The Daily Ping

I got a unique variation on the EURO-LOTTO/Nigerian 419 scam recently. The subject line was “NEXT OF KIN MACMICHAEL” and read:

Dear Macmichael,

I know that you must have recieved the first letter I sent to you by post, but if you have not, here comes a follow-up to the letter.. Let me start by Formally introducing myself to you. I am Barr. Bretch ximenes (esq), personal attorney to late Mr.JAMES MACMICHAEL.my service covers individuals, corporate bodies and institutions. I also represent government departments as an external solicitor.

My client, late Mr.JAMES MACMICHAEL was killed alongside with his wife and only daughter in a fatal accident along Abuja express road on the 24th of august 2002,sparing none of their lives.

Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my client¡¯s extended relatives, this has proved unsuccessful. After several unsuccessful enquiries, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family using his last name, an effort that led to my contacting you for assistance.

I have contacted you to assist me in repatriating the money left behind by my client before they got confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where these huge deposits were currently domiciled.

Particularly, the bank where the deceased have an account valued at about us$21 million.I started making frantic effort to get an assistance to help me claim my deceased client money, after the bank issued me a notice to provide the next-of-kin to the account or have the account confiscated within the next fourteen official working days.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the biological relatives of my client for over three years now, and it happens that you bear the same surname with him, which makes our claim much credible and legitimate, I hereby seek your consent to present you as the bonafide next of kin to the deceased so that the proceeds of this account valued at, us$21 million can be paid into an account you will provide to the bank as soon as the bank acknowledges and approve our claim.

I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up our Claim, all I require is your pledges of honest co-operation to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect us from any breach of the law.

Please get in touch with me immediately you acknowledge the good Receipt of this message.

Anticipating your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,

Barr. Bretch Ximenes (esq.)

I think this is the first time I’ve seen this version of the spam, one that uses the recipient’s last name in the scam itself to lend an air of legitimacy.

Sorry Barr. Ximenes, but I never really liked my relative Jim very much. I’m kind of glad he died.

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