It seems that lately, I’ve been getting an increasing number of these inheritance e-mails cluttering my spam filter, and my Inbox, alike. What to do? Trash them! They are fake!
These boldfaced criminals have got a lot of nerve to think they can pull off such obvious scams and actually get away with it.
It seems that lately, I’ve been getting an increasing number of these fake inheritance e-mails cluttering my Spam filter, and my Inbox, alike. While about 60 % of these e-mails end up filtered out, I still get more of these every day that somehow get past my Spam filter. My disgust has reached all new highs. Most recently, they aren’t just bold, but inept, as well. Here is one of the latest totally lame attempts I received:
“Dearest friend,
I am sincerely Sorry for bugging into your privacy, it’s due to a business deal in my bank value at thirty million Six hundred thousand us dollars, as a foreigner I can present you as the beneficiary to the inheritance since there is no written will by the deceased who Died at the Israeli checkpoint in Rafah in Jerusalem, as the director of system I have been following the records.
However I am the only one aware of the funds and investigation so far in my bank due to my investigations.
I am Mr. Minoru Fujii, Director of Systems, The Shiga Bank Ltd, this
opportunity will be of mutual benefit to the two of us.”
Is that Fujii or Fuji?
They didn’t even bother to include the entire message! Now that is just pathetic. What did this criminal expect me to do, send him an e-mail and say something like, “Hey Fujii, you didn’t finish your lame Phishing attempt! If you really want to fool someone, you should at least try to make the e-mail look authentic. Not only that, but you failed to capitalized “Jerusalem”, and “Fuji” is actually spelled with only one “i”, not two. You’re not just illicit, but incompetent!”
Don’t Send It!
Of course, I’m not actually planning to send out an e-mail to Mr. Fujii, even if I thought there really was such a chap, which I don’t. Were I to do so, “Fujii”, or whomever sent this felonious e-mail inquiry would then have my e-mail address, and that would not be a good thing.
Resist the Temptation
So, if you’re like me and getting these annoying scam attempts, just keep sending them to your junk mail, and otherwise ignore them. It’s all they deserve, cuz you’ll never really have somebody’s e-mail inheritance actually come your way. Be assured, it simply doesn’t work like that.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Great article Bill! I agree with your assessment of these guys. Do people REALLY fall for this stuff? Anyway, I enjoyed this and hope to see more of your thoughts here!
Kudos,
Laura
September 10th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Thank you, Laura,
Unfortunately, some people have been known to fall for this type stuff, though I’d hope no one would be fooled by the specific example I site in this article. But then again, who knows. Part of my point, aside from being a bit sarcastic about “Fujii”, was to caution folks to steer clear of these scams.
January 7th, 2008 at 10:09 am
I got this email from the same scammer……
Dear xxx
Thanks for your response, now the situation is this, l want you to stand as a beneficiary to the total sum of thirty million Six hundred thousand us dollars as a foreigner as i already stated in my previouis proposal to you, l can present you as the beneficiary to the inheritance since there is no written will by the deceased in my bank and as the director of system in my bank since 2000 l have been following the records which makes me know that the funds is long due for payment and no one has ever come forth to claim, for investigations i had sent messages but no response.
In regards the legality of the transaction,there is no risk involve because the Attorney shall handle all documentation which will serve as a back bone for you,all you need to do is follow my instruction only that way it will be risk free for i have mapped out plans to guanrantee us safe transaction of success.
This transaction shall pass through all international laws of banking in my country and yours, my Attorney shall start handling the entire documentations, he shall be responsible for drafting and notarization of the Affidavits which will eventually put you in place as next of kin to the funds with my bank.
He would handle all matters of probate on your behalf, hence you would not have to be here physically, and you will not be required to be in Court , in order to obtain the WILL of testament from the probate registry this will be issued in your name and automatically makes you the legal beneficiary to the funds for the both of us. To enable my attorney file necessary documents at our High court probate division he would need you to reconfirm your details stated below:
Full name, your huse adress, your date of birth, present country of residence,
present occupation, Tele/ Fax
As a matter of fact I shall take care of the cost of running all the logistics involved on my side of this transaction, such as the cost of retaining the services of the Attorney and obtaining the necessary official documents from the Hong Kong authorities and other miscellaneous expenses which I will incur to ensure a safe transfer, certain offices has to be lobbied in a transaction like this which would be done by the attorney i do not want us to be involved directly in this transaction,so this transaction is not risky to you as l will not need you to send me any money here in Hong Kong and also i do not expect you to ask me to send you money to enhance this transaction.
