The
Godfather: scammer upsets the mafia.
This scammer tried an unusual variation of the 419 routine. He needed capital to develop rich mineral deposits in Nigeria (honest). As the minerals he lists (albeit poorly spelled) are all industrial minerals, with the uses he describes, my guess is he has picked up a trade journal somewhere. As we shall see, his knowledge of the subject proves to be rather limited. As one who has some earth science training I could not resist this bait, I also laughed as he struggled with terminology he did not understand, and tried to impress with terminology no self-respecting geologist would use.
I
speak hardly a word of Italian, but I guessed nor would he, and I was right.
My characters are all named after various Italian foods. My comments are in bold, the scammer’s messages are
in italics.
From:
[email protected]
Date:
May 2004
Tel:
234 80 56405763
Fax:
234 80 56405763
Subject:
Proposal
Dear sir/Madam
My name is ATUKU ALLI-a seasoned geologist of nigerian descent with about 20yrs
working experience with many reputable geophysical firms. I am 43yrs
old and a native of yoruba.
IN the course of my job as a geologist i stumbled into a place called
"IGUE" in edo state of nigeria,it is undoubtedly a land
naturally endowed with lots of precious solid mineral in abundant supplies.The
locals of this place do not happen to know the vast potentials of these
minerals, a vast majority of them are illeterate people,which has goaded
me into establishing a solid mineral industry.
These minerals include:"CALCITE,DOLOMITE,FELSPAR,BARRITE,BENTHONITE,KAOLIN
E.T.c. quite frankly these minerals happen to be in very high demand here
in nigeria & other countries,companies never cease to place demand for
them locally,the irony is people do not know just how lucrative this business
can be, so many products can be manufactured from these minerals,products
like:petroleum addictives,marble,tiles,ceiling boards,paints,rubber
carpets, toothpaste,glass, cement & for drillling.
I have already put a machinery in place for the smooth establishment of a
state-of-the-art industry,the land wherein these materials are contained has
been bought but the factory equipments still has not been acquired.The
excavation process is going on as i speak to you now,these minerals cannot
be used in their solid forms,they have to be crushed into powdry form or
chippings-that brings us to the need for the cheap factory equiment call
the"PULVERIZER"&HAMMER-CRUSHER".These are the two major
equipments for this factory&their costs are on the high side.
I have already notified my bank of my intentions & they have indicated
profound interest in loaning me money to buy these equipments(pulverizer &
hammer-crusher) but they insist on seeing the raw materials on ground.The
excavation process is continuing in order to unearth these minerials after
they will be blasted with explosives from the deep layers of the
soil.
Having said all this,it is clear that this venture would be very profitable
& rewarding,i have invested so much here on my own to make the
neccesary leap i need,but i would need a partner with whom we can jointly
continue because i am almost running out of funds & more fund is
needed to carry on.I would appreciate a partner who is GOD-FEARING &
dedicated to join me in establishing this industry,you might find it
neccesary to come down here & see things for youself(the pace of work &
materials acquired so far)for the avoidance of misconceptions, i would really
like that,i look forward to hearing from you soon so we can
speedily commence work.may GOD bless you.
ATIKU ALLI.
“GOD-FEARING”?
I am an atheist! He has
definitely chosen the wrong man.
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Saturday, 7 August 04
Subject:
Mining proposal
Dear
Mr Atiku
Your message about minerals
in Nigeria has come to me. First
please forgive my English not good. I
am from Sicily, Italy. I speak
Italian. I live in England only
little time. I use dictionary to
help write this to you. I am name
Pizza Pepperoni. I am from business
family. We famous for food and
restaurants. Many good Italian food
named after my grandfather, uncle etc. I
want to move into other business. I
find commodities for clients. I
have client looking for very rare mineral.
It name “dilithium”. It
very valuable. Have you dilithium?
My client from big federation. They
want much dilithium. If you have
big supply of dilithium I use family money to begin a mine.
Then we supply dilithium to federation for many moneys. If you interested please reply.
Grazie
Pizza
Pepperoni
For
the benefit of those who are not “Star Trek” fans, dilithium is the
fictitious substance that controls the anti-matter/matter reaction in the warp
core reactor of the starship “Enterprise”.
As “Star Trek” has such a great following there are even spoof
entries for dilithium on mineralogical databases on the web.
Will Alli realise this?
From:
[email protected]
to Pizza Pepperoni.
Date:
Monday, 09 August 2004
Subject: URGENT
Good
day Pizza Peppperroni, I got your mail.i promise to be loyal and faithful to you
if we can work together as one with one mind.The mineral Dilithium is very
expensive to get but it can be fetch out from the site but it will include much
money.which i will need your assistance .But for others like the white gold is
available now in stock ,Kindly tell me in what ever way you know we can go about
this but as i am concern we can get it .i await to hear from you immediately.
Thanks. Alli.
Well,
fancy that! He has dilithium!
And it is very expensive to get. Of
course it would be, wouldn’t it?
From:
Atiku Alli to Pizza Pepperoni.
Date:
Tuesday, 10 August 2004
Subject:
Good day
Dear
pep, i want to inform you once more that i am willing to work with you on the
establishment of our private mine .Please i will like also make known to you
that Dilithium is well available to get.and also since you are sugesting that we
should be buisiness partner in setting up a mine i will want you to clear me
about this.Will you be in sicily why we are setting up the mine or if you will
come down to nigeria so that we can see and really get aquinted with
ourselves.and also i will like to bring to your notice that if we can set up the
mine it can also lead to the supply of other solid minerals that are of higher
demands to all federation too.if you understand what i mean i can send to you
the project report of how everything will start.i stand to hear from you .
Thanks Atiku Alli
Yes,
he really does have dilithium, honest!
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Tuesday, 10 August 2004
Subject:
Dilithium mine
Dear
Mr Alli,
I thank
you for your kind response. I thank
you also for making your messages short. I
take me long time with dictionary make English become Italian! I take English lesson each week but am not good student.
First I
explain myself. Until now my
business is food. Finding
commodities for clients is new for me so I like not go too quick.
Also, I need be caution with new partner.
Friend tell me he had business offer from Nigerian man, but he use false
name and not real. Forgive me.
I not say Nigerians bad. I
not want to insult your honour. However,
I must be careful. I need proof you
are Mr Atiku Alli, and not another person who use that name.
Have you passport, or something official with photo of you and name?
Maybe driving licence or identity card.
Perhaps you send me picture of this with your name and photo.
Also, because passport etc. can be made false, send separate photo of you
holding sign which say a password I give you.
