Another case of advance fee fraud from Burkina Faso. Another thing to note is that the senders email is different from the email given in the body of the email. This shows that the spam checkers have been forcing the fraudster to change email addresses.

Look at the fraudulent length and breadth....

Greetings My Dear Friend ,
before I introduce myself, I wish to inform you that this letter is not a hoax mail and I urge you to treat it serious.

This letter must come to you as a big surprise, but I believe it is only a day that people meet and become great friends and business partners. Please I want you to read this letter very carefully and I must apologize for barging this message into your mail box without any formal introduction due to the urgency and confidentiality of this business and I know that this message will come to you as a surprise. Please this is not a joke and I will not like you to joke with it ok, with due respect to your person and much sincerity of purpose, I make this contact with you as I believe that you can be of great assistance to me. My name is Mr.Ben Marzouk,from Burkina Faso,

West Africa. I work in United Bank for Africa (UBA) as telex manager, please see this as a confidential message and do not reveal it to another person and let me know whether you can be of assistance regarding my proposal below because it is top secret.

I am about to retire from active Banking service to start a new life but I am skeptical to reveal this particular secret to a stranger. You must assure me that everything will be handled confidentially because we are not going to suffer again in life. It has been 10 years now that most of the greedy African Politicians used our bank to launder money overseas through the help of their Political advisers. Most of the funds which they transferred out of the shores

of Africa were gold and oil money that was supposed to have been used to develop the continent. Their Political advisers always inflated the amounts before transferring to foreign accounts, so I also used the opportunity to divert part of the funds hence I am aware that there is no official trace of how much was transferred as all the accounts used for such transfers were being closed after transfer.

I acted as the Bank Officer to most of the politicians and when I discovered that they were using me to succeed in their greedy act; I also cleaned some of their banking records from the Bank files and no one cared to ask me because the money was too much for them to control. They laundered over $5billion Dollars during the process. Before I send this message to you, I have already diverted ($8million Dollars) to an escrow account belonging to no one in the bank. The bank is anxious now to know who the beneficiary to the funds is because they have made a lot of profits with the funds. It is more than Eight years now and most of the politicians are no longer using our bank to transfer funds overseas. The ($8million Dollars) has been laying waste in our bank and I don't want to retire from the bank without transferring the funds to a foreign account to enable me share the proceeds with the receiver (a foreigner). The money will be shared 60% for me and 40% for you. There is no one coming to ask you about the funds because I secured everything. I only want you to assist me by providing a reliable bank account where the funds can be transferred.

You are not to face any difficulties or legal implications as I am going to handle the transfer personally. If you are capable of receiving the funds, do let me know immediately to enable me give you a detailed information on what to do. For me, I have not stolen the money from anyone because the other people that took the whole money did not face any problems. This is my chance to grab my own life opportunity but you must of the funds secret to avoid any leakages as no one in the bank knows about my plans.Please get back to me if you are interested and capable to handle this project, I shall intimate you on what to do when I hear from your confirmation and acceptance.

If you are capable of being my trusted associate, do declare your consent to me. I am looking forward to hear from you immediately for further information. please contact me at my E-mail;(mr.benmarzouk22@gmail.com)

Thanks with my best regards.

Mr.Ben Marzouk ,
Telex Manager
United Bank for Africa (UBA)
Burkina Faso

Here are some ways to protect yourself from ever evolving forms of SPAMs, SCAMs and FRAUDs.

1. Do online searches.
If an unexpected email is coming from amazon, go to amazon.com and look for their spam warnings. You can also type a company or product name into your favorite search engine, along with words like “review,” “complaint”, “cheat” or “scam.” Or search for a phrase that describes your situation, like “IRS call.” You can even search for phone numbers to see if other people have reported them as scams.

2. Spot imposters.
Know your vulnerabilities. When a person is vulnerable, there is an unobstructed entrance or view to the person’s heart, being and soul. Scammers often pretend to be someone you trust, you will be ready to open up to, like a government official, a family member, a charity, or a well-known company you do or can or might do business with. Don’t send money or give out personal information in response to an unexpected request — whether it comes as a letter, text, a phone call, or an email.

3. Don’t believe your caller ID.
There have been known cases of company employees using company phones lines to commit frauds. Also, now a days Technology makes it easy for scammers to fake caller ID information, so the name and number you see aren’t always real. If someone calls asking for money or personal information, hang up. If you think the caller might be telling the truth, call back to a number you know is genuine for that company and inquire, research, and spend some time. Don’t help the fraudsters even if you think it’s for a small amount.
4.
5. 4. Don’t pay upfront for a promise.
Advance payments are always risky. Try taking an advance form a bank and see how much paper work is required and how long it takes. Someone might ask you to pay in advance for things like debt relief, credit and loan offers, mortgage assistance, or a job or a lottery win. They want all of this to be done in a hurry as these fraudulent offers are quickly closing. They might even say you’ve won a prize, but first you have to pay taxes or fees. They might invent some impressive jargon. If you do pay an advance without a guarantee, or without conducting a research, know that they will probably take the money and disappear.
6.
7. 5. Consider how you pay.
Credit cards sometimes have significant fraud protection built in, but some payment methods don’t. Know and read your terms and conditions. Some credit cards with zero fees might not provide enough protection. Wiring money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram is risky because it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. That’s also true for reloadable cards like MoneyPak, Reloadit or Vanilla. Government offices and honest companies won’t require you to use these payment methods.
8.
9. 6. Talk to someone.
Slow down, check out the story, do an online search, consult an expert — or just tell a friend. Ask yourself are you being greedy, looking for a free lunch, trying to make shortcuts in life. Before you give up your money or personal information, talk to someone you trust. Con artists want you to make decisions in a hurry. They might even threaten you.
10.
11. 7. Hang up on robocalls.
Now a days receiving calls might cost you money. These robotic fraudulent phone systems want you to say “YES” or “Agreed” to a simple seemingly innocent question, and that triggers the payment metering out of your phone bill. If you answer the phone and hear a recorded sales pitch, hang up instantly. These calls are illegal, and often the products are bogus. Don’t press 1 to speak to a person or to be taken off the list. That could lead to more calls and large sums of payments from your phone bill.
12.
8. Be skeptical about free trial offers.
All that’s seems for free has a hidden cost. We all become a part of a statistic or a study or a large data mine by using free online applications. Companies turn raw data into sellable information, to look for patterns, learn more about their customers and to develop more effective marketing strategies as well as increase sales and cut costs. Some companies use free trials to sign you up for products and bill you every month until you cancel. Before you agree to a free trial, research the company and read the cancellation policy. And always review your monthly statements for charges you don’t recognize.
13.
14. 9. Don’t deposit a check and wire money back.
By law, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. If a check you deposit turns out to be a fake, you’re responsible for repaying the bank.

10. Read articles on how to create spam or scam or ponsi schemes
Not to create spam or a scam but to learn how they think, and how they manage to lure us into their tricks. Sign up for free scam alerts from ftc.gov/scams and other websites like webspam.org or feelcheated.com. Get the latest tips and advice about scams sent right to your inbox.

There is nothing for man except what he strives for. (53 Najm 39), or simply put, there are no free lunches…
Sources: Al-Quran, FTC, PayPal, Western Union, etc.