=DdogG=

OK, I thought these things couldn't get any worse, but this one wins the OMG award for desperation.

here is the best "african email" scheme I think I have ever seen..... remember, I work for a church, and my email address is "admin", webmaster", "postmaster", and my real name. so I get junk mail quite often.... this is the first of these I have ever recieved, and frankly, if I didn't know better, I would almost think it real.... Our church is on the National disaster relief team and on this website, along with red cross, fema, etc, is my email address. so, I can see how the idea came to this person...... in any case, enjoy, and if you have ideas for pulling on this string, I am open for suggestion..... I do need to appear genuine, but at the same time not give away anything. I would like to converse about the recent conversion to start and see how long this one bites........



Dear Sir,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Mrs Sajida al majid, a widow to Late Sheik Ali Hassan al-Majid, I am 74years old, I am now a new Christian convert, suffering from long time cancer of the breast, i was converted to christain while in Guy's Hospital london by some christain missionaries


From all indications my condition is really deteriorating and it's quite obvious that I won't live more than six months according to my doctors. This is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage.

My late husband was killed during the US raid against terrorism in Iraq, and during the period of our marriage we couldn't produce any child. My late husband was very wealthy from oil dealings during the time of SADDAN HUSSEIN and after his death, I inherited all his business and wealth.
The doctor has advised me that I may not live for more than six months, so I now decided to divide part of this wealth, to contribute to the development of the less privelage all over the world.
I selected your organisation after I prayed over it, I am willing to donate the sum of $20.000,000.00 Million Us Dollars to your organisation, for the development and also for the less privileged.

Please I want you to note that, this fund is lying in a Security Company
here in london ,upon my instruction, my attorney, will file in an application for the
transfer of
the money in your name or the name of your organisation.

Lastly I honestly pray that this money when transferred will be used for the said purpose, because I have come to find out that wealth acquisition without Christ is vanity upon vanity.If you have to die says the Lord, keep fit and I will give you the crown of life.May the Grace of our Lord , the love of God,be with you.


I await your urgent reply to my private emaill address
(sajida2004@yalla.com.lb)
Yours in Christ,

Mrs Sajida al majid





now I see a lot of blatant screw-ups in here that make me suspicious right away.

1) she misspelled her own name..... how often does that happen? her husbands surname is Al-Majid but hers is Al majid... no dash.... is it me, is it wrong, or do females not get the dash in arabian languages?

2) "If you have to die says the Lord, keep fit and I will give you the crown of life." is not in the bible. I checked the Arabic Life application bible as well as 20 english versions, and I couldn't find it... and saying a "thus sayeth the Lord" kinda thing needs to be proven..... usually by scripture.....

3) SADDAN HUSSEIN....... is than not supposed to be Saddam?

4) she mentions "some missionaries"..... missionaries don't just go "you are christian" and move on... they spend time and get to know the people whom with they speak... and never do those people refer to them as "some missionaries" it always includes thier name in some way... this will be the first thing I ask about in a rebuttle......


anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did, and lets see where we can go with this......

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

CingularDuality

Not significant.
I was going to say that perhaps it was a translation thing, but it looks like you might have covered that with the Arabic Life bible?
Typo? This is wrong. I know a missionary that just went "you are christian" to people and moved on. He thought he had converted me after I agreed with him on a few things and repeated a few phrases that he asked me to. Just because it's not how YOUR church's missionaries would act doesn't mean it's not how some christian missionaries might behave...
Above statements aside, it's obviously a scam and it kinda disturbs me that you had to go looking for specific things to convince you that it was a scam...

I would string "her" along for a while, telling her that you would have to get permission from the elders. Heck, you might even try what that other guy did: Once you get to the meat of the scam (she's going to need $10,000 in order to get to the $20million), turn it around on her and tell her that the church's money is tied up in a certificate of deposit that has a 30% early withdrawal fee that must be paid first. Your church only has $2500 of the $3000 needed to withdraw the $10,000, so ask her for the other $500. If she sends it to you, you should definitely use it to further the lord's word, of course....

The key to stringing her along is to convince her that you're a little bit suspicious but that you're naive and trusting. Let her convince you that she is who she says she is... Don't just go along with her right away. Make her work for it. I'd do it by asking for documentation. Get names and addresses. Get the fax number to your local Mailboxes Etc/UPS Store and have her send documentation to you there.

Try to find out if the scam artist is actually in London. We've got contacts over there. I dunno if they're willing to play courier and photographer, but this could be really fun!