Then if passport photo and photo with password are same I know you are
real. Then you are my brother and
we do business. Please tell me if
this is possible. For password I
suggest: “IMA PLONKER.” It is common little blessing in Sicily. Photo must be good quality.
Use jpg, but not with compression.
Yes, send
me please the project report. My
client have specification for quality of dilithium.
I find it for you. Dilithium
very rare. I search many months for
to find it. It used in “high
technology” use. Please have you
sample he could examine? Quality
very important.
Grazie
Pizza
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 12 August 04
Subject:
DEAR FRIEND
Good
day pizza, i understand how you feel in dealing with someone you havent met
before ,i will do exactly as you said to proof i am Atiku alli and also a real
solid mineral dealer,i will send to you in my next mail my ideal card of a real
geologist and also a photo holding the sign like you said .I WILL LIKE YOU TO
SEND THE SPECICIFICATION YOUR FRIEND HAS FOR A REAL QUALITY DILITHIUM, THANKS
ATIKU ALLI N.B please always try to reply me immediately.
I
promptly replied to this with a short note saying I was not a technical man so I
was copying what my client had to say about dilithium.
I said I hoped Mr Alli could understand it better than I.
Regrettably my covering message did not save automatically but I still
have a copy of the copied message from my “client” from the Federation.
Here it is:
Dear
Pizza,
Good to hear from you again.
Hope all’s well with you, your lovely wife and the little bambinos.
I trust you enjoyed the haggis hunt in Scotland.
My chief engineer would have loved to join you but was too busy working
on our warp engines to be in a position to take time off. This brings me to the subject that is of mutual concern to
us. As explained in our last
meeting, our new state of the art warp drive depends on dilithium.
This is the only substance that can safely combine matter and anti-matter
into a stable stream for injection into the warp core chamber.
The
dilithium crystal becomes the focal point where the matter/anti-matter injectors
fire. The crystal combines and
refracts the beam into the warp core. It
is simple for the deuterium ions to “channel” through the crystal, provided
it is very pure and exactly aligned. The
problem is the anti-deuterium. Its
ions have the opposite charge (negative) which means that it does not behave
like deuterium and so (under the same conditions) could collide with the
dilithium nuclei with violent exothermic consequences.
Why this does not happen is down to the unique properties of the
dilithium lattice. By means of high
frequency excitation the material can be made porous to anti-matter, allowing
this to be channelled and focused also.
As
dilithium only forms in the extraterrestrial environment the only source for
many years was certain types of meteorite.
As these were very rare the substance was more expensive than diamonds! It is only with the recent discovery of dilithium deposits in
ancient impact basins that it has been possible to procure enough of the
material to permit its use in prototype reactor designs.
Even so, at around $200 a gram it remains an extremely precious
commodity.
Federation
scientists have pioneered the use of dilithium to facilitate matter/anti-matter
reaction and believe this to be the next generation technology in space travel,
energy generation and weaponry. Already
we have successfully built warp drives for satellites, space probes etc., and
have developed a miniaturised reactor for use in phasers.
The material will be of major strategic importance in the future and the
Federation is willing to invest considerable capital in securing a reliable
supply.
As
dilithium has a strong, and distinctive, energy signature probably the easiest
way to prospect for it is by means of a tricorder.
Simply walking over a deposit taking tricorder readings at regular
intervals should allow a rough delineation of the deposit’s dimensions and
grade (assuming no interference from duridium or magnesite).
Of course, to actually obtain samples, would require excavation and
processing of many tons of rock.
The
natural product is generally quite pure. The
only contaminant to watch out for is the closely related trilithium. This is dangerously unstable, and in the warp core
environment can lead to powerful and uncontrollable power surges as it
decomposes. We require dilithium
refined to 99.95 % purity, minimum, with a specification for trilithium of less
than 10 ppm. Whilst natural
crystals are sometimes of sufficient quality to function in the warp core,
nowadays we generally grow them in the laboratory from the powdered natural
material using a process developed by my science officer, Mr Spock.
I hope
this clarifies things for you. If
you require any more data do not hesitate to contact me, but I will be away
visiting the Romulan frontier for the next few weeks.
I’ll try and get you a bottle of Romulan ale but, owing to the current
trade ban, it will take some effort. Should
be fun!
Live
long and prosper
Jim
“Star
Trek” fans will recognise all this, will Alli?
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Friday, 13 August 2004 (Saturday Alli’s time)
Subject:
Re: dilithium specification
Good
day pizza I got the mail sent to me written by your client.i really love the
mail because it explain everything about the validity of a delithium,as you can
see it is normally use for high electronical devices which improves the high
method of science and technology.so what i really want you to know is that it is
not officially use in nigeria that leads it to be more expensive to excavate
like i said in my previous i belive your client mail explains it more clearer
and understanding for you to know what am about to go in for you as a means of
transacting buisiness with you .Dilithium is very capital intensive to be
excavated which involves the buying of explosives to bring out the rocks from
the ground where you can get it plain and pure. What i will like you to put to
my understand are you ready to assist me firstly in that aspect of more fund to
put the forces in motion for explosion and excation.please reply me immediately
so we can start work .mind you i will still like you to expect my photo . thanks
Atiku alli.
Nope,
he’s definitely not a Trekkie.
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Friday, 13 August 2004
Subject:
Business
Dear
Mr Alli,
Buon giorno!
I thank you for your quick reply. I
am happy you understand my client. I
do not! I am businessman, not
scientist. Yes I am very wanting to
get dilithium. It early to say how
we go yet. You said you had project
report. I like it to see please.
Also, have you “certificate of analysis”, or sample (much better)?
I have
some idea how we go. I think not
good to spend too many moneys too quick in case maybe dilithium not much there,
or not much good. I can put small
moneys in to get enough dilithium for to test and for Federation to see and
test. I need know how much you
think necessarys. I go up to 80,000
Euro, but prefer less.
If can get
sample, maybe half kilogram, then Federation will buy at price of approximately
$200 per gram. If this is quality
good, then we make deal with Federation. Either
we sell mineral rights to Federation for millions, or we make deal - they
provide big moneys (millions) to make mine big, but we have only share in mine. Maybe
10 %. At this stage they will want
send their geologists to examine deposit. We
be equal partners.
I let you
do all things necassery in Nigeria. You
organise mineral rights, employ men, buy machine etc.
However, I must ask you something favour please.
Like many businessman, I not like for to pay tax.
I keep deals like this secret and away from authorities.
Then no tax to pay! You
agree to this? Do you prefer Euro or Dollars?
