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February 12, 2009

Maybe today's 419er is trying to make a connection with a gullible recipient by coming up with more and more complicated schemes. With the following one, there is supposedly a just-shy-of-one-million-dollar ATM card with my name on it. But there is this restriction that I'll be able to withdraw only $1500 per day on it — that's nearly two years of visiting an ATM machine, 7 days a week.

From: "Ms.Martina Basil.Foreign Payment Office."<[removed]@finance.org>
Subject: Your funds are now in atm card, contact the payment center director.

Dear Beneficiary,

we are hereby directed to pay you ,your "compensation funds" of
$985,000.00usd., through ATM master card payment and also through our
swift card payment center, this atm payment card center will
process,issue and send you a global ATM master card which you will use to withdraw your money in any atm machine worldwild, but the maximum is one thousand, five hundred united states dollars per day. so, you are now directed to contact our (ATM card) payment department officer ( Dr. James Udo,) the Director who is in position and incharge to release your ATM master card, and also forward the below information to them for processing.

1. Your full name
2. Address where you will like it to be sent.
3. Private phone and fax number
4. Your age.
5. Occupation / postion.
6. Attached / scanned copy of any identification of yours.

Contact person ; Dr. James udo
department ; ATM master card payment
email: [removed]@msn.com

Director, ATM master card payment department,OCEANIC BANK International
Plc Meanwhile, you hereby advised to put a STOP to any further
communication with any other person(s) or office(s) to avoid any hitches in processing and receiving your payment.

Also note that because of fraud and impostors, we hereby issue you our
code of conduct, which is (ATM-867) so you have to indicate this code when contacting the ATM master card payment center.

Sincerely,
Ms.Martina Basil.Foreign Payment Office.
(Directress Ministry Of Finance.)

So, is this get-rich-slowly gimmick supposed to make it appear more legitimate to those wary of get-rich-quick scams? One thing is for sure: with the (non-existent) funds locked up in an ATM card (also non-existent), the sucker who bites for this one can't beg to get the inevitable processing, handling, taxing, and bribery fees deducted from a big stash.

I'm sure our crook would be thrilled to get the equivalent of one day's withdrawal wired to him via Western Union.