mutations of the Nigerian spam

[cellio]

You all know the Nigerian spam, right? This is the one where the sender claims to be some close relative of a deposed ruler or the like; he's got $28 million or whatever that he has to transfer out of the country right now, and if you arrange it you can keep 20%, and if you'll just transmit your bank-account information we can get started...

I first got that spam years ago and it seemed to die out after a while. A few months ago it started showing up again -- and then the mutations, like now the person was in Liberia or elsewhere.

The spam I just received smells an awful lot like this one, but with a different tone:

Dearest one,

Please take heart as you read this mail, i do not expecte you to sympatise with me because everybody have to die some day. As i am writing you this mail, i am on my sick bed waiting to join my ancesstors. I am Mr Murphy Rudorlf, a brithish German residing here in United Arab Emirate (UAE) due to my multiple investment here. but now i am on my point of death i am having terrible feelings over my soul, i was told by my doctor that my heart cancer situation is geting from bad to worsth and that i not going to survive this illness and that i have just few mounths to live.

I am a rish man, very rich and i have willed my propareties and investment to my family member and friends but i am still distured over my soul, because while i was on earth i did not do anything for GOD, i hardly attends church services once or twice a year. Now i am not even allowed to move from my sick bed, because my condition now is badly terrible. that is why i need your help to help my circulate some large sum of fund i deposited in france into charities organisations, the sum of 6.2 million us dollars. my family are not aware of this, every member of my family are completely against this idea that is why i need someone sincere and reliable to help me carry out this planes.

I can't even communicate on phone , i am deprived by my doctor and my family from that, the only mean i can reach to people is through my lap top pc. please if you are sincere and faithfull to help me circulate this fund, please get in contact with me, so that i can forward to you the necessary datas you may need to enable you claim the fund on my behalf. i am beging to read from you. may GOD bless you as you help.

Be blessed,
murphy Rudorlf.

Large sum of money: check.
Situation is urgent: check.
Bad English (to make you think he's a foreigner, I presume): check.
Can't talk to you directly: check.
Can't go through the people who know him: check.
Remorse over the state of his soul: new twist.

Comments

[cellio]

The bad English might be authentic bad English instead of faked.

Good point. Though, on reflection, the errors do not seem to be the ones that a British German would make.

Did you know that fraud is the third largest industry in Nigeria?

Third largest industry, or third largest export? :-) (I wonder what the first two are.)

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to imply 'written by a British German', I meant to imply 'written by a scammer with bad English'. :-)