"Feel Sorry for Me" Scams
"Feel sorry for me" scams come via email. They usually involve someone who has a significant amount of money in a foreign country that they cannot get out due to some circumstances, but are writing to you to get your help. In these emails, they offer a portion of the money as a fee or bonus for using your U.S. connections so they can wire money. (In the example below supposedly a disabled royal son of a monarch in a fake Arab-like land whose father has just died will be killed by his evil stepbrothers unless he escapes the country.)
Do not believe any sob stories you read. At some point they will ask for some of your personal information in order to complete the "transaction."
Often, as in the email below, there will be multiple typos, bad grammar, etc. The text below has been transposed exactly as written.
Dear Friend,
My name is Martin Dagogo (Jnr).I am sending you this mail with grief and sorrow in my heart because i am being subjected to physical and psychological trauma by my own blood brothers.
I am the first son of late Chief Martin Dagogo(snr) who died last year from heart failure in a london hospital.Before his death,he was the traditional ruler of Bonni land that is enriched with oil.Due to youths restiveness in my town,the multinational oil companies operating in my town pays huge sums of money to the town through my father who happened to be the traditional
ruler.He was also being paid a huge sum of money by the oil companies as the traditional ruler.When i was young,I had an accident with my late mother who died instantly in the auto crash.Both my legs were amputated due to the accident.My father then married another wife.When my father died,he willed the sum of $2.5m(two millon,five hundred thousand united states dollars) to me simply because he envisaged what i am going to face in the hands of my half brothers.Ever since my father died,i have not had peace because my half brothers are trying to claim everything which my late father left behind saying that am a cripped man and that am of no use to the family.I have to let you know that these my brothers are evils and ready to kill.I have surrendered all my late father's company papers to them just to let peace come into the family but to no avail.The money he willed to me is unknown to my brothers and i have decided to leave this country for good in other to be alive and invest the money in another country.
Finally,I solicit for your help to make it possible for me to transfer this fund to your country and invest there.I promise you a reasonable percentage of the fund when we discuss the details.
What i need from you now are-:
1)Your personal telephone number.
2)Your contact address.I await eagerly to hear from you.God bless you as you help the needy ones.
Sincerely Your,
Martin.
