We're rich! Nigerian company wants to buy 8,000 cameraphones and 5,000 laptops from us
posted Dec 21st 2004 9:20AM
We don't actually sell anything here at Engadget, but over the weekend we received this email from the CEO of a hot new technology company in Nigeria that's looking to buy 8,000 cameraphones and 5,000 laptops from us:
Name: mc mick sally
Email: mcmicksally@netscape.net
URL: Subject: i'll like to order for items
ENG Site: http://laptops.engadget.com/
I am Mr Mc mick sally,
The (ceo) Chief Excutive officer of Skytech Information & Technology Nigeria Limited. Federal govt. has just approved three (3) communication companies and information technology centers, so my company has been given the oppuntunity to supply 8,000 cameral phones and 5,000 Pentium 4 laptop computers but due to the large quantity of these product the govt. asked us to present samples of those items to the Minister of Information and Minister of Finane, so that they know the quality of these products, moreover i chose your company because i discoverd from what i saw on Internet your product is good, but to be very sure of what i saw and to convince the Ministers of your product, his by seen the sample real. We are given (2) two weeks to put things in placefor launching on 1/jan/2005, but samples of the products first.
The Total cost of all my orders including shipping cost which to be sent to my electronic mail box and copy of it in Ink along with the samples. contact address is
53, shogbamu street, new garage, gbagada lagos 23401 Nigeria.
Tel:-234-1-8028761133
Thanks
yours faithfully
(ceo)
Mc Mick Sally.
This looked like a pretty good way to make a little extra spending money for Christmas presents, so we figured "what the heck?" and Fedexed them a couple of the old cameraphones and laptops we had lying around here; once they finalize their order we'll figure out a way to get them the 8,000 cameraphones and 5,000 laptops, there's probably some wholesaler that would hook us up. We're gonna be so rich, suckas, there's no way a person named "Mc Mick Sally" could be scamming us.
What are you guys talking about, Mc Mick Sally is like Smith over in Nigeria. Hot deal.
First, as an Irishman, I have to say that I got a kick out of the name "Mr Mc mick sally". [prounced mister mick mick sally] What a ham!
Second, the 419eater http://www.419eater.com has a field day with these people. I think personally I see the most satisfaction off of sending them broken/fake technology via freight collect. Have them pay duty and shipping on some of your broken household electronics, thinking they're getting laptops. (ANUS brand laptops, even!) Heaps 'o fun to cost a scammer some $$$$ who's 1000s of miles away.
And the 419eater group will tell you that's just one way to have some fun with them.
I just sold a couple of phones on Ebay and these people from Nigeria are all scams... If you were to send them those phones, you might as well post them on ebay and sell them! (Except ban Nigeria buyers)
You can send them a P-P-P-Powerbook. Order it from here:
http://www.mannequin3d.com/powerbook/
Actually it isn't pronounced "mick mick sally." This email is from M.C. Micksally, the hottest rapper in all Nigeria!
I have a bridge to sell...any takers?
Hmmm Last week a very prominent business man from Nigeria dying of Cancer offered me his $20 million in assets since he has no heirs. I felt so lucky I could not wait to send my $5k to get the paperwork through. BUT your windfall makes mine pale!
Why not send them one of gingerbread laptops you showed off with a christmas letter signed, "pwnd"
SWEET...Its like Nigerian Amway!!!!!
this a very common scam on ebay..
You'll be very rich...unless he finds the samples I send him to be of better quality. SUCKERS...You shouldn't have posted the contact information online!!! I'M GONNA BE RICH.
Well, my email wasn't from Nigeria (that I know of), but it made me REALLY consider leaving my stable job for their offer...
"Hello, we are offer you a job as the assistants for us
The jobs is simple, you just need the computer and the internet
If you need extra money just apply today
Don't be late no deposit, no registration fee
Just working for us and we will give you an extra money
Send us your name, we will tell you the next steps"
Heck yeah I want "an extra money"!
This is the most fiendish plot ever hatched in the history of nefarious schemes.
There's another ridiculous Nigerian scam similar to this: book buying. It's horrible, but actual Nigerians buy huge numbers of copies of Black's Law using fake cashier's checks or stolen credit card numbers, often from tiny booksellers. They take deliver and resell--to Russia! I kid you not.
A bookstore in California run by a church was taken for several thousand dollars, for instance.
