Nigerian money scam

(all comments are appreciated)

Original email:

Dear Sir,

Confidential Business Proposal

Having consulted with my colleagues and based on the information gathered from the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry, I have the privilege to request your assistance to transfer the sum a 25% share of $40,000,000 into your accounts. The above sum resulted from an over-invoiced contract, executed, commissioned and paid for about five years ago by a foreign contractor. This action was however intentional and since then the fund has been in a suspense account at The Central Bank Of Nigeria Apex Bank.
We are now ready to transfer the fund overseas and that is where you come in. It is important to inform you that as civil servants, we are forbidden to operate a foreign account; that is why we require your assistance. The total sum will be shared as follows: 70% for us, 25% for you and 5% for local and international expenses incidental to the transfer.
The transfer is risk free on both sides. If you find this proposal acceptable, we shall require the following documents:
(a) your banker's name, telephone, account and fax numbers.
(b) your private telephone and fax numbers —for confidentiality and easy communication.
(c) your letter-headed paper stamped and signed.
Alternatively we will furnish you with the text of what to type into your letter-headed paper, along with a breakdown explaining, comprehensively what we require of you.

Please reply urgently.

Best regards
Sunday Makadimo
Lagos, Nigeria

Here is the picture that was sent with the email

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From: Alex Richards (under the pseudonym 'Alex Rickson')

To: Sunday Makadimo

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Hello Sunday,

That is a lovely name you have, it reminds me of the day, Sunday. You are also quite handsome, like a young, black Timmy Mallett.

I have done the maths, 25% of $40,000,000 being $10,000,000, then converted into pounds being approximately £6,175,507.94, which sounds lovely, I will let you keep the 94p because you have been so helpful.

If I am going to be receiving millions of pounds I would like to know a bit more about whom I am dealing with, especially if I am going to be sending you my account numbers.

Thanks,
A. Rickson

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Dear A. Rickson,

You wanted to know more about me. My name is Sunday Makadimo I am the CEO of Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry in Nigeria, I graduated with from the univesity of Lagos in 2001. We have chosen you to receive these funds in your bank because we have read your working reports and we feel you are the right person. Now that you know could you please send

(a) your banker's name, telephone, account and fax numbers.
(b) your private telephone and fax numbers —for confidentiality and easy communication.
(c) your letter-headed paper stamped and signed.
To the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry in Nigeria if you would like to receive your funds

Best regards
Sunday Makadimo

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Hello Sunday,

Thank you for your swift reply. I see you are the CEO of the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce and Industry in Nigeria, I believe that your company is much better and much more efficient than the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce and Industry in Australia.

Thank you for reading my work report, I did not understand that you were interested in reading documents based on part-time employees of small electrical businesses in Wales. To be fair, I have been pretty progressive in my work this year, I learned many codes involved in the activation, de-activation and set-up of alarm systems, I learned how to use a screwdriver correctly and I learned how wires work. I will not bore you with my work-based achievements, as you have already read my report, so you know everything, and of course, you are a graduate of Lagos University!

There seems to be a small problem with getting my bank documents right now, but I promise I will get them to you. Some of my friends have said this could be a scam, but I know it’s not because you mentioned that this is risk-free on both sides, and everyone knows that a common Nigerian stereotype is that they are honest, my friends are just jealous that they are not getting millions of pounds!

Many thanks,
Alex Rickson

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Dear A. Rickson,
I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with retreiving your documents. If you cannot get them you can wire me $500 and give the location of your documents and I can get someone else to send me them

Best regards
Sunday Makadimo

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Hello Sunday,

I can wire you the money as soon as I get it. I am running low on cash a little bit these days, so I don’t have $500 (approx. £309) to spend freely right now, but I will definitely get you that money. The problem with retrieving the documents is that my wife recently lost her leg during the first dress rehearsal of a ‘Jumanji’ re-enactment at her drama club. The bank has stated that she needs to be there in person for me to retrieve our bank documents or the £309, as the account is under both our names, both of us must be there if more than £305 is to be taken out of our account. We can't use the car because the door for the car boot is stuck and the steering wheel fell off. The bank is just too far for her to walk, and she won’t sit in her bloody wheelchair because ‘wheelchairs are so last summer’, we are literally stumped.