Please
remember, I must have proper identifications by photograph of you before we go
with this deal. I wait now for your
photographs. Please they must be
exact as I ask, and very good quality jpg (no compression) so I can examine them
closely. I go no further until I
see these. This very importment.
I do nothing more until this is done.
Ciao
Pizza
80,000
Euro in cash should whet his appetite, but how will he manage a sample of
dilithium?
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Sunday, 15 August 2004
Subject:
Good day
Good
day pizza i am glad you are rightly on the same line of understanding on what
this transaction is all about with me .also glad that you wish to know whom you
are about to transact buisiness with by means of sending my official identity
card and also a photo with the sign written on it.i have take my scarning
maching to where it can be prorperly repair because it has been giving great
diffulties all this days of no operation .please stay cool and God bless you
,and i assuring you that by next week you will get it as planed ,and also i will
bring to your notice that i have started with the project report which i belive
that by next week also will be ready to see. Thanks Atiku Alli N.B PLEASE I HAVE
JUST BE INFORMED THAT THIS SITE I AM USING WILL SOON BE SHUT DOWN BY AUGUST 31st
YOU CAN CHECK TO SEE YOUR SELF www.guju.net .I MIGTH CHANGE TO ANOTHER SITE
BETTER ANYTIME FROM NOW,SO DONT BE CONFUSE WHEN I USE ANOTHER SITE AND EMAIL
ADDRESS IN CONTACTING YOU
I
check guju and sure enough, it is about to go off-line.
I need his new e-mail address ASAP as I have plans for him.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 19 August 2004
Subject:
PROJECT REPORT ON DILITHIUM
DEAR
PIZZA
BELOW IS
AN ATTACHMENT OF THE PROJECT REPORT ON DILITHIUM.WRITTEN
WITH MY LETTER HEADED PAPPER.
THANKS
What
a laugh this give me! He has
clearly done a Google search on dilithium and found a few spoof entries.
Did he not get suspicious about it enabling faster than light space
travel? Apart from duridium (more “Star Trek” jargon) the
minerals are genuine, but not found in the associations he imagines.
“Tricorders” of course, are pure “Star Trek” fiction.
He must have been very grateful for all the guidance I gave him with the
letter from my “client”. A real
geologist, prospecting for real minerals, would talk about the various
geophysical and geochemical methods used, extraction and processing techniques,
and the geological environments in which the mineral might be found.
This guy has not got a clue.
He
also sent this
business card but it has clearly not been printed out and scanned as he suggested it
would be. It looks cobbled together
on a computer.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 19 August 2004
Subject:
MY PHOTO WITH THE SIGN
DEAR
PIZZA,
BELOW IS
MY PHOTO IN MY MINING SITE.
THANKS.
Looks
like he works in a quarry, or has access to one.
This may explain his superficial knowledge about industrial minerals.
The pictures are rather overexposed.
I want better.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Friday, 20 August 2004 (but received Thursday)
Subject:
Re: Business
Hello
pizza i hope you receive all i sent to you in a good condition ,i likely await
to hear from you with a quik response how your family and buisiness i do hope
all is well with you take good care of your self till i hear from you. Aiku Alli
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Thursday, 19 August 2004
Subject:
Re: Business
Dear
Mr Alli,
I thank you for the things
you send me. I happy with project
report. Thank you.
Photos interesting and I see sign – and bless you too!
Good to see you have already a mine.
I hope it very big success for you.
What is it produce?
I hope you
not become offended if I say photos need be better.
I appreciate you take time and troubles for to assure me.
I thank you for this. Photos
at mine are overexposed. Too much
bright sunshine. Maybe better if
made inside, or not in bright sunlight. Also
I need to compare face in photo with sign, with face in identity photo.
Not easy if person in photo with sign far away from camera.
Can you please make photo with sign with you closer to camera, but sign
still to be seen. Not too bright. Also, have you official identity, like national identity
card, or passport? This best
identity, better than geologist card (which I think attractive design).
Best way is one good jpg of official identity/passport, and separate to
this, one good jpg with one good photo close to camera with sign.
Please
accept my many apologies for extra troubles.
I must need be 100 % certain, then you my brother.
When done, perhaps I bring you little present for your troubles (my
cousin marry into Rolex family!).
Do not
worry about Federation. They have
good reputation for honour, not like Ferengi.
Simple solution is not tell them where dilithium is (they not even know
which country). Only when we have
proof of good deposit then we have them sign legal document for to protect our
rights.
I like
deal in cash. Is this good for you?
Prefer Euro. 500 Euro notes take not much space in suitcase.
Customs never see. I do this many time. Can
get dollars but take longer and take more space in suitcase.
Prefer very much Euro.
I am away
this weekend for business. I return
back start next week.
Grazie
Pizza
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Wednesday, 25 August 2004 (I actually got it on Tuesday)
Subject:
Fw: front of my drivers licence
this
is my
drivers licence.and it's
given only
by the
government
federal republic of nigeria.
we do not
have national
identity card yet
but our
drivers licence
stands for
that.
also take a lookat
the back o the
drivrs licence.
The
scratches across the card do not help. A Nigerian friend suggested that it could have been used as a
swipe card, there being a magnetic strip across the back of the licence.
There are problems with this driving licence, the head looks rather large
in relation to the body, the signature does not match that on his business card
and the date of birth makes him a lot older than 43.
I decide to save these problems until later.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Tuesday, 24 August 2004
Subject:
dis pics. are clearer
the
last picture
where not
clearer so
i had to send it again.this
one now
is clearer.God
bless you.
This
is the best of 3 similar pictures he sent.
Yes, he is definitely a plonker.
To: Atiku Alli
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Tuesday, 24 August 2004
Subject:
Now we do business
My
dear brother Atiku,
I thank you much for your
pictures. Please forgive me for the
trouble I make for you but you know what dangerous world we live in.
I like your pictures. You
are good man, now we do business.
Because
business complicated it best I meet with you in Nigeria.
Not to worry about language. I
get yesterday new “Universal Translator” from Vulcan.
It very advanced technology with “voice recognition software”.
You speak to it in English. It
speak to me in Italian. I speak to
it in Italian. It speak to you in
English. It not work good on
telephone, but it work very good “face to face”.
You need
tell me how much moneys you need for start work to get first sample dilithium. I bring it you. How
you prefer? Euro best.
Bankers draft? Cash? Please
tell. Also, where can we meet?
Is best meet in hotel near airport in big city – easy to get to.
Maybe Lagos? I wait with
enthusiasm your reply. I hope also,
you find soon new e-mail address. God
bless or in Sicilian dialect, “Ura plonker!”.
