I recieved the following on Skype of all things lag night:

Hello Owen am George Boateng a Chartered Accountant by profession with over sixteen (16) years working experience in the Ghana banking sector, however i have with me an important business to share with you which will be of great benefit to both of us because it is in connection with your name and a citizen of your country called Mr. Shafi A. Owen who had a fixed deposit with my bank in 2006 valued at over $14,400.000 Million United state Dollars which the due date for this deposit contract was on the 16th of September 2009. Sadly Mr. Shafi was among the death victims in the May 12th 2008 China earthquake that left over 67,000 people dead.

My bank management is yet to know about his death and i knew about it because am his account officer who open the account for him, meanwhile Mr. Shafi did not mention any Next of Kin / Heir when the account was opened and last week my Bank Management requested that Mr. Shafi should give instructions on what to do about his funds and this is why have been looking for a means to handle the situation because if my Bank Management happens to know that Mr. Shafi is dead and do not have any heir they will take the money for their personal use and i don’t want such to happen.

That was why when i saw your name i was happy and am now seeking your co-operation to present you as Next of Kin to the account since you have the same name with him and my bank will release the account to you with my help in activating your full name in to our bank data base system as the beneficiary to Mr. Shafi so as to enable you to claim the funds and this transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of law, It is better that we claim the money than allowing the Bank management to take it. I am not a greedy person so I suggest we share the funds equal 50% / 50% to both parties, let me know your mind on this and do treat this information as Top Secret while i send to you the full details and documentation once i receive your urgent response by email.

Best Regards George Boateng

Email: georgeboateng1960@gmail.com

…how stupid do these people think we are – variations on this scam have been going on for years, and the frightening thing for me is that if they keep trying this they must have some kind of success rate even if it’s small. I am sure I have ranted about hoaxes before when people send me this stuff through the net without even trying to verify it.

Please, if anyone ever recieves one of these please discard it. If your tempted to take it seriously at least google the details of the mails with the works hoax and scam. If it sounds to good to be true it normally is – thought in the case above there are several reasons it looks stupid!

Posted with Blogsy

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