Why is Nigerian so good at fraud? Shouldn't other countries be competitive?
give them a call... it might be a fun project for engadget!
I hope you remembered to send them to the "new garage" and not the old one!
i once got a money order in the ammount if 9,000 US dollars from a supposed buyer for my car. it was for sale on autotrader. i called the bank number on the M.O. and the guy on the phone just laughed. i laughed too. then i email bombed the bastard who sent it to me. bloody bastards.
I personally am a Nigerian. There are some corrupt Nigerians out there (like the ones who emailed you)and there are more honest ones out there (like me). Unfortunately, the dishonest ones are tarnishing our names and that really sucks because its taking away from the good things that we have done. Word of advice, dont even send your garbage to these people, the address that they gave you is in the slums, there is no way a company will be situated there, 2nd the name he gave you is not even a Nigerian name "mc mick sally". 3rd, he must be a dumb criminal to think that people send samples first without any proper confirmation or deposit of money. Please ignore these people, they are really giving us Nigerians a bad name
How the hell do you guys have 8000 camera phones...
re the 8000 Camera phones - One of the perks of being a tech review site probably :)
Why is it that you never find well-written spam? Just think of the scam you could pull if you cleaned up sentences like "The Total cost of all my orders including shipping cost which to be sent to my electronic mail box and copy of it in Ink along with the samples".
Incidentaqlly, has anyone actually SOLD a bridge on eBay?
Used dental bridges were the hott fetish item on eBay last year, so I heard.
Denal bridges? Oh yeah, big time! I sold a few on eBay, and was then contacted by a Nigerian asking for 250,000 of them. I sent him a few pads of sticky-notes from a dental office that said "We Bridge Teeth" COD. I wonder whatever happened to them?
nigeria must be the biggest junk yard by now..
Let me get this straight. The "developing" country of Nigeria is totally willing to blow its entire annual domestic product on cellphones and laptops, as opposed to feeding and housing its poor? This government must be the number one purchaser (and chronic user) of BC Bud.
Is this the same country that has the president that just enforced his taxpayers to buy him a spank'n new $500,000 car for his "personal" use? Or is this the country whose infinately wise leader throws a shindig every year to choose a new teenaged wife to accompany his 11 other significant others?
It's countries like this that make me wonder if Anarchy is such an evil state to be in.
MC Mick Sally?
Doesn't that guy spin vinyl down at The Groove Dancehall on eight street?
The most hilarious thing is that there are people who take this serious enough to warn you not to do it. Well, if anyone is actually dumb enough to fall for it they realy deserve it.
Anyway, in response to #26:
The "democratic" country called the USA is totally willing to blow lots of money to stodge some arms manufacturers and oil companies, as opposed to feeding and housing its poor?
It's countries like this that make me wonder if Anarchy is such an evil state to be in.
Skytech Corporation? Isn't "skytech" a letter jumble for "Sketchy"? Maybe someone should suggest that they change the name. We dyslexics see thru this kind of thing too easily.
just a second - I thought we'd secured that order already! Those cheeky Nigerians MIGHT be up to something I think....
8,000 camera phones i could understand them buying - but 16,000 - I doubt it! :-)
I sell on eBay & constantly receive these type's of emails:
"I am interesed in buying your Phone at the rate of $1000,i want to know the total cost including shipping charges,i will be paying through western union auction payment or credit card for faster transaction.I will be expecting your prompt reply."
Most of the time they are from Nigeria & I ignore them. Sometimes when I'm not too busy I respond & tell them to make the money order out to the following name & address:
George
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
I wonder if they ever .................lol
Hey, I've got all of you beat! Seems like everyone else only gets email...I got a relay call at my business about two weeks ago. For those who don't know, a relay call is a call with a go-between person who receives typed messages from a deaf person and then reads them to the other party.
This guy was in - you guessed it, Nigeria...anyways, he wanted to order 20-30 pairs of Ray-Ban and Adidas sunglasses, didn't care what styles, just so long as there was an assortment. he wanted to put it on his credit card (yeah, right!) I told him, no problem - just send me a few VALID forms of picture ID and a photocopy of the credit card, and if everything checks out, you've got your shades.
Needless to say, after a long pause, he decided he did not want to risk his security by sending a copy of his card and ID...
I was SO disappointed...I lost out on over $4,000 worth of sunglass sales...maybe it was "Mc Mick Sally"? ;-)
The number of spam mails I get from Nigeria about folks wanting to share millions of dollars with me, says it all about being careful with them. If only it was all true, I would have been a multi-trillionaire by now and it might be me buying all the stuff from you.