Pizza
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Wednesday, 25 August 2004
Subject:
how soon are you coming
good
day pizza,how
was your
trip?hope fine. i
really like
your idea. let
me answer
your questions.first
i will
prefer lagos city
which
you earlier
say,i will
prefer cash
in euro
since the
value
is better
than dollar
in nigeria.and
final let
me know how
soon you
are coming
so i
can arrange time
from that from my
thight schedule.
thanks.
atiku
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Wednesday, 25 August 2004
Subject:
Coming to Lagos and photo of me.
Dear
Atiku,
I have tight schedule also!
It very busy time of year for me. Also
my secretary left to marry Italian boy called Fellatio month ago and never come
back so I do all work myself. I
advertise now for new assistant. Interviews
next week, but I have little essential job week after (week that start Monday
6th September). Is that week good
for you? Also it give me time to
make arrangements for money. How
much you need? Is 80,000 Euro (160
notes of 500 Euro each) enough? Can
you find, please, good hotel in Lagos? There
is a Sheraton there. Business
friend stay there last year, very good. Only
need one night, I not have time to stay long.
Please can
you find new e-mail address soon? Guju
stop before I go to Lagos. If
problem I need be able to contact you.
When you
tell me which week good for you I look for flight booking and give you time
arrival. You see me at airport.
You can hold sign with my name. Also,
I give you here my picture (only one I find, all others in Palermo now) which is
from charity event at local church recently.
Local newspaper give it me. This
help you recognise me at airport.
Ciao
Pizza
I
send him a picture of Al Pacino.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 26 August 2004
Subject:
Reply from atiku
Good
day pizza,
i
now have a new e-mail address on a new site
that am now using to send to you([email protected]).
next
week will be convinent for me,what about you?anyway just send me the day
and date when you can come and i will squeeze time to meet with you at the
airport as planned.
please
for easy recognision, if you can put on green suit and shoes also a green hat
will be easy for me to spot you from the crowd because my eyesight is not too
good.
sheraton
hotel will be good for you.and is also close to the airport.i will arrange for a
room for you.
what
is needed for work to start immediately,cost of hiring of machines like
bulldozer,tricoder,mini machines ,payloader e.t.c are expensive here in
nigeria.like hiring of the tricoder machine for a day is about 1400euro if
the is coverted to euro.and this will be needed for quite some time in
other for us to get samples of dilithium and also explosives will be needed in
large quantities to blast rocks and this explosives are expensive.and also cost
of labour and mobility.and the cost of acquiring mineral rights of the sites i
will be working on. due to my estimation in euro,about 88,000euro will go
a long way in getting good samples of dilithium after i've converted it to my
currency.
A
green suit, shoes and hat? Who is
baiting who here? At least we now
know how much a tricorder costs, why can he not spell it right?
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 26 August 2004
Subject:
6th of september
Hello
Pizza,
I now understand what you meant by week after 6th of september that is when i
believe you will be chance to book your flight like you said and its also good
for me too.please kindly send me the date and time of your arrival and also the
name of the flight you are coming with in other to ease looking for you.
thanks
i await to hear from you with an immidiate reply.
Your Brother,
Atiku Alli.
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Thursday, 26 August 2004
Subject:
Meeting
Dear
Atiku,
Yes, the week that begins
with the 6th September is most good for me.
I look for airplane soon and tell you when this is done with flight
number etc. I hope you joke about
green suit and hat. I respectable
businessman, I always dress in dark suit like one in photo.
I do have white suit given me years ago (I still fit in it also!) but I
feel embarrass in it – too bright. I
think I easy to see. I think not
many 6’ 5” very tall Italians at Lagos airport.
If you stand with sign with my name I find you quick.
We discuss closer to time.
I very
busy and go away next few days. I
try make booking first but may not able. Do
not be worry if not have contact from me for few days.
Also, it give me time to organise money.
I take 90,000 Euro. Little
extra will help pay you costs for hotel booking etc.
Ciao
Pizza
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Friday, 27 August 2004
Subject:
good day my brother
Good
day pizza,
I was only joking about the green suit.no responsible
businessman
That week
is also okey by me.i will start making chance for that
week.don't
bother wearing the white suit just put on what is okey by you.me and my son will
hold the sign and you can spot us as far will know the time of arrival of the
airplane.ura plonker.
ciao
atiku
I
asked my Nigerian friend about green being a lucky colour.
His reply was, “Bollocks!”. Who
is Alli calling a plonker?
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Wednesday, 01 September 2004
Subject:
Date to come to Lagos
Dear
Atiku,
Buon giorno!
You make me laugh. I wear a green tie for you, but a dark suit.
Is Monday 6th/Tuesday 7th September good for you?
There is British Airways flight arrive 18:45 Lagos.
Flight number is BA 0075. Good
time to go to hotel and discuss business over dinner.
Flight home next day leave late at night 23:15.
Gives time in morning if need it. If
not I go look at Lagos for little holiday before flight leave.
I have money ready now. Also
will find more technical documents about dilithium and the finding of it, and
the separating of it from the rock to make it pure.
These I bring for you also.
I see you
try to learn Italian! Ciao is
right, but “plonker” blessing not. It
actually not Italian but local dialect. For
“Ima” and “Ura” it depend on nationality of people who say it.
For us I always says to you “Ura” because I Sicilian, you friend who
is not, you always says to me “Ima” because you not from Sicily but friend
of one who is.
Please
tell me quick if this time is good for you.
Only a few seats left on first class.
If it good for you I make flight booking.
Please, as I not speak Italian, and I have no more secretary, can you
book room at Sheraton for one night? I
pay you when I arrive. Grazie
(Italian = thanks). Ura plonker.
Ciao
Pizza
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Thursday, 02 September 2004
Subject:
arrival to lagos
Goodday
Pizza,
yes,that
is good for me.just send me the actual date and time of arrival.please
endeauvor to pray before flight takes off.i and me son will hold the the sign of
your name at airport so you can easily spot us.i will also be at the look for
you with your green tie and black suite.
i will
make hotel reservation for you at
sheraton as you said.don't bother about refunding the money to me.is my
obligation to takecare of you when you come to my country as is also your
responsibility to takecare of me when i come to italy anytime.
let me
know the time of arrival when you make final bookings so i can
start preparing to go to lagos because lagos is quite far from where i am
now.how long will it take to get to nigeria?and what's the meaning of buon
giorno?
ciao
atiku.
How
nice of him to book the Sheraton. That’s
only $300 a night.
