This is just a short heads up to advise you to ignore the below missive, which is currently landing in mailboxes promising $35 million worth of riches.
From “Dr.Evans Egobia”, with the amazing subject line of “WITH REGARD”S………173.”:
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Address FCDA Secretariat, Garki City Abuja Phone +[snip] Fax +[snip] fmardDOTgovDOTng/ P.M.B. 135, Garki, Abuja, FCTDear Friend It is with trust and confidence that i write to make this urgent business proposal to you.i was assigned by two of my colleague to seek for a foreign partner who will assist us in providing a convenient foreign account in any designated bank abroad for the transfer of us$35,500,000.00 pending on our arrival in your country for utilization and disbursement with the owner of the account.
this amount results from a deliberate inflation of the value of a contract awarded by our ministry – the federal ministry of agriculture (fma)to an expatriate company.the contract has been executed and payment made to the original contractor,remaining the over-invoiced amount of us$35.5 million,which we want to transfer the funds out the country in ourfavour for disbursement among ourselves.the transfer of this money can only be possible with the help of a foreigner who will be presented as the beneficiary of the fund.
as government officials, we are not allowed to operate foreign accounts,and this is the reason why we decided to contact you. we have agreed that if you/your company can act as the beneficiary of this fund (us$35,500,000.00 million)25% of the total sum will be for you for providing the account while 5% will be set aside for the expenses incurred during the cost of transfer of the fund into your account while 70% will be reserved for us.
we hereby solict for your assistance in providing a convenient account number in a designated bank abroad where this fund would be transferred.we intend coming over there on the completion of this transfer to secureour own share of the money.
please note that we have been careful and have made all arrangements towards the success and smooth transfer of the fund to your acccount beforeyou. for security reasons and confidenciality of this transaction, we demand that you should not expose this proposal and the entire transaction to anybody.
we are putting so much trust in you with the hope that you would not betray us. or sit on this money when it is finally transferred into your account.berest assured that this transaction is 100% risk free. if this proposal is acceptable to you,indicate your interest by sending a email to us including your bank name & address,account number,telephone and fax numbers.
note:our former president olusegun aremu obasanjo collaborated with the former chairman of the economic financial crime commission , mallam nuhun ribadu to stop the junior ranks officers from transferring funds out of the country. he sent different publication to many countries in the world as propaganda to discourage all government officials from transferring funds into an overseas account to avoid and save guides the countries economy.
apparently, so that other government officials will not benefits from these( oil windfalls venture) where he has been a culprit alone with his aides.more details about this transaction will be given to you as soon as we receive your positive respond. note that the particular nature of your company’s business is irrelevant to this transaction. if this transaction interests you, your urgent response will be appreciated. yours faithfully, Dr.Evans Egobia
Reply to [snip]@yahoo.com.hk
This is a pretty straightforward 419 scam, which will likely turn into a money mule situation for the unlucky participant. Pieces of this email have been rattling around for some years now, and one would hope at least some potential victims would go Googling prior to firing off a response. Feel free to delete this scam message the moment you see it land in your mailbox – this definitely isn’t the get rich quick scheme you were hoping for.
Christopher Boyd
