A Lesson from Nigerian Email by Julie Arduini

You’ve seen the email letters.

They go something like this:

I am (insert name here) and am now rich. I am one of those that took part in the  (insert legal term) in Nigeria many years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over $50,000 while in the U.S, trying to get my payment all to no avail.

 So I decided to travel to (insert big city) , And I was directed by the(insert a fancy sounding legal organization) to contact Mr. (insert name of agent from above organization), assigned to Nigeria, to take care of all compensation funds from the Government of Nigeria without bonafide beneficiary been scammed again. I contacted him and he asked if I could travel down to Nigeria to see things with my eyes or if I would prefer he handle the transfer himself from their. I decided to travel down to Nigeria to see the transfer process completed myself.

 

Right now I am the most happiest man on earth because I have received my inheritance funds of US (insert millions of dollars). Moreover, Mr. (name of agent) showed me the full information of those that are yet to receive their payments and I saw your name as one of the beneficiaries, and your email address, that is why I decided to email you to stop dealing with those people claiming to have your funds, they are not with your fund, they are only making money out of you. I will advise you to contact (name of agent) immediately.

 You are advised to contact him directly through the information below.

 

Name : (insert agent name)

Email : (insert agent name and add a .com)

 Phone: (add International phone number)

 

You really have to stop dealing with those people that are contacting you and telling you that your fund is with them, it is not in anyway with them, they are only taking advantage of you and they will dry you up until you have nothing.

 

The only money I paid after I met (agent) was just $(small fee compared to the millions) for their documentation fee, take note of that.

 I will advise you to contact (agent) immediately so that he can help you to Deliver/Transfer your fund instead of dealing with those liars that will be turning you around asking for different kind of money to complete your transaction.

 Thank You and Remain Blessed.

 (Insert name of happiest man in the world)

This is an actual message I received, sent directly to my spam folder, because that is where it belongs. It is most likely a scam, and because of Dateline, I’m going to err on the side of caution and not respond.

But I do have a confession for you.

God gave me a huge eye opener through this letter.

Did you catch it?

His sign off was Thank You and Remained Blessed.

Remained blessed.

That means I’m blessed to begin with.

Mind blown.

Last year was full of broken wrists, surgery, church split, and other stresses. This year began with my mother-in-law’s passing. Next month they would have celebrated their 54th anniversary. There has been a lot of travel, tears, smiles, memories, and that fog only grief can give. In that fog I’ve done a couple dumb things that I will remember because I have a cracked rearview mirror and gouge in my car.

But that letter was a neon sign for me. As hard as these months have been for us, for my husband’s family, as careless as I was driving, we’re blessed. We always were. We always will be. The rub is whether we choose to live that way.

Mind blown again.

May you remain blessed. I’m sorry I don’t have millions of dollars waiting for you. 🙂

photobucket image