From:
Pizza Pepperoni
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Thursday, 02 September 2004
Subject:
Time for Lagos
Dear
Atiku,
Buon giorno!
That is Italian for “good day” and I think next Monday will be a good
day. I make now plane reservation
for Monday 6th September. It is British Airways flight BA 0075. It leave London at
12:20. It arrive Lagos at 18:45.
We find ourselves at airport and go to Sheraton where we have good
dinner. With my Universal
Translator it easy to talk. Please confirm to me when you make booking for room at
Sheraton. You stay there also?
It very kind of you to take very good care of me.
You are very good and honest man. Yes,
I like for to show you Italy. Very
beautiful country, mountains, history etc.
I like show you mountain Stromboli near my home.
I take you to top.
I always
go to Mass (worship in Catholic Church) on Sunday and will seek blessing from
the priest Father I. Gropem if he is not busy with the choir boys.
Ura plonker.
Ciao
Pizza
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
From:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Friday, 03 September 2004
Subject:
Save journey Pizza
Buon
giorno Pizza,
Are
you leaving from london?
I
might stay there too but depending if i can afford for both of us because that
hotel is quite expensive.i've never used it before.i will do the booking on
monday morning so don't bother about that,everything will be taking care of.
Please
endeauvor to come with that information you said you have about the findings and
the seperation of dilithium to it's purest form because it will help me have
more knowledge during working.And please pray before flight leaves.Ima plonker.
ciao
Atiku
Yes,
you are a plonker.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Pizza Pepperoni
Date:
Tuesday, 07 September 2004
Subject:
Your Arrival
DEAR
PIZZA,
I must say i am confused about what is actually happening right now.i have
arrived the airport and the plane you where surpose to come with has arrived and
you are no where to be found and also i have booked for the hotel room
at sheraton for you.please kindly tell me your plans and how it's
going to look like because it has cause me my time and expenses living my state
for lagos state just for your arrival.
I hereby await your reply immidiately with a swift response because am still in
lagos awaiting your arrival.
Grazie,
Atiku Alli.
Something
awful has happened to Pizza. I cook
up this newspaper article, and change identity.
Naturally, Marlon Brando just had to star in this one.
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Wednesday,8 September 2004
Subject:
Pepperoni is dead – see this newspaper article.
Dear
Mr Atiku Alli,
I am Don Spaghetti
Bolognese, head of the Bolognese family of Sicily and southern Italy. As you can see from the attached report from the local
newspaper for where I am presently staying in England, Pizza Pepperoni is no
longer with us.
Pepperoni
was not entirely honest with you. What
he did not tell you is that he was under investigation by the Inland Revenue
(British tax authority) as well as authorities in France and Italy for tax
evasion. Consequently his bank
accounts and assets were frozen. This
meant he could not raise the money for your bogus dilithium project. That is why he stole it from me.
My men
paid him a visit in the early hours of Monday morning where he paid dearly for
his mistake. Unfortunately the
money was not there. Now I have a
problem. I am missing nearly
100,000 Euro and I want it back.
I have his
computer and am using it now. As I
do not have his password for his e-mail account I do not know yet what his last
messages were to you, but he was stupid enough to make copies of some of the
earlier ones and I have these, so I know roughly what is going on.
You claim to be a geologist, you claim to have a dilithium deposit, you
claim to need money to mine it. You
sent him pictures – you holding a sign with a Sicilian blessing, an obviously
fake company identity card and a driver’s licence with your head stuck on, and
a different signature to the one on your card.
Pepperoni always was gullible. I
tricked him out of his money many times and he never realised it.
You really had found a mugu.
At least
you do not pretend to be Miriam Abacha. I
have told my friends in Lagos to stop that trick because too many people are
calling themselves by that name. In
fact I appreciate your 419 scam, it is more imaginative than most.
As you can tell I know all about these frauds – my friends in Lagos do
them also.
Now I
really do not care about your little 419 business, I just want my money back. I think you have it. I
can put you in contact with my man in Lagos where you can meet him and return
the money. If you do this you have
my word, on my honour as a Don, that you will come to no harm.
If you do not my men will find you.
I have computer experts who will trace the computer you have been using,
I have your photographs, it is obvious you work at a quarry, or have some
connection with one. We can quickly
find quarries and mines in directories. We
will find you. Again, I give you my word that if you return my money you
will not be harmed. If you do not
then remember what happened to Pepperoni.
I have
communicated with Tunde, my man in Lagos, who passes on this message:
Abeg
my friend, make you help this guy oh. Na Godfather of the Sicilian Mafia. He no
dey joke about wetin he dey yarn oh. I fit meet you for Ikeja to try sort dis
problem out.
I await your prompt reply so
arrangements can be made.
Don
Bolognese
Translation,
courtesy of my Nigerian friend: Please my friend, treat this man with respect.
He is Godfather of the Sicilian mafia.
He means what he says. I can
meet with you in Ikeja (a district in Lagos) to sort this problem out.
Almost
a week goes by then I get this sad response.
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Spaghetti Bolognese
Date:
Monday, 13 September 2004
Subject:
God bless you for killing him
what've
you gained killing him? i don't even think pizza could
do something like that.
i'm not a scamist,i'm a responsible man and don't have time for those kind of
things. as for my id they are original and not faked.
i know the lord will pay you for killing pizza cause you have no right to take
the life of someone no matter anycondition.
i know my mind is free.i wasn't really interested,i was trying to squeeze out
time for that project. i'm very busy man with my field God have blessed me with.
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Monday, 13 September 2004
Subject:
I do not believe you
My
dear Mr Alli,
If only I could believe you
life would be much simpler. But
life is not simple. Unfortunately
for you I have your very first e-mail in which you claim to be 43 years old.
The date of birth on your driving licence would make you 55 on the 15th
of this month. That is a big
difference. Your company identity
card was supposed to be scanned in. It
is not. It has been constructed on
a computer. It is not a card that
has been scanned. The signature on
it does not match the one on the driving licence.
The head on the driving licence looks too big in relation to the body.
Please do
not lie to me Mr Alli. I really do
not care about your scam. I just
want to know what happened to my money. Perhaps
you can reassure me by doing two things. Send
me all e-mails between you and Pepperoni from 26th August onwards. Send
me also a list of all the “reputable geophysical firms” you claim to have
worked with for 20 years, and include the dates you worked with them so I can
check. If you do both these things
then maybe I will believe you.
Do not
mourn for Pepperoni. He was no
angel. In Sicily we value honour above all else.
If someone insults another then it has to be avenged to preserve one’s
honour. My family takes honour very
seriously.
