A New Scam (not Nigerian)

Change the name to Kate Middleton and forward it to all your friends (after removing any links).

I recall this one, but I understand this person no longer has those phone numbers and email address:

URGENT ASSISTANCE - FROM USA
IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NEEDED: HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
FROM: GEORGE WALKER BUSH 202.456.1414 / 202.456.1111 FAX: 202.456.2461

DEAR SIR / MADAM,

I AM GEORGE WALKER BUSH, SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, AND CURRENTLY SERVING AS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE
YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET NEITHER IN PERSON NOR BY CORRESPONDENCE. I
CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO
HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION, WHICH INVOLVES THE
TRANSFER OF A HUGE SUM OF MONEY TO AN ACCOUNT REQUIRING MAXIMUM
CONFIDENCE.

I AM WRITING YOU IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE PRIMARILY TO SEEK YOUR
ASSISTANCE IN ACQUIRING OIL FUNDS THAT ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN THE
REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. MY PARTNERS AND I SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE IN
COMPLETING A TRANSACTION BEGUN BY MY FATHER, WHO HAS LONG BEEN ACTIVELY
ENGAGED IN THE EXTRACTION OF PETROLEUM IN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA,AND BRAVELY SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.IN THE DECADE OF THE NINETEEN-EIGHTIES, MY
FATHER, THEN VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUGHT TO
WORK WITH THE GOOD OFFICES OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ TO
REGAIN LOST OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF
IRAN. THIS UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY A FALLING-OUT WITH
HIS IRAQI PARTNER, WHO SOUGHT TO ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL OIL REVENUE SOURCES
IN THE NEIGHBORING EMIRATE OF KUWAIT, A WHOLLY-OWNED U.S.-BRITISH
SUBSIDIARY.

MY FATHER RE-SECURED THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF KUWAIT IN 1991 AT A COST OF
SIXTY-ONE BILLION U.S. DOLLARS ($61,000,000,000). OUT OF THAT
COST,THIRTY-SIX BILLION DOLLARS ($36,000,000,000) WERE SUPPLIED BY HIS
PARTNERS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER PERSIAN GULF
MONARCHIES, AND SIXTEEN BILLION DOLLARS ($16,000,000,000) BY GERMAN AND
JAPANESE PARTNERS. BUT MY FATHER'S FORMER IRAQI BUSINESS PARTNER
REMAINED IN CONTROL OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ITS PETROLEUM RESERVES.

MY FAMILY IS CALLING FOR YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN FUNDING THE REMOVAL
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ACQUIRING THE PETROLEUM
ASSETS OF HIS COUNTRY, AS COMPENSATION FOR THE COSTS OF REMOVING HIM
FROM POWER. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR PARTNERS FROM 1991 ARE NOT WILLING TO
SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF THIS NEW VENTURE, WHICH IN ITS UPCOMING PHASE MAY
COST THE SUM OF 100 BILLION TO 200 BILLION DOLLARS ($100,000,000,000
-$200,000,000,000), BOTH IN THE INITIAL ACQUISITION AND IN LONG-TERM
MANAGEMENT. WITHOUT THE FUNDS FROM OUR 1991 PARTNERS, WE WOULD NOT BE
ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE OIL REVENUE TRAPPED WITHIN IRAQ. THAT IS WHY MY
FAMILY AND OUR COLLEAGUES ARE URGENTLY SEEKING YOUR GRACIOUS
ASSISTANCE. OUR DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES IN THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION
INCLUDE THE SITTING VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
RICHARD CHENEY,WHO IS AN ORIGINAL PARTNER IN THE IRAQ VENTURE AND FORMER
HEAD OF THE HALLIBURTON OIL COMPANY, AND CONDOLEEZA RICE, WHOSE
PROFESSIONAL DEDICATION TO THE VENTURE WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NAMING OF
A CHEVRON OIL TANKER AFTER HER. I WOULD BESEECH YOU TO TRANSFER A SUM
EQUALING TEN TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT (10-25 %) OF YOUR YEARLY INCOME TO
OUR ACCOUNT TO AID IN THIS IMPORTANT VENTURE. THE INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL FUNCTION AS OUR TRUSTED
INTERMEDIARY. I PROPOSE THAT YOU MAKE THIS TRANSFER BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH
(15TH) OF THE MONTH OF APRIL. I KNOW THAT A TRANSACTION OF THIS
MAGNITUDE WOULD MAKE ANYONE APPREHENSIVE AND WORRIED. BUT I AM ASSURING
YOU THAT ALL WILL BE WELL AT THE END OF THE DAY. A BOLD STEP TAKEN SHALL
NOT BE REGRETTED, I ASSURE YOU. PLEASE DO BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS
TRANSACTION IS 100% LEGAL. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO CO-OPERATE IN THIS
TRANSACTION,PLEASE CONTACT OUR INTERMEDIARY REPRESENTATIVES TO FURTHER
DISCUSS THE MATTER. I PRAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND OUR PLIGHT. MY FAMILY
AND OUR COLLEAGUES WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL.

PLEASE REPLY IN STRICT CONFIDENCE TO THE CONTACT NUMBERS
BELOW.

SINCERELY WITH WARM REGARDS, GEORGE WALKER BUSH

Switchboard: 202.456.1414 Comments: 202.456.1111 Fax: 202.456.2461
Email: [email protected]

You know if I had a large portion of money willed to me I'd ask someone in my own town to collect it for me that's how stupid those kind of letters are. Why would you think you were so sly as to ask someone in a different country to collect it for you?

