Soccer Eagle Lotto

I have been getting a lot of google hits on the Soccer Eagle Lotto post below. Many folks have received the exact same email with the exact same numbers, and they want to know if it is legit.

It most certainly is not legit.

Even though it is listed as being out of the Netherlands, my guess is that the real brains behind the outfit are in Lagos, Nigeria, and that this is a standard issue 419 scam. So far no one has gotten back to me, but what generally happens is that they keep coming up with "complications" that require you to wire money for fees, bribes, taxes, etc.

Do a google search for "419 Nigerian Fraud" and you will get a plethora of sites, including one from the US Secret Service, warning you of this. It goes back to the 1920's and was originally done with letters, then with faxes, then with email. I have received various 419 scam solicitations from Nigeria, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, as well as a few from Great Britain and other Western European countries. Depending on which source you go by, 419 scamming is between the fifth and the third largest industry in Nigeria. It often involves government officials, so the phone numbers might actually be to government ministries.

If you think our government is bad, just think about that for a minute.

By all means, have fun with them. You can have some rather memorable and bloggable exchanges with them (although these jerks still owe me a repsonse, although my name might be on some "do not bother" list by now), but DO NOT send them money, DO NOT call them (especially not Caribbean phone numbers), and DO NOT go over to Africa when they suggest that you need to be there in person. You will basically be kidnapped, and I know of at least one confirmed case where someone was killed.

If you do not mind being called at all hours of the night, it is OK to give them your phone number. You can really have fun with them, but they seem to have no concept of time zones, so the phone will ring at 3am. My friend gave them my phone number once as a practical joke, so I returned the favor, and we eventually called a truce. It is kind of funny gettting some Nigerian to call you in the middle of the night claiming to be Mrs. Abacha's lawyer.

The benefit of playing these games with these criminals is that you will get some of the funniest reading matter you have ever had. They combine the pompous with the ignorant, and come up with some rather funny phrases.

As a side note, my friend actually convinced one of them to send him a $50 bill as a token of trust. It was far more work than any $50 he ever earned. Someone else told me that he got $100 the same way, but as far as I can tell, those are the only two cases where any money flowed to the victims.

Weee! I am going to be rich!

[Read the Extended Entry for my reply]

SOCCER EAGLE LOTTO INTERNATIONAL.
HOOFGHESS 333,1104 KL
AMSTERDAM-NETHERLANDS.

FROM:THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT.
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD.
BACTH NO: LDNL/30771/04.
REF. NO. LDNL/122083/04.

WINNING NOTIFICATION

ATTN,DEAR

This is to inform you of the release of the GLOBAL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL/ WORLD GAMING BOARD held on the 29th JUNE 2004 Due to the mix up of numbers, the results were released on the 3rd JULY 2004. Your name attached to ticket number 36739-1 with serial number ’
0098-0 drew the lucky numbers of 7-9-2 which consequently won the lottery in the 1st category.
You have therefore been approved for payment of FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ( US$ 500,000) cash credited to file with REF. NO.LDNL/122083/04.

CONGRATULATIONS:Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has been processed
and your money Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some paticipants.All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from only Microsoft users from over 20,000 company, and 3,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world.This promotional program takes place every three years. For your processing of your claim please contact our fudicial agent.

Mr. PAUL SMITH
Email:soccerlotto2004@netscape.net
SOCCER EAGLE LOTTO INTER

processing and remittance of your winning prize money to a destination of your choice.Any claim not made before two weeks (19th) from this day will be returned to the MINISTERIAL VAN DE ECONOMIA NETHERLANDS. Note that all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.

Also in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all your correspondence
with Mr.Paul Smith

Please follow all his instructions.Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform us as quickly as possible.

Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Yours Sincerely,
Anita Van Hoornbeck
Vice President, SOCCER LOTTO INTER

Dear Mr. Paul Smith,

I am writing in reference to:

BACTH NO: LDNL/30771/04.
REF. NO. LDNL/122083/04.