Don
Bolognese, Godfather
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Monday, 20 September 2004
Subject:
Reply to me
Mr
Alli,
I am becoming impatient with
you. I expect a reply, proving you
are a geologist, and explaining what has happened to my money.
Would you like me to send Tunde and his men to visit you?
Don
Bolognese
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Spaghetti Bolognese
Date:
Thursay, 23 September 2004
Subject:
Re: Reply to me
fool,
so una think say una fit scam me.am a legal geologist from university of
ibadan
i finished 1974.
since
u made me wait my money in researh and hotel booking keep being a fool
why
i go on with my business down here fool.
Translation:
So you think you can scam me…
He
thinks I am a fellow Nigerian scammer, and that this is a ruse to make him pay
up 90,000 Euro! Unfortunately, the
“Contact us” part of the University of Ibadan’s website does not work so I
cannot easily check out his claim to be a graduate from there.
Time
for another change of identity, and to end any notion that I am a Nigerian
scammer.
From:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Friday, 24 September 2004
Subject:
I have Pizza Pepperoni money.
Dear
Mr Atiku Alli,
I want very much to write to
you but only now have opportunity. I
am business partner of Pizza Pepperoni. I
am the man who introduced him to our client, United Federation, who want very
much dilithium. I not know if you
learn that Pizza is dead now. He
killed by Don Bolognese, who is Godfather of Sicilian mafia. Bolognese wanted revenge because Pepperoni took money from
him. But money belong Pepperoni.
Bolognese cheat and liar who cheat Pepperoni over many years.
Pepperoni take back only what was his.
Before he killed, Pepperoni give me money for to keep safe.
Then he killed, now I must hide from Bolognese until safe.
Until now I had no opportunity to contact you because police guards
everywhere. Now I am in France with
cousin and can write to you with safety.
Please do
you want to continue with project? I
very much interested in to do this. I
have 90,000 Euro in cash here which I can take to you as was wish of Pepperoni.
If succeed in find much dilithium it make much profit for us.
Please say
to me what you want to do. If not
interested please say so I find other source.
Grazie. Ura plonker.
Tagliatelle
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Date:
Saturday, 25 September 2004 (although it said Sunday)
Subject:
Re: I have Pizza Pepperoni money
GOOD
DAY,
I GOT YOUR
MAIL,AND WOULD SAY AM HAPPY TO RECEIVE
IT.ANYWAY,ALL
THESE WHILE I HAVE BEEN HEART BROKEN WHEN I RECEIVED A MAIL FROM ONE DON
BOLOGNESE SAYING THAT HE KILLED PIZZA PEPPERONI BECAUSE OF MONEY.I HAVE NOT BEEN
MYSELF BECAUSE ALTHROUGH MY TRANSACTIONS AND DISCUSSION WITH PIZZA PEPPERONI,I
NEVER FOR ONCE LOOKED AT HIM AS A DUBIOUS MAN.HOWEVER HOW DID YOU GET MY EMAIL
ADDRESS THAT YOU ARE NOW CONTACTING ME AS A FRIEND TO PIZZA, HOW DID
YOU
KNOW THAT PIZZA IS ON A DILITHIUM BUSINESS,AND HOW DID YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IS
INVOLVED IN GETTING DILITHIUM.KINDLY ANSWER MY QUESTIONS BEFORE GOING FURTHER.
THANKS,
ATIKU
ALLI.
Why
do these guys love using CAPITALS?
From:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Saturday, 25 September 2004
Subject:
Pizza Pepperoni and dilithium
Dear
Mr Alli,
Thank you for reply to my
message. I answer all your
questions for you. As I explain in
my message I am business partner of Don Pepperoni.
I know a man called Captain James T. Kirk, who represents United
Federation, a federation of groups and peoples with interests in scientific
exploration and advancements. He
explain to me about dilithium which is very valuable because it will have many
technology uses in future. It
useful as new energy source, better than nuclear and very safe with no
pollution. It used to power energy generating systems, weapons, vessels,
spaceprobes etc. James Kirk is
captain of flagship of Federation, the “USS Enterprise”. Even this is powered with dilithium to demonstrate success of
this technology. Federation very
much want to secure a supply and will pay much money for pure dilithium.
It worth more than gold.
I not have
money enough to finance search for dilithium, but Pepperoni have big company,
“Pizza Shack” and also shares in other companies.
I tell him about dilithium and he agree to take care of the finding and
finance of this. He keep me
informed by e-mail and sent me copies of your messages.
This is how I know your e-mail. He
also gave me 90,000 Euro to keep safe just before he died.
I explain
before Bolognese a bad man. Police
know he killed Pepperoni but have no evidence.
He is very rich and has much power.
He know big politicians and top police men.
He is dangerous. This is why
I hide in France where I have cousins and other family (I born in France so am
French citizen, but my parents from Sicily where I live since a child).
I willing
to continue dilithium business, but also have many problems now as I need to
hide from Bolognese until new identity and home found.
This mean that sometime I may be slow in reply to you. Do not worry if I seem slow to reply.
Please
tell me about dilithium. Until now
it only found in rare meteorites and in very small amount in places where they
hit earth millions years ago. Have
you definitely found dilithium in Nigeria?
If you definitely have found it then this very exciting and good news. If dilithium not there in Nigeria then I not prepared to take
risk in spending 90,000 Euro to search for it.
What is your experience in the searching for minerals?
Sorry my
English not much more good than Pizza, but I use Universal Translator (new
invention from Federation) which help. My
French is slightly better, but mostly I speak Sicilian dialect of Italian.
I hope
this explain everything. I go now.
As we say at home, “Ura plonker”.
Tag
I
also apply a little more pressure from Don Bolognese.
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Monday, 27 September 2004
Subject:
You are the fool
Mr
Alli,
I am not trying to scam you.
I just want to know what happened to my money.
As for being a fool, at least I know how to spell “tricorder” and I
am not even a geologist. In fact
you can hardly spell at all. I have
spent some time with Pepperoni’s computer looking through your messages and
your very amateurish “Project Report”.
I have even traced some of the websites you took your information about
dilithium from. You obviously know
nothing about the subject.
The
“contact us” section of the University of Ibadan website does not work so I
cannot easily contact them – check if you do not believe me.
I am satisfied that even if you are a geologist you are the world’s
most incompetent one. You are not
even a good scammer. As I said
before your identification was obviously fake – and you still have not
explained the errors I pointed out to you.
You have a lot to learn.
Just tell
me what you know about my money (and return it if you have it) and I will leave
you alone to continue with your pathetic attempts at scamming people.
