consequently, my proposal is that I want to seek your consent as a
foreigner to stand in as the owner of the money as the next of kin
to the deceased so that the bank will transfer the money to your
designated account.
All documents and proves to enable you get this fund will be
carefully worked out. I have secured from the probate an order of
mandamus to locate any of the deceased beneficiaries, and more so I
are assuring you that the business is risk free involvement. Your
share stays while the rest be for me and for investment purpose as I
will leave London by the end of the year.
The sharing of the funds will be based According to agreement within
me and you. As soon as I receive an acknowledgement of receipt of
this message in acceptance of our mutual business proposal, I will
furnish you with the necessary modalities and disbursement ratio to
suit both parties without any conflict. If this proposal is
acceptable by you, do not take undue
advantage of the trust I have bestowed in you.
PLEASE, APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT DOING BUSINESS OVER THE INTERNET IS
RISK.ENDEAVOR TO SEND YOUR CONFIDENTIAL TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER IN
YOUR REPLY TO THIS BUSINESS.
God Bless you.
Mr. David Wood.
NOTE:
On the same subject, a different type scam--identity theft--is
very common on the Internet. The scammers send spam
identifying themselves as being security with a major bank, credit
card company, PayPal, eBay or almost any entity where a large number
of people have accounts. The claim is there has been a
security breach--or perhaps it is an upgrading of data
security. In any event, the scammer demands that the victim
e-mail codes, passwords, ATM codes, and similar information.
No legitimate bank, of course, would ever operate in this manner. |
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