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

=DdogG=

point 1...... I found odd.... do you misspell your name?

point 3...... no other spelling errors in the entire thing though.......

point 4...... point taken..... every missionary I KNOW spends months or years in a villiage or town..... I guess there are those that do the holy drive by thing......


and no, I didn't need to be convinced that it was a scam, but I have been given 20 piii or better computers through the same email address, (and if the dollar amount had been less than 1/2 a mill, I would have thought it to be posibly legit.) so people offering to donate to me is not unheard of.. I get 4 to 12 every week.... this was the first one that was not legit.

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

leejo

Found this:

--From:Mrs Blessing Williams.
--Home Address:
--No 24A Idrisa Road,
--Kabul,Afghanistan.

--Dear Sir,

--Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am former Mrs.Fatima Setia, now Mrs.Blessing Williams. A widow to Late Sheik Mohammed Williams, I am 72years old,I am now a new Christian convert, suffering from long time cancer of the breast. From all indications my condition is really deteriorating and it's quite obvious that I won't live more than four months according to my doctors. This is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage.My late husband was killed during the U.S raid against terrorism in Afghanistan, and during the period of our marriage we couldn't produce any child. My late husband was very wealthy and after his death,I inherited all his business and wealth. The doctor has advised me that I may not live for more than four months, so I now decided to divide part of this wealth, to contribute to the development of the church in Africa, America, Asia and Europe.

--I selected you after visiting the website and I prayed over it, I am willing to donate the sum of US$20,200,000.00 (Twenty Million two hundred thousand Dollars), to you for the less privileged. Please I want you to note that, this fund is lying in a security company and upon my instuction, you will file in an application for the transfer of the money in your name.

--Lastly, I honestly pray that this money when transferred will be used for the said --purpose, because I have come to find out that wealth acquisition without Christ is vanity upon vanity.
--May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the --Holy Spirit be with you and your family.

--I Await your Urgent Reply.
--kindly contact my lawyer Barrister.Kevin Godwin, through his Email address:
--barr_kevinchamber@mail2lawyer.com

--Yours in Christ.

--MRS BLESSING WILLIAMS c/o BARRISTER KEVIN GODWIN


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 10:13:08 +0000
From: theresaahmed@handbag.com
Subject: Glory be to God

Calvary greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am former Mrs Shetimah Ahmed, now Mrs Theresa Ahmed, a widow to Late Ahmed Mohammed .I am 68years old, I am now a new Christian convert, suffering from long time cancer of the breast. From all indications, my condition is really deteriorating and is quite obvious that I may not live long enough,because the cancer stage has gotten to a very severe stage. My late husband was killed during the Gulf war, and during the period of our marriage we had a son who was also killed in a cold blood during the Gulf war. My late husband was very wealthy and after his death, I inherited all his business and wealth. My personal physician told me that I may not live for long and I am so scared about this. So, I now decided to divide part of this wealth, by contributing to the development of evangelism in Africa, America, Europe and Asian Countries.This mission which will no doubt be tasking had made me to recently relocated to Nigeria, Africa where I live presently. My adopted daughter who have always stood by me helped me to select your church after visiting the website for this purpose and prayed over it, I am willing to donate the sum of USD$3.000,000.00Million Dollars to your Church/Ministry for the development of evangelism and also as aids for the less privileged around you.Please note that, this fund is lying in a Security Company in Amsterdam The Netherlands, and the company has branches, therefore my lawyer will file an immediate application for the transfer of the money in the name of your ministry.
Please, do not reply me if you have the intention of using this fund for personal use other than enhancement of evangelism. Lastly,I want you/your ministry to be praying for me as regards my entire life and my health because I have come to find out since my spiritual birth lately that wealth acquisition without Jesus Christ in one's life is vanity upon vanity.If you have to
die says the Lord, keep fit and I will give you the crown of life.
Yours in Christ,
Mrs. Theresa Ahmed.

blackjackel

thats hilarious, i recieved one of those too... claiming i was the only hair to a zillion dollar fortune in rawanda or some BS like that.... it was a good laugh.

__________________
Prejudice sucks:
Do not judge me by my past, for I have changed.

DarkHunter == Blackjackel.

IceCold

Arab naming conventions are different from ours. It wasn't misspelled. It's actually the name of her clan or tribe. It means "of the tribe Majid" or "from the Majid family". The presence or lack of a hyphen changes nothing...

In fact, the spelling of arabic names using our alphabet can result in different spellings for the same name. That's why you see Usama and Osama. Muhammed and Mohammed. Etc... Generally, however, a person would use the same spelling for their own name when writing in English.

=DdogG=

thank you for that clarification...... I found it odd that her and her husbands were different, but that makes sense.......


oh well. I thought the email I got was an original spin, obviously I am not the only would be patsy. I don't feel so special.........