Well hey, looks like the West has found another way and another place to DUMP our TRASH, instead of polluting our own backyard, we can send it all to Africa!
Those guys are so funny LOL
They try to buy me hundreds of T-shirts and they even send me several credit card numbers by mail !!!! so stoopid !
This is so weird, i was just about to sell the "money tree" in my backyard to a nigerian! At first he wanted "a lot of good computer" but i set him straight, still waiting for that money order though...
i might have given him the wrong address...
George
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
I've been in international business for 30 years -- these scams used to come in via telex (few) then fax (lots more) and now, no surprise, via e-mail. Nigeria is not the only point of origin, but they do seem to be persistant. To the Nigerian commentator above, no thinking person will believe that all Nigerians are scammers, rest assured. The usual caution applies: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Yea one of these fools tried to pull the scam on me. I accepted the Bidpay for $600 for a $200 phone I was selling. So I told him I had no cash to send the phone , so Id wait for the money unless he prepaid the FedEx for me ($68.00) to Nigeria. He sent me a label vial email with prepaid postage. So I sent him a 99 cent toy phone from the 99 cent store with a little note included. And in addition I valued the goods at 100 bucks so at least the jerk will have to lose out on some $$ to claim the package.(He originally had them valued at $5.00) Screw these suckers back!!!
Heck yes guys. My mom has been selling broken PS2s on eBay (noting the broken status in the auction) and getting immediate bids from Nigerians that want to buy it for $300.
Also at our business, we're getting relay calls quite often now from Nigerians looking to buy something or other (we're a secondary long-distance service and we don't sell any goods.)
Anyway, I read some of the previous comments here aloud to the office and we appreciate you all posting them.
Hey peeps, it seems everyone has encountered this situation.
Recently had a guy wanting to buy an auction I had going for an LG camera phone priced at 300, guy said he'd buy it for 580. Played the sucker along for about two weeks before I let him have it in the final email. Punk sent me bogus emails from bidpay and everthing.
These Nigerian's are sooo stupid thinking that the common man has a brain as big as the cavemen.
Hmmm made me wonder...they must not have a lot of time on their hands because they're doing something really constructive.....:-P
LOL they allow me to laugh.
When i get emails from nigerians i tell them to send me there zip code to calculate shipping, then charge them $200 or $300 more then the item is worth. once they send the money i take it to the bank then send item. i only accept money orders or cashiers checks to make sure i get my money first.
Well, guys! This is from a Nigerian. Imagine what it feels like reading your comments.
However, I believe its common sense to follow basic business procedures before sending or "receiving" money (or your information) to a total stranger.
For those who could see through the mace, Nigeria still proves to offer very high return on investment...BUT...Invest with discretion!!
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Well i think everybody is guilty in one way or the other,guys will log on to your site telling you they wanna buy something,you bill them high knowing they are on to something fraudlent.two wrongs don't make a right(wyclef).my conclusion is bad eggs are are among all race and country,if you doubt that why would hitler create the gas chamber and all that.
hey ! really Nigeria is not that bad. i had orders from ppl abroad and i sent them and got my money. one just needs to be smart about dealing with them. i have been living in the country for over 10yrs doing business in communication and i get my goods directly from phones companies and i sell it at a cheaper rate. make ur order, send PART PAYMENT. GET UR ORDER THEN PAY UP. but i have other security check that i do b/4 sending the goods. so i tell whoever is deal wit them .... BE SMART! FOR INFO CONTACT ME.
Hello sir/ma
check through your site and saw some product that i really need for my use. Pls i will like you to know weather you guys acept credit card,pls reply to my email
Yes,i have a commenet,am from Nigeria and i will like to inform you that scammer can not be depress or finnish in Nigeria,and i will like to tell you people most especaily the white Men.You people are stupid most especialy the White men,why i say these are:In 1940,we are rule and collonice by the white men for almost 10Years,suffering and struggling,and all our fore-father was sufffer in Sugar Cane Farm,but we Nigerian,we also scam you white men for almost 100Years because our fore-father were dead in Suffering for 10years,so mutiply 10*10=100,so we Nigerian we scam you white men for almost 100 Years,yes,so shall it be...Thanks.Hahahahahahahah.....Bye.Happy New Year(Waiting to hear from you).