I don't know who's dumber the person who sends the email or the person who falls for it.

Do we really lack that much common sense?

I highly doubt they are British. No one in Britain says "auto accident". Car accident would be more fitting.

well who would say they are a "Brit living in London"?
Wouldn't they just say they live in London? I mean if you were a Brit in New York you might possibly say it...

I also received a painful attempt at a scam recently, which I've copied below:

Hello

Good day and compliments, i know this letter will definitely come to you as a huge surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through it carefully as the decision you make will go off a long way to determine my future and continued existence.

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Sgt John Moore, a US Marine Sgt. serving in the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment which Patrols the Anbar province, Iraq. I am desperately in need of assistance and I have summoned up courage to contact you.

I am presently in Iraq and I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking your assistance to evacuate the sum of 25million USD (Twenty Five Million USD) to the States or any safe country,as far as I can be assured that it will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.This is no stolen money and there are no dangers involved.

SOURCE OF MONEY:

Some money in various currencies was discovered and concealed in barrels with piles of weapons and ammunition at a location near one of Saddam Hussein's old Presidential Palaces during a rescue operation and it was agreed by all party present that the money be shared amongst us.This might appear as an illegal thing to do but I tell you what? No compensation can make up for the risks we have taken with our lives in this hell hole.

The above figure was given to me as my share and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British contact working with the UN here (his office enjoys some immunity) I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. He does not know the real contents of the package as he believes that it belongs to an American who died in an air raid, before giving up trusted me to hand over the package to his close relative.

I have now found a secured way of getting the package out of Iraq for you to pick up. I do not know for how long I will remain here as I have been lucky to have survived 2 suicide bomb attacks by Pure Divine intervention.I will give you 25% of the total sum.

This and other reasons put into consideration have prompted me to reach out for help. If it might be of interest to you then Endeavor to contact me and we would work out the necessary formalities but i pray that you are discreet about this mutually benefiting relationship. My first demand to you is to ask you for your strict confidentiality on this transaction and total trust too, these two things are the most important things needed to conclude this transaction.

Required Details
Full Name:
Full Address:
Phone Number:
Age:
Sex:

Get back to me with the above details so that they can make delivery of the consignment to your Doorstep.

Respectfully,

Sgt. John Moore,
United States Marine Corps. IRAQ.

dpaterso said:

The infamous "Victorian Heiress With Strict Father" scam was originally drafted longhand in 1890 and has been making the rounds ever since. The original sum was twenty-five guineas, eleven shillings and sixpence.

-Derek

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It was a plot in a Regency Romance I've read, only the heroine had the good sense to find a man who she already knew to help her claim her inheritance. She ended up with the man and no inheritance. Maybe this is a last-ditch attempt to snare a husband?

Alessandra Kelley said:

Haven't there been an awful lot of scams lately which involve wiring money to London?

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Yeah, and those may actually be from a friend's email address. The scammers phish for passwords then send a "Hi, I'm stuck in London, lost my wallet and passport!" email to everyone on the contact list. Some people, recognizing the sender's name and email address, won't think twice and will gladly send cash through Western Union to help a friend out without checking to see that the person is actually still at home, wondering why they can't log into their Yahoo account, and had no plans to go to London or wherever else the scammer might say they are.

Alessandra Kelley said:

Haven't there been an awful lot of scams lately which involve wiring money to London?

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No no. The Bankers ran off with all our money, got bailed out by the government, then ran off with our money again. It's easy to get confused between scam and state sponsored rip off.

Watch out, or this thread will get moved to P&CE!

Oh gawd the infamous email scams...I got a story of one of my own that I feel very proudly of

Long story short - I kept getting spam emails from someone claiming to be a higher-agent for the FBI concerning illegal money wires out of Nigeria. I saw it as spam/scam from the horrid spelling, atrocious grammar and what not. Let's just say I forwarded it to the REAL FBI cyber devision, and never heard from them again.

I guess the feds don't like people impersonating them...

Seems like a good place to share this The most trusted man in Nigeria

benbradley said:

Yeah, and those may actually be from a friend's email address. The scammers phish for passwords then send a "Hi, I'm stuck in London, lost my wallet and passport!" email to everyone on the contact list. Some people, recognizing the sender's name and email address, won't think twice and will gladly send cash through Western Union to help a friend out without checking to see that the person is actually still at home, wondering why they can't log into their Yahoo account, and had no plans to go to London or wherever else the scammer might say they are.

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I got a Facebook IM message from a guy supposedly stuck in London. I got immediately suspicious and said "Hey, I can't remember - how did we meet again?' and he went strangely quiet...

My sister fell for a similar scam, she ... well, she rarely use her brain. (There are claims that she has none, but that has not been proven yet.) We all explained to her that she was not about to become a millionaire and that she would never see the money she sent again. She insisted that she was right and we were wrong, for years.

That's not the end of the story. The scammers contacted her again, three years later and apologized for leaving her waiting. Now she was about the get the millions, if she only paid them some more. And that she did. She's been planning what to do with her millions for 5 years now...

As dumb as those scams are... there is always someone dumber that will fall for it.

I work for a travel related company and we have a ton of clients traveling at any one time - so when I got that "Help, I'm stuck in London and just got mugged!" email, it actually fooled me long enough to read the whole thing.