*Note that all expenses incured from the begining of this business to the realisation of the transaction once the funds is in your possesion shall be deducted from the whole funds, expenses should include the cost of the attorney retainership, any tax incured in your country and any other expenses as well as your expenses to include your telephone bills for this transaction, the balance would be shared in a ratio of 70% for me while 30% for you in this regards all expenses incured should be noted down if possible an evidence of the payments made both for telephone bills should be calculated and kept aside for records on the time of sharing both from your side and mine i shall keep my records and also notify you of my spending.
It is VERY important you note that We cannot make use of your old bank account for security reasons because l want to be sure you are the only one signatory to the account, for the purpose of this transaction you would be required to open a fresh account in your name which you have total control over (signatory to the account) however l will avail you more details and modalities of this transaction immediately l hear from you with the full contact details for the attorney to proceed the legal documentation as explained above.
As mention earlier l want you to keep this transaction to your self because i am still in active service with my bank and i do not want any thing to jeopardise this due to misinformations from any of us for they say “looose lips sinks ship” finally I would rather have the communication through email because our telephones are constantly listen too by the Homeland Security and better to do it via email or by any other means.
Upon the agreement of the above terms and conditions l will want you to send me the information needed along with any payment of your utility bills to confirm your address so that i would know i am dealing with the right person and feel free to ask any questions in regards to this transaction and a brief description of your self will be highly appreciated in your response.
Mr. Minoru Fujii
May 7th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Unfortunately for me, I am one of those stupid persons who believe everything and fell for it and lost money on the way, amount that I do not want to say because it is too embarricing. This scam lasted for about a year with this criminals since I got the same e-mail about a year ago and the documentation they gave me looked pretty damn real I even got a picture of the suppoussed Minoru Fuji, but now that I have realized the truth and learned my lesson I would like to post all these fake documents I received for everybody to see and help people avoid the same mistake I did so If you have any suggestions of how can I do this please post it on this site because I would like to tell my story for everybody to know how this criminals wash your brain using real bank information so that they make you send them money.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I keep getting several e-mails daily heres one. Dear Beneficiary:
This is to acknowledge the positive response from the Nigerian authorities that we should release the consignment to you. We were also informed by them that the consignment must be considered and treated as TOP PRIORITY.
On our part, we are doing our best to ensure that the consignment reaches its desired destination safely and on time as will be scheduled. Note that the essence of our double checking is provide accurate and efficient service to you as the beneficiary of the consignment in our custody.
As a final routine protocol, you are required to provide us with these few more details,
(1) A copy of your identification (Valid passport, Driver’s license or any Id)
(2) Your current residential or business address
(3) Your contact numbers (Telephone and Fax)
(4) FINALLY INDICATE THE DESTINATION YOU WANT US TO DELIVER THE CONSIGNMEMNT FOR YOU.
On the receipt of these, we shall prepare an invoice and bill of lading in respect of the consignment and also inform you on the total cost and date of delivering the consignment to your chosen destination.
Thanking you for your understanding.
Mr. Mandy Peter.
(For Air Courier Intl)
and these too.
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION
Metro Plaza, Plot 991/992
Zakari Maimalari Street
Cadastral Zone AO,
Central Business District, Abuja.
TEL: +234 803 476 4850
E-MAIL: smith-britihighcomm@live.com
Attention:Attention:
The BRITISH High Commission in Nigeria,Benin Republic,Ghana and Bokinafaso
received a report of scam against you and other British/US citizens and
Malaysia,Etc. whom the country of Nigeria/Benin,Bokinafaso And Ghana have
recompensed you due to meeting held with Four countries Government and the
world high commissions against fraud activities by the Four country
Citizens.
Your name was among those scammed as listed by the Nigeria Financial
Intelligent Unit (NFIU). A recompensation has been issued out in ATM CARD
to all the affected victims and has been already in distribution to all
the bearers. Your atm card was among those that was reported undelivered
as at on Friday and we wish to advise you to see to the instructions of
the Commitee to make sure you receives your atm card immediately for your
depositing into your account.
NFIU further told us that the use of Nigeria Couriers and the Benin was
abolished due to interception activities noticed in the above mentioned
courier services in Benin,Nigeria and Ghana and thereby have made a
concrete arrangement with the DHL Courier Company for a safe delivery to
your door-step once the beneficairy meets up the demand of the conveyancy.
We advise that you do the needful to make sure the NFIU dispatches your
recompense on Monday. You are assured of the safety of your draft and
availability and be advised that you should stop further contacts with all
the fake lawyers and security companies who in collaboration scammed
you.Make sure you e-mail me through my E-MAIL:
smith-britihighcomm@live.com and also Call me at: +234 803 476
4850.immediately to check if the delivery date suits you.
