Working the web: Scams
Source: The Guardian
reaper: Spam blah blah Scam
It's not every day that close relatives of notorious dictators communicate with my computer, certainly not twice in one day. So when an implausible email from the "brother" of the late Sani Abacha dropped into my mailbox, I paused before deleting it. When, half an hour later, it was followed by an "urgent" message from the "son" of the late President Mobutu, I couldn't help laughing.
Surely the Nigerian fraudsters behind this clever, but well-exposed, scam would not be so inept. Both letters promised a huge wodge of cash in exchange for a modest favour. Mariam Abacha inquired if I would retrieve $58m from a Canadian trunk on his behalf. Mr Bello Sese Seko sought my "humble and confidential assistance to take custody of Fifteen Million United States Dollars only".
Had I been tempted to pursue these offers, requests for money to cover "expenses" would have followed. In a recent US case, a Berkeley bookkeeper embezzled $2.1m of company funds at the behest of the con artists. Other gullible victims are lured to overseas meetings where violence - even murder - can accompany further attempts to extort money.