Don
Bolognese
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Date:
Wednesday, 29 September 2004
Subject:
Treat As Urgent
DEAR
CARBONARA,
FROM YOUR
RECENT MAIL YOU SENT ME,I WOULD WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT DILITHIUM IS AVAILABLE IN
NIGERIA(EDO AND OYO STATES)AND THAT
FROM MY PREVIOUS TRANSACTION WITH DON PIZZA I WAS ABLE
TO FIND THE DEPOSIT OF
DILITHIUM IN NIGERIA.
DILITHIUM
IS MAINLY FOUND IN INTERPLANETARY ASTERIODS AND THE COMPOSITION OF DILITHIUM IS
LITIUM AND FELLURIUM(LI2Te) AND IS SILICA-POOR PLANETESIMALS WHICH DID NOT
UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT PARENT BODY METAMOPHISM DURING FORMATION.
BUT I WANT
YOU TO KNOW THAT BEFORE ANY TRANSACTION I WOULD WANT YOU TO SEND YOUR RECENT
PICTURE SO THAT I CAN VERIFY YOUR TRUE IDENTITY.I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU ARE
SERIOUS WITH THIS TRANSACTION,BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY IN MY PREVIOUS
TRANSACTION WITH PIZZA PEPPERONI DUE TO THE HOTEL BILLS WHICH I PAID FOR
HIM.THAT'S TO LET YOU KNOW
HOW
SERIOUS I WAS WITH PIZZA.SO I WOULD WANT TO SEE YOUR PICTURE AND PHONE NUMBER SO
THAT I CAN CALL YOU AND
HEAR YOU TALK IN ORDER TO BE SURE THAT I AM ACTUALLY DEALING WITH YOU
BECAUSE I HAVE A FRIND THAT SPEAKS ITALIAN AND FRENCH.HE WOULD BE ABLE
TO TALK TO YOU.I AWAIT YOU ERNEST AND URGENT RESPONSE.HAVE A NICE DAY MY
FRIEND AND PARTNER
ATIKU ALLI
He
is getting awkward now. Perhaps a
picture of a bearded and smiling Robert de Niro will help.
To:
Atiku Alli
From:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Date:
Wednesday, 29 September 2004
Subject:
This is my picture.
Dear
Atiku,
Thank you for reply.
I understand your caution, I try my best to help.
Please also remember my situation. I
move address every few weeks, I have police guard much of time, it difficult to
get to computer, I have many problems like this until Bolognese either get
arrested by police, or until he kill me.
Here my
picture taken by friend just now. He
have digital camera. I try to smile
even though I live in fear of Bolognese. He
man who always get revenge and who never give up.
I might shave off beard, I not decide yet.
It good you have friend who speak Italian.
I hope he understand my strong Sicilian accent.
What is his name? This is number of my phone, it is still a U.K. number because
it is the phone I had when I was there when I had to escape to France.
I have still the phone with me now.
It is 00447949335458. I look
forward to speak with your friend.
I very
excited that you have confirmation of dilithium in Nigeria.
Until now only very few places in world where it has been found.
In every place it is there in only very smallest of quantities.
You say you have found it in two states, Edo and Oyo.
This mean two deposits of one of rarest of minerals. Truly God has blessed Nigeria, and blessed you with the good
luck to find these deposits. Please
tell me, how big are these deposits? If
they seem like just very little, small amounts then not likely to be economic
and I reluctant to take gamble. If
indications of dilithium are found over large area (several kilometres) then
very good news and I very impatient to begin!
Please tell me extent of the two deposits.
Have you
already small sample of dilithium that could be tested please?
My client at the Federation would like to know of quality.
Perhaps you could send, please, a very small sample, only a gram is
sufficient, or even less if you have little.
This would allow scientific tests to prove purity and quality.
Because I move address very much just now, it best to send it to a
Scandinavian friend. He has
scientific laboratory and can do all tests, then he can tell me his results.
Please send sample to:
Mr.
V. I. King
P.O.
Box R.U.1-2
Bonkersfjord
Norway
I look at early message you
send to Pizza. You say you have
already “white gold” in stock. This
confuse me. I thought gold yellow.
Please explain.
Finally,
there is another client, not Federation, who has interest in another very rare
mineral. His name is Mr Clark Kent,
he is a super man. Very good and
honest. He ask me recently about
mineral called “kryptonite”. Like
dilithium it is very rare and has special properties.
Mr Kent very interested in to know where this mineral is found.
I think maybe he prepared to finance this as much as Federation would for
dilithium. Do not do big research
at present, please just tell me if you know if it is present also in Nigeria?
If “yes” I ask Mr Kent if he interested and I give you reply. Then you decide what to do if he say yes.
If he say “no” I
I go now. I await your reply with great enthusiasm.
Ura plonker.
Tag
The
mobile phone number I gave him is dead (the phone was stolen and cancelled).
He’ll get a recorded message inviting him to record a message.
What will he do about a sample for Mr. King? Has he got kryptonite as well as dilithium?
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Date:
Friday, 01 October 2004
Subject:
reply from me atiku
Goodday
my dear friend,
Please
i really understand your plight but please i don't understand
thanks.
ATIKU
Damn!
I have not got the means to fabricate a picture of de Niro with the
appropriate sign. I need to stall
him a little while I think of a way out. We
are nearing the end now, I think.
From:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Friday, 01 October 2004
Subject:
Re: reply from me atiku
Dear
Atiku,
I write this in great haste
as police move me again to new house. I
have just a few minutes on computer now before I go. I go to house of my nephew Ravioli in Marseille in south of
France where I stay for next few weeks. When
there I will get photo of me as you ask next week.
Over weekend, perhaps you can make ready please sample of dilithium for
Mr. King in Norway. Thank you. Ura
plonker.
Tag
Now
he thinks he knows where I am. There
is a reason for this.
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Friday, 01 October 2004
Subject:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
My
dear Atiku,
I have good news for you,
and bad. First the good.
I now know you do not have my money.
My computer expert has found Pepperoni’s password.
This means I can now read all of his messages, and yours’.
It seems my men got to him just in time.
He was going to go to Lagos later that day.
You very nearly had 90,000 Euro for a pathetic little 419 scam.
Now for
the bad news. I have found out who
does have my money. His name is
Signore Tagliatelle Carbonara, an old friend of Pepperoni.
He was at Pepperoni’s house the night before Pepperoni died.
He disappeared shortly after into police protection.
I am now confident he has the cash.
Why is this bad news for you? Well
I shall explain.