Yours in Service,
Mr. Richard Smith
CONSULER,
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION ABUJA.
October 28th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I just found out I was scamed out of 30,000. It took almost a year, to complete. But they finally got me. And they said they had a man in Texas. He even had a texas cell phone number. These people are good. I want to know if any one knows where I can report this. I have names, addresses and pictures of these people. If any one wants any information on these people email me.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Oh my, $30,000! I would contact authorities immediately because they may get out of your area soon, thats what these people do. I thin there are certain fraud agencies you can contanct too, I would ask the police ASAP.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I agree with Stacy. You should contact your local police.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
i need help a friend of mine currently has been contacted about an inheritance and they are asking for money to open an offshore account my friend believes this and im trying hard to congfince him its a fake but he is sure its real because of the documents he has for the tax certificate and even documents from the bank. we found one on the internet almost worded the excat same as his but he still believes who wouldnt want to for 15.5million dollars its everyones dream. if you have any info please contact me at slawrie@mountaincable.net thanks
October 31st, 2008 at 1:00 am
I honestly can’t believe people fall for this. Get real, someone is not going to just hand you millions of dollars free. Least of all some dude who lives in Western Africa and can’t write proper English. People, stop and think for once in your lives. Oh, and the guy had a Texas phone number. Well you know, for 17 dollars you can have a phone number in any country in the world and in any locality. It’s called Skype.
If you did fall for it, that sucks. Definitely contact your local police, however if they are based abroad there’s not much that can be done.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Anyone who recieves mail by any form, about someone leaving money ‘intestate’ and happens to have the same surname as yourself an an unheard of christian name.You should either ignore or report to the police. Remember if it looks to good to be true, it always is!!!
January 29th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
It is a shame that the email companies cannot stop these frauds from signing up. I forward to all the abuse@yahoo.com or abuse@fedex.com etc, etc but daily I get 10 or more a day in my junk mail. Seems there must be a way to stop them
March 8th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I agree with everyone. There is supposedly a lady writing to me, and telling me that she is deaf and dying of cancer, and that she wants me to be her next of kin. I do not even know this lady. She has told Me to call Marc Securities Inc in Iowa where she said the funds are. I spoke to a Mr. David Young, where he said he can do the transfer for me for $800. He wants me to wire the money to a Glenda Mantooth in Richardson Texas. I find it very odd that a lady who is deaf and dying in Spain, has her money invested in Iowa and then the transaction fee has to be wired to Texas where the secretary is. I believe this is all a big scam, and I am going to contact the Attorney General and BBB in Iowa, and let them know what is going on. So everybody be aware.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
HI EVERY!
i just receved an email about the inheritance… im not sure… i emailed him for few times…. then he send me a identity of him self… then i looked up the name “murad ali bin abdullah” and i googled.he is really a lwayer and kinda respected one… the ammount he offered me was only 8 milj. and from that ammount 60% for him and 40% for me…. anyways… i looked his name up from google.. then found him there.. as you will too if you google… anyways. he is using a proper work email.. and he asked me to come to malaysia face to face to do this business… i dont know what to do!? should i trust him or not? here is my email please help me! ( aljuboori@aol.com )
May 9th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I have also received the same email that #13 “Sandra D” has got. First off lemme just say that i am totally aware that this is a scam. But I am going through the steps that there asking of me until the point of sending them any money or personal information. I think its funny myself and love to let them think they might have another poor sap in there grasp. Don’t get me wrong its not funny in that people have actually fallen for there scams. Just funny that they actually think that i might fall for there antics. I just love messin with these people. For instance I am thinking about finding some kind of government seal to include in the email just to make em think about it a lil. Maybe I shouldn’t but I thought it would be a nice touch.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:28 am
wow i got one of those email scam things wow it had me going goood, reall good, but yeah i figured that i dont think i have any relatives in austrailia or malaysia, becarefull but yeah it is fun to mess around with the scammers lol. i certanly hope more people lern that money never comes easy, unless someone in your family is rich and dies and you know your related to that person.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Hi everyone,
Glenda Mantooth is a real person in Richardson Texas. Beware of this person. She is a monster from inside and outside. It is their family business. she cashes the money. They make money off of hard working people and they have no regards for anybody else. I am sensing an end for these criminal.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 am
has anyone gotten the scam about a young woman in Benin needing money to pay her hotel room bill befor the manager will let her have the documents that will allow her to leave Nigeria? They are not asking for a lot of money – under $800 USD to let this pretty young girl get back to the U.S. If you have any information about Susan Franck and the hotel manager, Mr. Amzat at the Chest Hotel in Ibadan, please contact me asap at: starr_tek@msn.com Thanks