what's the deal with African spam about money?

[Bhaisahab]

i keep receiving pleas for help from African lawyers who say their clients have millions which they need taken out of their country and that if I help I can keep half the money.
Its a scam no doubt, but what's the purpose behind it? Any ideas? maybe the atrocious english can give a clue?

here's a typical mail (the actors change with every mail):

hello Dear ,

I am obliged to confined in you with the hope that you will understand my plight and the need for your urgent response to this mail so that the necessary actions can be taken immediately.As introduction, My name is yusuf Jonas Savimbi Jr, the first and only son of late Mr Jonas Savimbi, the former leader of UNITA( Union for Total Independence of Angola) fighting a just war for the emancipation of Angolan people.

You might be aware of the recent killing of my father ,by his aids on the 27th of February 2002, as a result of misunderstanding within the top ranks of the union , as it by was televised world wide by both CNN and BBC.I will send you my late father pictures to you togerther with my personal idditifaction as soon as you respond to me immediately.

During the life time of my father, he deposited the Sum of US$ 15,500,000.00,(Fifiteen million five hundred thousandusd)coded cash inside bo x in a Air & Sea Diplomtic courier services volut in Republic of Benin vaule to Europe,America,Asia.with my name as the next of kin. As a matter of fact, I am tired of hiding and hanging around in Angola ,from my late father's rivalries who want to kill me thinking that I am interested in stepping into my father's shoes, as the leader of the Union; hence, my Now i am in Refguee camp here in Cotonou Republic of Benin to arrange for transfer of this money to enable me to leave Africa entirely.

PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS WEB PAGE FOR IT SAYS IT ALL.
(< http://www.the-idler.com/IDLER-02/316.html)> < http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1839000/1839252.stm>
I want you to assist me to have this box of money transfered immediately out of Africa by providing your self to retriving the box of money as soon as it has been transferred to you and order necessary support to enable me to obtain the required documents to come over to your country,so that together we will plan for the investment of the money in profitable business ventures.

Please, if you are interested to assist me to achieve this noble feat , be rest assured that you shall be adequately
compensated with 25% of the total money while all expenses ncurred from your side, shall be reimbursed to you on for retriving of the box and transfering of this funds to your account.Do not forget the urgent and confidential of this transaction for security reason. For your interest to assist me in this my present condition kindly call me Direct through my moblie telephone 00229
9869 14 my private email ([e-mail])
Waiting for your urgently responses.
God bless and take control .
Your's friendly
YUSUF JONAS SAVIMBI JR
MOBILE [phone].

[Archae]

1. Scam. Pure and simple.

These are called the "Nigeria scam" since most often they operate out of Nigeria.

It's a total ripoff scam.

[swag]

2. they con you into sending a certain amount of money

as a security deposit, minimum bank deposit, or some such, and fleece you.

Variation on a very old con.

[Bhaisahab]

5. man... what next...

[DEMVET-USMC]

3. It`s a scam and they want your money. Don`t send any.

...Oscar

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Wotta cheap bastard!!!

Most of them offer me half.

As others have mentioned, this is an ancient scam, and was done by snailmail before email made it so much easier for them. There are a couple of websites out there that I don't have links to offhand where people report how they had a good time playing these guys along.

My personal favorite was a preacher who claimed to have had his church's money tied up with some dead African leader's. It was only $5,000,000-- not enough to get me interested.

A related scam, usually from Russia or some tiny third world country, is where they find someone looking to export goods, place an order, and send a phony "certified check." Your bank will credit the check to your account immediately, but take the money back out, with charges, when the "certified check" bounces in a week or two. By that time, they will have received the goods.

[RebelOne]

6. Check out this Web site.

http://www.419eater.com. Lots of info about these scammers. I get at least 2 of those e-mails every day.

[LTR]

7. Check this out

http://j-walk.com/other/conf/index.htm

[Wilber_Stool]

8. Try this

Good for a laugh.
http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/index.html

[Loonman]

9. Just delete 'em as they come in

I called the US Justice Department and that's what they told me.

[Servo300]

10. More info from Snopes

Here is the link:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. A lot of people in Third World countries see the U.S.

as a land where everyone is rich--which nearly everyone is in comparison to the average Third World person.

Back in my high school years, when we still wrote on stone tablets with chisels, I had a lot of international pen pals. At some point, the pen pals from poor countries (only the ones from India never did this) would send me a shopping list, asking for things like cameras and stereos.

I was a teenager on an allowance that was low by the standards of my local community, and I didn't even own a camera or stereo. When I wrote back and explained, most of these pen pals stopped writing. Only one--a young man from Haiti--said that he understood and continued writing for a couple of years afterward.

I heard that this was a common experience among Americans who had pen pals in Third World countries: exchange a few friendly letters and then start asking for goodies. Apparently in some cultures, friends are practically required to share their good fortune, so the idea was, "I'll make friends with an American, and then that person will have to share his or her wealth with me."

I see the Nigerian scam as the new electronic version of this tactic.