Carbonara
is as stupid and gullible as Pepperoni was.
He knows nothing of Nigerian 419 scams.
I know him well enough to know that he will try to continue Pepperoni’s
business with you. In fact I would
be very surprised if he has not already made contact with you.
I am going to interfere. I
have Carbonara’s e-mail address *****@*****.com
and I will send him a message explaining about Nigerian 419 scams.
I will tell him to take a closer look at your fake identity, with the
mistakes I have already pointed out to you.
I will even show him the website where you copied the comment about
“silica-poor planetesimals …” http://webmineral.com/data/Dilithium.shtml
and explain that you use this term in a way that shows you do not even know what
a planetesimal is – and so cannot be a real geologist.
When Carbonara learns you are a liar and a thief he will pull out of the
deal and you will not get the 90,000 Euro.
Does this
upset you? It should do, you have
already lost time and money. Furthermore
90,000 Euro is probably more than you could earn in the rest of your worthless
life. Do not despair. There is a way out. You
see, for me this affair is more about honour and saving face, than about a
paltry sum like 90,000 Euro. I earn
more than that in a month. If I am
seen to let Carbonara get away with what he and Pepperoni have done then I lose
respect amongst the other Italian mafia families. I would rather lose 90,000 Euro than lose respect.
If I lose respect then others will not fear me and my position as
Godfather will be weakened.
I will do
a deal with you. Tell me where
Carbonara is. My men will then find
him and kill him. If you do this,
and Carbonara is where you say he is, I will give you 90,000 Euro.
If you do not then I will send an e-mail to Carbonara, and a copy to you,
explaining to him that you are a fraud. Then
you will have nothing. You have
nothing to lose by agreeing to this. You
lose your chance of 90,000 Euro if you do not agree.
Let me know your position. As
Pepperoni would say to you, ura plonker.
Don
Bolognese
Will
he defend the innocent Tagliatelle, or will he sell him out for 90,000 Euro?
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Sunday, 03 October 2004
Subject:
Decide now before it is too late
Atiku,
I am still waiting.
If I have no reply from you within 24 hours I will inform Carbonara that
you are a liar and a thief. Tell me
where he is and I will not do this.
Don
Bolognese
I
got a swift response - within a couple of hours:
From:
Atiku Alli
To:
Spaghetti Bolognese
Date:
Sunday, 03 October 2004
Subject:
Re: Decide now before it is too late
Please
kindly do that fast my dear Bolognese i cant tell you where he is okay?go
look
for him yourself you idiot
Well,
I guess that settles it. No point
in waiting the 24 hours. I respond
immediately.
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Sunday, 03 October 2004
Subject:
Re: Decide now before it is too late
You
have made your decision. I’ll
find Carbonara eventually anyway. He
cannot hide from me forever. Meanwhile
you have just lost 90,000 Euro. Who
is the idiot now?
Minutes
later I send this:
From:
Spaghetti Bolognese
To:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Copy:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Sunday, 03 October 2004
Subject:
Some things you should know about Atiku Alli
My
dear Tag,
Buon giorno!
Come siete? È stato un
molto tempo. Era una cosa terribile
che è accaduto a Pizza Pepperoni. Dovete essere molto impauriti.
I will use
English now because that is what your Nigerian friend speaks and I want him to
read this. Yes, I know about Atiku
Alli. In fact I know a lot more
about him than you do. He is not a
geologist. He does not have
dilithium. He is a fraudster
attempting to cheat you out of as much money as he can.
Do not take my word for it. Go
to Google and do a search on “Nigerian 419 scams”.
You will find dozens of websites that explain exactly what Mr Alli is up
to.
These
scams are named after section 4-1-9 of the Nigerian criminal code, which makes
them illegal. They are all broadly similar.
Someone, usually a Nigerian (but increasingly they are being copied by
others around the world) sends an e-mail with what sounds like an amazing
business proposition. They may
claim to be a relative of a wealthy dictator, or a top executive of a large bank
or company, and will seek your help in transferring a large sum of money.
But first they will request an up-front fee.
You pay it, the money transfer never happens, and they disappear.
Atiku
Alli is trying a variation. He
claims to have great mineral wealth, he just needs capital to develop it.
In your case he claims he has dilithium.
He does not. He is lying.
If you were stupid enough to give him any money he would take it and
disappear, just like his fellow 419 scammers.
If
you want proof he is lying take a close look at the identification he sent you.
His geologist’s card has been put together on a computer and, more
tellingly, has never left a computer. It
has not been scanned like he said. There
would be a shadow around it if it had been scanned.
The signature on it is different to the one on his driving licence and
the head on the licence looks rather large compared to the body, stuck on
perhaps? If that is not enough,
look at the date of birth on the driving licence.
That would make him 55 years old. In
his very first e-mail he says he is 43. His identification is fake.
As
for his geological credentials. Ask
him to list the companies he has worked for, with dates, then check them.
Ask him also to send a graduation certificate.
He clearly knows nothing about dilithium. That “Project Report” had me laughing. He has just typed “dilithium” into Google and copied down
a few things he found without understanding them.
His comment about “silica-poor planetesimals…” is just copied
verbatim from http://webmineral.com/data/Dilithium.shtml
and is used out of context. Dilithium
is found in silica-poor planetesimals, he states that it is silica-poor
planetesimals. He cannot even spell
“tricorder”, he says, “tricoder”. Tricorders
are cheap, hand-held instruments. His claim that it costs 1400 Euro a day to hire one is
nonsense. The other things he says
about minerals (listing barite, calcite etc.) are nothing more than what one can
find in a trade journal, like “Industrial Minerals”.
Atiku
Alli is an imbecile and a liar. You
would be a gullible fool to have anything to do with him.
Nigerian scammers have a word for their foolish victims. They call them “mugus”.
Do not be a mugu.
Ciao
Spag
If
the Italian at the beginning is bad blame Babelfish.
The
next day a very upset Tagliatelle writes to Atiku Alli:
From:
Tagliatelle Carbonara
To:
Atiku Alli
Date:
Monday, 04 October 2004
Subject:
Please explain yourself
Dear
Mr Alli,
I do not know what to think.
You have seen e-mail from Bolognese.
I do internet search as he say. I
learn about 419 scam. I look at
your identification. He is right. Things look wrong. Please,
I must have full explanation from you of everything he says.
Also, proof you are geologist – list of employers, graduation
certificate etc. If you not do all
this then I show everything to police.
Sig.
Carbonara
After
several weeks of silence I tipped off [email protected]
that a fraudster was using their service and suggested they close his e-mail
account.
The
End