Ahem..am I rich now..or wtf?

[bigchillcar]

got this e-mail. assume it's a scam..after you reply, he must start asking for $$. anyone else get this?
ryan

Dear Ryan Vestal,

I know this Letter will come to you as a
suprise,though i do not intend to embarras you.Let me
start by Formally introducing My self to you .I am
Barrister Abraham K. Martins, a Legal Practitioner and
Head of Chambers, of an accredited Law Firm .

I am the Attorney representing Engr. Charles A. Vestal
who lost his life in recent Tsunami disaster while on
vacation with his family in Thailand at the famous
tourist resort Island of ****et.

My deceased client lived most of his life time in Togo
and took here as a home. As a consultant to Cement
Prospecting Companies in Togo he made fortune for him
self and i have been his personal Attorney Spanning
for a period of five years.

Now to the brass tack ,the deceased took life
Insurance Policy which entitles any Surviving member
of his family to a whooping sum of USD17,000,000.00
(Seventeen Million US Dollars) in the event of his
death. Unfortunately his wife and children who
statutorily are his next of kin are no more and under
the existing law here the Surviving relatives of my
deceased client becomes the benefactors.

It is as a result of this development that compelled
me to go into an extensive search in the internet for
possible trace of his family Linage but to no avail.
However, since coincidentally both of you bear the
same Last name, I want to seek your consent to present
you as a relative to My deceased client by virtue of
family linage. As attorney to the decesaed the onus of
proof to establish your relationship with my client,
rest on me and to achieve this objective,there are
judicial process involved which i will brief you on
subsequent correspondence if you indicate interest.

I am not puruing this cliam for the monetary gain,it
is a duty i owe to my late client as i intend to use
part of the fund to establish a Foundation in his
name, notwithstanding you will be adquately rewarded
for your assistance in this endeavour,as you will
receive 30% of the total amount involved.

PLEASE THIS TRANSACTION IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

Expecting to hear from you as soon as possible.

Abraham Martins Esq.

Priciple partner





__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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[RickM]

Actually this one looks to be real...go for it

[pwd72s]

When he asks for money or a bank account number...RUN!

[chuckw951]

This is a most unusual letter:

"I am Barrister Abraham K. Martins, a Legal Practitioner and
Head of Chambers, of an accredited Law Firm."

Usually lawyers want to tell you the name of their firm right up front...

[badcar]

My reply to the email would be as follows...

Dear Sir,
This tragedy has placed me into a horrible depression. So much so I am barely able to type this response. Yes, a thousand times yes, I wish to help my establish this trust to ensure the future good name of the Vestal family, but I find it hard to motivate myself to go forward knowing the pain a suffering a distant relative has suffered. As you may not know, the Vestal family is all too familiar with natural disasters and the pain and destruction they cause. It was my late Uncle Fester was struck by lightning many times resulting in an unexpected side effect that allowed him to place light bulbs in his mouth and they would illuminate without any power source.

But I digress. I need to be motivated out of my funk to help you in this task. This may come across as a interesting request, but it would cheer my soul, and provide me with proof that you are actually a barrister, that if I could receive a photograph of you wearing the barristers wig, with womens undergarments, preferably red, with stockings. I would of course keep this confidential. That act would be all the proof I would need to legitimacy of your title and sincerity to help establish the foundation.

You may not know, but I am a very wealthy man, with many philanthropic hobbies. I have many hundreds of thousands of dollars at my disposal if needed to assist in establishing this foundation.

I look forward to your response, and the picture to cheer my damaged soul.

Yours very truly,

or..just ignore it...iether way...you are a rich dude

[RickM]

Ignore it. The last thing you want is to be on an active email address list for these scum.

[svandamme]

NAH, GO WITH MARK'S IDEA, IT WILL WORK
JUST ASK FOR 10 USD AS A TOKEN OF GOOD FAITH ON HIS BEHALF
DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE ALL CAPS, AND EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR URGENCY

[Don Plumley]

This can be good fun. If you have the time, here's a set of "Noble Experiments" from the Banterist where the writer actively engages and enrages a scammer:

Part I

Part II

Part III

more

and more

Or, if you are time limited, here's a more recent direct version:
There's something about Mary

I quote one of his replies:

If you can pay my travel expenses I can meet you. I have not been to the Ivory Coast. Ironically - these are the names of two brands of soap. I would be happy to travel anywhere in Africa unless they require several immunization shots. In that case, I could always meet in a nice European town like Dusseldorf or Schwarzkopf.

To address your concerns:

Knowledge: I attended DeVry Institute, so enough of that!

Wisdom: Both my grandparents are alive, and they tell me their stories. I grow from these, as does anyone who listens to their grandparents talk about life, coupons and history.

Trust: I am very trustworthy. If you ask any of my friends they will tell you that I can be trusted with millions of dollars, or just to return their phone calls in a reasonable amount of time. Trust is trust no matter in what regard.

Sincerity: That's how I end all my letters. I am sincere and mean well.

I usually end up in tears at some point...

[bigchillcar]

http://www.globalcoordinate.com/items/1305307.aspx

nice work, socal...yeah, she and i should hook up..two millionaires. funny how this guy always seems to have trouble tracking down relatives of really rich people. seems to me that the very rich always have more than their share of relatives once they pass..lol.

badcar..lol..that cracked me up! i'll have to give your option due consideration.

don, i'll check out your links and see what they say.

why am i not feeling like i should put that deposit down on the new 997 just yet??
ryan

[Moses]

Originally posted by bigchillcar
Ahem..am I rich now..or wtf?

wtf

[bigchillcar]

wtf

well..if you can't trust 'moses' to steer you right, who can you trust? no golden calf for me, eh moses?
ryan

[Moses]

Originally posted by bigchillcar
at the famous
tourist resort Island of ****et...

Maybe wtp?

[jeffgrant]

There are some REALLY funny stories about baiting these kinds of scammers... I was following some of them over at 419eater.com

http://www.419eater.com/html/hall_of_shame.htm

It almost sad, yet incredibly funny, to see just how desparate these guys are to scam you... a lot of them are willing to do just about anything to "get you".

[FrayAdjacent911]

It looks legit! Don't be a wussy!

[bigchillcar]

so, what's the same here? after contacting him, i would bet next step would be involve asking me for money in some fashion or bank account information. simply providing account number information in and of itself..does that open oneself to vulnerability of having someone like this actually be able to 'withdraw funds' without my specific authorization? i would think not, although i suppose i'd have to research my bank's policies. personally, i think it's a crock..
ryan

[bigchillcar]

tourist resort Island of ****et...

Maybe wtp?

somehow i knew i was '****ed'...
ryan