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February 23, 2012

I wonder if the 419 gangs have been running into more informed recipients of their spam — people who are suspicious of being asked for money up front to get their (nonexistent) windfall.

In the past, the crooks would wave millions of [choose your currency] in front of recipients' eyes so they wouldn't mind paying sometimes tens of thousands of dollars over a few weeks or months to pay for (phony) fees, taxes, duties, storage costs, shipping costs, and other nonsense, because that would be a mere pittance compared to the huge payment that (never) arrives. I have even reported earlier that some 419ers have used a ploy to advise recipients that there will be a (not) one-time fee of so many hundred dollars to process the transaction — a kind of refreshing candor (I can't call it "honesty").

Perhaps as a sign of desperation (one can only hope), the price of entry into a 419er's clutches has been lowered to a mere $95.00:

Subject: IMMEDIATE PAYMENT

Executive Governor (CBN)
IMMEDIATE PAYMENT
REF: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/012
[OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR]
Call me +234 80322xxxxx


Dear.


Good news,we have a meeting with the house (Federal government of Nigeria) we informed them that your fund should not cost you any thing because is your money (Your Card). Moreover, we have an agreement with them that you should pay only delivering of your card which is 95 U.S. DOLLARS by FedEx Delivering Company.However, you have only two working days to send this 95 U.S. DOLLARS for the delivering of your card, if we don’t hear from you with the payment the Federal Government will cancel the card.


I want you to read below notice carefully, as the notice stand as caution before it is late. for your consideration, you must be conscious of this project, as I will soon conclude this transaction with you, incase of any e-mails, calls you receives regarding this from any individuals claimed to be me, or e-mails, calls from any organization to you, such must be forwarded at once to me immediately by e-mail.


Also, it might come to you with different proposals with different names including my name asking you to come and claim your estate or even funds belonging to you or to somebody you do not know, I urge you to ignore such e-mails or calls, while you forward it to me. I want you understand that the most important thing for me is your understanding and co-operation, again without this code (555) don’t get back to me.


Moreover, first batch of your card which contains 1,000.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS has been activated and is the total fund loaded inside the card. Your fund which is in total 10,000.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS will come in batches of 1,000.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS and this is the first batch.Your payment would be sent to you via UPS or FedEx, Because we have signed a contract with them which should expired by February 28th. Below are few list of tracking


numbers you can track from UPS website(www.ups.com) to confirm people like you who have received their payment successfully.


JOHNNY ALMANTE ==============1Z2X59394198080570
GARY METZGER ==============1Z2X59394195952759
GLEN PAPANIKAS ==============1Z2X59394198690947
CAROL R BUCZYNSKI ==============1Z2X59394197862530
KARIMA EMELIA TAYLOR ==============1Z2X59394198591527
LISA LAIRD ==============1Z2X59394196641913
POLLY SHAYKIN ==============1Z2X59394198817702


Moreover, this is another people that received their payment through fedEx website (www.FEDEX.com).

EVELYNL MARJA===================871372183148
Devadass Dass====================871359761819
Charlie Love====================871359761727
Thomas Menefee===================871359809324
Patrick Craddock==================871359809313
RICHARD AUTRY ================= 869713119185
OWEN J KAYODE ================== 871363130860
MARK STUBBS =====================871363116168
LEWIS SMITH======================871358164322


You have to reconfirm your full information such as follow:

Full Name: ……………………………………

Home Address or Office: ………………………

Cell Phone and Home Phone number: ……………………


This is the paying information that you will use and send the 95 U.S. DOLLARS only, through money gram or western union money transfer for the shipment fee


only.


Receiver’s Name:Nwanorue Chijindu
Text Question:In God
Text Answer:We Trust
Address Lagos-Nigeria
Amount:$95
MTCN:::::::


I wait the payment information to enable us proceed for the delivering of your card.And you are advice to call me with this number +234 80322xxxxx



Regards

Dr.George Gana
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)
Call me +234 80322xxxxx
NOTE: RESPONSE SHOULD BE MADE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE IT WILL BE TOO LATE FOR YOU

Of course, if you think that the $95.00 payment will be all you'd have to make, you are dreaming. It's like a retailer's loss leader to drive you into the door. The salesman takes over from there and steps you up to higher-priced goods. And believe me when I say that these Nigerian guys have well-proven track records in gaining the confidence and big dollars from their victims once on the hook.

By the way, the tracking numbers in the above message are all dead. But that wasn't the case a few weeks ago, when I saw another 419 message use a similar tactic to trick recipients into believing such payments were being made. There were real FedEx bills of lading from Nigeria to various addresses in the U.S. that were trackable at fedex.com. That really unnerved me because I knew recipients might easily believe that those shipments contained giant payments like the ones being promised in the email message. Of course, an empty FedEx envelope is just as trackable. The investment to send a couple envelopes from Africa to the States probably paid off handsomely in attracting victims.