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

CingularDuality

So... Are you gonna string "her" along and see just how much fun you can have with this?

And would it be immoral to lie to her in order to elicit a $500 donation for your church while punishing her for her criminal behavior?

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

=DdogG=

as long as the money went to the church like I told "her" it would, I don't see anything wrong...... as long as I am not lying about my intention for its use........(taking the $$$ for myself instead of putting it toward the church.) Like I could say that the elders would need a good faith contribution to verify "her" intentions. which would be the truth.... But before any of this, I need to wait for "her" to ask for the money.... then we can go further.


so help me write up a response...........

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

leejo

Ddogg, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but actually I am an elderly rich widow with breast cancer too praise Jesus. If you'll send me your account information I'll be happy to wire 20 million billion dollars as the lord sayeth he who smelleth the sweet scent of payola shall forthwith email personal information to thine stranger or burn in hell praise Jesus.

CingularDuality

No, a "good faith contribution" isn't gonna cut it. You need to convince her that any money that she sends to you is absolutely necessary in order to come up with the money that she's going to ask for. I'd say it was for an early withdrawel fee or something like that.

For right now, I'd just send a short reply that shows that you're a bit skeptical, but that you by no means have ruled out helping her. In your responses, don't ever appear to be smart. Remember to show a bit of skepticism every now and then, even after she "convinces" you that she's a good, honest person. Always seem naive and overly trusting, but don't overdue these traits.

For now, I'd go with something like this:

Mrs Faker,
New Hope Church would be glad to accept your gift in god's name. We have recently been doing some work in Florida after the hurricanes and this gift would help us keep from cutting some other programs that we had planned throughout the next year. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.
Thank you,
DdogG

You'd obviously be able to fill it in a bit more, but I wouldn't be too demanding in your first one. I'd just write it matter of factly. Yeah we want your money, yes it'll be for god's work, look at what we've done throughout the year, thank you. Simple as that.

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leejo

For starters you might axe her why an Iraqi in London has a Lebanese email address.

CingularDuality

Only if you want to shut her down right away... She'll not play along if she thinks you're smart enough to be scamming her. Gotta be naive and not very clever...

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=DdogG=

my response:





Mrs. Majid



I hope I have gotten your surname correct. I am not very familiar with your culture, I am, however, very impressed with your grasp of English.



In your email, you wrote:



Dear Sir,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Mrs Sajida al majid, a widow to Late Sheik Ali Hassan al-Majid, I am 74years old, I am now a new Christian convert, suffering from long time cancer of the breast, i was converted to christain while in Guy's Hospital london by some christain missionaries


From all indications my condition is really deteriorating and it's quite obvious that I won't live more than six months according to my doctors. This is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage.

My late husband was killed during the US raid against terrorism in Iraq, and during the period of our marriage we couldn't produce any child. My late husband was very wealthy from oil dealings during the time of SADDAN HUSSEIN and after his death, I inherited all his business and wealth.
The doctor has advised me that I may not live for more than six months, so I now decided to divide part of this wealth, to contribute to the development of the less privelage all over the world.
I selected your organisation after I prayed over it, I am willing to donate the sum of $20.000,000.00 Million Us Dollars to your organisation, for the development and also for the less privileged.

Please I want you to note that, this fund is lying in a Security Company
here in london ,upon my instruction, my attorney, will file in an application for the
transfer of
the money in your name or the name of your organisation.

Lastly I honestly pray that this money when transferred will be used for the said purpose, because I have come to find out that wealth acquisition without Christ is vanity upon vanity.If you have to die says the Lord, keep fit and I will give you the crown of life.May the Grace of our Lord , the love of God,be with you.


I await your urgent reply to my private emaill address
(sajida2004@yalla.com.lb)
Yours in Christ,

Mrs Sajida al majid





I am greatly moved by your generosity and am honored that you chose our church as the outlet for your blessings. I assume that you saw our church on the Federal Emergency Management Agency website. We were honored to be a part of their efforts, and knew that blessings such as the ones you bestow would surely follow. I have submitted your offer to our board of elders and they would like to know what needs to be done to accept your gift. Rest assured that your donation will go to help those ravaged by natural disasters here in the United States and abroad. We have missionaries in 18 countries ourselves and love hearing reports of the goodness of our Lord being spread to the furthermost reaches of the earth. God Bless you and I await your response.



Stephen

Administrator





P.S. Please use my Other email address for further communication….. I only check this email 1 or 2 times a week and would hate to delay our dealings any longer than needed…….. my address is mattddogg1@excite.com



God Bless you.



In His Love,

Stephen

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

IceCold

Looks great to me!