Dumb "barristers"

[la61005]

I think I have just been emailed by a fraud :lol: I don't ever give out my info on the net because you hear too many cases on how people just got their identity stolen. I'm always on the net. I do some of my work on there and also I've been trying to track down family members. Its not an easy task to do. So I received a letter from a barrister JOHN CHIKA and he claims that a distant relative of mine died in an automobile accident along with his family. And I'm the next of kin. Trust me, most of the family I have found is in no way financially ok. :roll: So I went onto Google.com and there I found this web site that told me of all kinds of email fraud. And also a list (very long I might add) of names used by the so called attorney. And what do you guess? His name was among those. This is seriously a very desperate act. Sometimes I've been told I'm very gullible but not this time. Just wanted you all to keep your eyes and ears open and be very careful! If ya'll want you can have the email it came from...johnchika37@yahoo.com. Be sure to tell him I said hi!

[la61005]

What my question is...how the heck do they get your full name?!?!? I can understand if someone were to get my last name but my middle name is not easy to get. The only way is by my birth certificate or social security card. If they have my social then I guess I'm already screwed huh? And only my mother and I have a copy of my birth certificate besides the county hospital where I was born. How do we find these people in case they DO have information of who we are?

[zaveman]

BARRISTER WILLIAM IKE
SOLICITOR & LAW ADVOCATES
SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA
NO 3A OKOTA LAGOS.
E-MAIL; william_ike@msn.com

ATTN; ********
I am Barrister William Ike, a solicitor at law,and the Personal Attorney to Mr. Winston Thurmond, a
National of your country, who used to work with Strabag construction Company in Nigeria. On the 21st of April 2002 my client ,his wife and their two children's were involved in a car accident along
Sagbama Express Road lagos, Nigeria . All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives.
Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my client's relatives, this
has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his last
name over the Internet, to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you I have ontacted you to assist in repatrating the money and property left behind by my client before they get confisicated or declared unserviceable by the UNION BANK NIG PLC where the deceased has an account valued at about[16 million Dollars]were lodged, and the bank has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confisicated.Since I have been unsuccesfull in locating the relatives of my clients for over 2 years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased since you have the same last name so that the proceeds of this account valued at [16 Million Dollars] can be paid to you and then you and l can share the money. 50% for me and 40% for you and 10% will be used for any expenses that this might cost on the process of the transfer. I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make.
All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through.
I guarantee that this transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. It is 100% risk-free. Please your urgent reply is needed.
Awaiting to hear from you soon.
Best regards,

Mr William IKe [Esq]



This is the letter i got. and his e-mail

[aaron]

What my question is...how the heck do they get your full name?!?!?

They buy, sell and trade email lists which contain information about the owners of the email address. Register for an online offer (or purchase from certain online merchants) with your real name, and you're potentially opening yourself up to have your name, address and email sold together as part of a "mailing list" package.

[la61005]

Ok I see what you mean. So basically doing anything online that requires personal information, then some people are able to get access that they normally wouldn't have? Is that true for credit info and social security numbers? How would you know when it is safe to enter that info or not? When they say "secure" or "confidential" then it might not really be? Thats a scary thought that here we could be putting our trust into the wrong hands! Thank you for getting back to me!

[aaron]

Most online companies keep their promises of privacy and security. Some don't, and some are entirely fraudulent.