I am very pleased to have won this lottery. I hereby certify that I am over 18 and am not disqualified from this lotto.

Please, sir, I am very anxious to claim my prize, and need to know if it will be necessary to travel to the Netherworlds. Your response ASAP will be appreciated.

Yours Truly,

Erik Keilholtz

Nigerian 419 Scams

First the letter:

Dear Beloved in Christ,
It is by the grace of God that I received Christ,
knowing the truth and the truth have set me free.
Having known the truth, I had no choice than to do
what is lawful and right in the sight of God for
eternal life and in the sight of man for witness of
God´s mercy and glory upon my life.
I have the pleasure to share my testimony with you,
having seen your contact from the Internet. I am
Barrister george frank, the legal adviser to late
Mr. and Mrs. Bright Williams, a British couple that
lived in my Country Nigeria for 25 years before they
both died in a plane crash late last year. These
couples were good Christians, they where so dedicated
to God but they had no child till they died.
Throughout their
stay in my country, they acquired a lot of properties
like lands, house properties, etc.
As their legal adviser, before their death, the
husband Mr. Bright Williams instructed me to write his
WILL. Because they had no child, they dedicated their
wealth to God. According to the WILL, the properties
have to be sold and the money be given out to a
ministry for the work of God. As their legal adviser,
all the documents for the properties were in my care.
He gave me the authority to sell the properties and
give out the fund to the Ministries for the work of
God.
In short, I sold all the properties after their death,
as instructed by Mr. Bright Williams before his death.
And as a matter of fact, after I sold all their
properties, I realized more than $3.5,000,000.00
(three
million five hundred thousand US dollars plus), and
what supposed to be the
percentage interest of my right legal fee was firstly

deducted by me out of the total amount realized from
the sold properties, this was base on the initial
agreement between me and the owner of the properties
before his death. Therefore the total amount left to
be invested into God's work as instructed by the
owner, is US$3.5 MILLION only.
But Instead of giving the main fund out for the
work of God as instructed to me by the owner before
his death. I converted the fund to myself with the
intention of investing the fund abroad for my personal
use.
I had encounter with Christ when Pastor Benny Hinn was
preaching on television concerning Ananias and Saphira
in Acts 5:1-11. After hearing the word of God, I gave
my life to Christ and became a born again Christian.
As a born again Christian, I have asked God for
forgiveness and I know that God
have forgiven me. But I have to do what is lawful and
right in the sight of God by giving out the fund to
the chosen ministry/individual for the purpose of
God's work as instructed by the owner before his
death.
I then came across your address on the Internet as I
was browsing through a Christian site, and as a matter
of fact, it is not only you or your ministry that I
picked on the Christian site initially, but after my
fervent prayer over it, you were nominated to me
through divine revelation from God, so these are how I
received such a divine revelation from the Lord, how I
got your contact information, and I then decided to
contact you for the fund to be used wisely for things
that will glorify the name of God.
I have notified the bank where I deposited
the fund that I am moving the fund abroad and the
finance company has since been waiting for my
authority for the
fund to leave my country to abroad.
if you know that you will use this fund honestly
and wisely for things that will glorify God's name,
You should also forward to me your telephone and fax
number for easy communication.
Your prompt response will be highly appreciated.
Note reply to my private e-mail addres barristergeorge1@faithmail.com
Yours in Christ.
Barrister george frank.
TEL:234 8033911570

Then my response:

Dear Barrister George Frank,

How moved I was at your story. I, too, am a huge fan of Benny Hinn, and trust anyone who has been so moved by the Spirit. I would definitely like to work with you in this endeavor, as it is truly moved by the Lord. Please let me know how I may help.

Erik Keilholtz

I will blog all developments as they happen. I have had a bit of fun with these in the past, and there is no telling when you have a live one. For anyone who might think that there is a hint of truth to this man's claims, trust me, there is not. These people are cruel fraud artists who prey on people's base instincts. Wasting their time is a civic duty.