I told my friends about the $500 you require to work your magic, they are still claiming it is a scam, they say that you will keep my $500 without performing your said action, but they obviously aren’t using their heads, why would you want a measly $500 from me when you have $40,000,000 already?

Anyway, I wanted to show you something, I told my 4 year old daughter of your generosity and she has called you her new uncle, or ‘unkie’ as she pronounces it, here is a picture she drew of you giving us a wheelbarrow filled with money, she has really taken a shine to you, unkie Sunday.

Mucho Thanks Amigo
Alex Rickson

(Here is the picture I sent him)

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Dear A. Rickson
Nice picture. It turns out that I cannot perform my actions for the $500 anymore so you will have to get your documents within 5 days. I managed to speak to the Foreign contractor and he said that 4 days would be the most time for the documents but I said 5 days because i told him about your wifes problem this is very urgent.
Just in case your forgot you need

(a) your banker's name, telephone, account and fax numbers.
(b) your private telephone and fax numbers —for confidentiality and easy communication.
(c) your letter-headed paper stamped and signed.

Best Regards
Sunday Makadimo

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Hello Sunday,

I have found a solution, but unfortunately it cannot work for us. I’ll explain.

There is a way for my wife to get to the bank, but I will need the equivalent of $300 from you in order to hire a crane to carry her there, which shouldn't be a problem as you have $40,000,000. I know what you’re thinking; “EUREKA!”, but slow down cowboy. The money transfer process from you to me will take approx. 48 hours, it will then take another 6 hours to go to and from the bank, Tuesday night is cinema night so I will not be doing anything business-related from 6pm to 11am (add another 17 hours), I will be going to my nan’s for dinner Wednesday afternoon (add another 2 hours, 3 if she gets the scrabble out) and finally it will take another 48 hours for me to send you my details, all of which adds up to 121 hours, which is 5 days and 1 hour. Unfortunately you stated that 5 days was the maximum time allowed to get you the money, I’m sorry to have disappointed you, maybe if I didn’t take an hour writing this email to tell you about how I would be an hour too late for our transaction to occur, I could have saved the deal.

I suppose there is nothing else we can do, which is a shame; I felt chemistry between us, almost as if we are kindred spirits. Maybe you are the Nigerian version of me? What is your favourite type of filament lamp? The fact that we are kindred spirits means that I know you’ll say tungsten, I…I just know it.

-sigh.

Your pal from the val’
Alex Rickson

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Dear A. Rickson
I have just spoken to the foreign contractor and he can extend the deadline to 6 days. Please send your details to the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry in Nigeria within 6 days and then I can transfer the funds to the accounts you send to me, this will be the last deadline so you must be urgent. Yes we are kindered spirits we are good friends for now and many years.

Best regards
Sunday Makadimo

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Sunday,

Please stop playing with my heart strings, man. It’ll just be one disappointment after another, my heart can’t take it. I feel I’m the only one committed to this transaction, you’ll need to prove that you’re committed to both the transaction and the power of our kindred spirits. You can pay to fly me out to Nigeria, with your money we can buy a big mansion, open a chain of small souvenir shops and casinos in various party spots throughout Lagos, we can call it ‘Las Lagos’, it will be our own little empire. I can leave my wife, I mean, she’s only got 1 leg, it’s not like she’s going to catch up with me. Please, I can make this work between us.

What do you say?
From one disappointed yet slightly sanguine man to another.

Alex Rickson

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Dear A. Rickson,
That will not be necessary to fly you to Lagos to complete the deal. You have 6 days to send me your details so I can transfer your share of the $40,000,000 to your bank account

Best regards
Sunday Makadimo

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Sunday,

As one last attempt of convincing you to fly me to Lagos, I have written you a poem:

Sunday Sunday,
We’ll be together one day
With our multi million dollar empire
And you playing tennis, I’ll be umpire
From the moment you said confidential business proposal
I knew we’d be together, finances at our disposal
Lazy days, chilling out in Lagos
With the feel good tunes of a certain Mr. Luther Vandross
‘Endless Love’ is what we will sing
To ensure our relationship’s not just a fling
Sunday please, fly me to you
A helpless soul, for you to rescue
Because when I’m alone, nature makes it seem so
The wind whispers: Sunday Makadimo.

Your friend
Alex Rickson.

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End of correspondence