What additional or meaningful responses do you have on the paragraphs below regarding characteristics found in all types of Nigerian money offers and why many people become victims of this type of fraud? See paragraphs below and photo of Nigerian money offer.

There are several characteristics that are common to almost all Nigerian money offer scams: The Promise of Money. A request for Help. An attempt to build a relationship of confidence. An emphasis on urgency. An attempt to make you feel special. A request to meet face to face. A claim of strong ties to high-ranking foreign officials.The letter from Gardiah Mfana in this weeks discussion question has most of these characteristics. It promises the recipient 25% of $50.2 million dollars. It requests the recipients help by providing his/her personal information and bank account numbers. It attempts to build a relationship of confidence and trust by being professionally written, by using technical language, and by presenting a believable story about an automobile accident. It emphasizes urgency by requesting an immediate reply in the fourth paragraph. It makes the recipient feel special and singled out by using flattery. In the first paragraph, the author calls the recipient honest and reliable. The author makes it seem as if the letter has reached the recipient by chance, and that the recipient is lucky. There is no request to meet face to face, so this characteristic is not part of the example letter. The author claims to be a high-ranking bank official.

I believe so many people become victims of this type of fraud because they let their guard down and allow themselves to dream. They might become blinded by the opportunity to become rich, and maybe adrenaline carries them the rest of the way through. They might think they are lucky for having received this correspondence. The urgency in the letter spurs them into action and they jump on the opportunity before it is lost. Perhaps, also, many people do not understand what kind of damage can occur if they give out their personal details and bank account numbers. They might see the potential risk as small, and the potential benefit as large.

Original Message Subject: Fruitful Transaction From: Gardiah Mfana Reply-To: inquiriesgm5@yahoo.com To: steve_albrecht@byu.edu Gardiah Mfana #45 Pine Way, Close Sandton-Johannesburg, South Africa. Dear Sir In order to transfer from a Bank some amount of money, I have the courage to look for a reliable and honest person who will be capable for this important business believing that you will never let me down either now or in the future. I am Gardiah Mfana, a consulting auditor of prime banks here in South Africa. On June 6, 2000 an American Mining Consultant/Contractor with the South African Mining Corporation, Mr. Gregory A. Williams made a numbered time (fixed) deposit for twelve calendar months, value US $50,200,000.00 an account. On maturity, the bank sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month, the bank sent another reminder and finally his contract employers, the South African Mining Corporation, wrote to inform the bank that Mr. Gregory A. Williams died from an automobile accident, that he died without making a will, and all attempts by the American Embassy to trace his next of kin was fruitless. I therefore, made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Gregory A. Williams in fact was an immigrant from Jamaica and only recently obtained American citizenship. He did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank deposit paper work. This money, total US $ 50,200,000.00, is still sitting in my bank as a dormant account. No one will ever come forward to claim it, and according to South African banking policy, after 5 years, the money will revert to the ownership of the South African Government if the account owner is certified dead. This is the situation, and my proposal is that I am looking for a foreigner who will stand in as the next of kin to Mr. Gregory A. Williams, and a Bank Account abroad will then facilitate the transfer of this money to the beneficiaryext of kin. This is simple, all you have to do is to immediately send me a bank account anywhere in the world for me to arrange the proper money transfer paperwork. This money (total USD $50.2M) will then be paid into this Account for us to share in the ratio of 70% for me, 25% for you and 5% for expenses that might come up during transfer process. There is no risk at all, and all the paper work for this transaction will be done by me using my position and connection in the banks in South Africa. This business transaction is guaranteed. If you are interested, please reply immediately, sending the following details: 1. Your full name/Address 2. Your private telephone/Fax number 3. Your full bank account details, where these funds will be transferred into, a newlan empty account can serve Please observe the utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country. You have to note that you must send me a private fax number where I will be sending you documents in case I cannot e-mail it to you. I look forward to your earliest reply. Yours. Gardiah Mfana Original Message Subject: Fruitful Transaction From: Gardiah Mfana Reply-To: inquiriesgm5@yahoo.com To: steve_albrecht@byu.edu Gardiah Mfana #45 Pine Way, Close Sandton-Johannesburg, South Africa. Dear Sir In order to transfer from a Bank some amount of money, I have the courage to look for a reliable and honest person who will be capable for this important business believing that you will never let me down either now or in the future. I am Gardiah Mfana, a consulting auditor of prime banks here in South Africa. On June 6, 2000 an American Mining Consultant/Contractor with the South African Mining Corporation, Mr. Gregory A. Williams made a numbered time (fixed) deposit for twelve calendar months, value US $50,200,000.00 an account. On maturity, the bank sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month, the bank sent another reminder and finally his contract employers, the South African Mining Corporation, wrote to inform the bank that Mr. Gregory A. Williams died from an automobile accident, that he died without making a will, and all attempts by the American Embassy to trace his next of kin was fruitless. I therefore, made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Gregory A. Williams in fact was an immigrant from Jamaica and only recently obtained American citizenship. He did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank deposit paper work. This money, total US $ 50,200,000.00, is still sitting in my bank as a dormant account. No one will ever come forward to claim it, and according to South African banking policy, after 5 years, the money will revert to the ownership of the South African Government if the account owner is certified dead. This is the situation, and my proposal is that I am looking for a foreigner who will stand in as the next of kin to Mr. Gregory A. Williams, and a Bank Account abroad will then facilitate the transfer of this money to the beneficiaryext of kin. This is simple, all you have to do is to immediately send me a bank account anywhere in the world for me to arrange the proper money transfer paperwork. This money (total USD $50.2M) will then be paid into this Account for us to share in the ratio of 70% for me, 25% for you and 5% for expenses that might come up during transfer process. There is no risk at all, and all the paper work for this transaction will be done by me using my position and connection in the banks in South Africa. This business transaction is guaranteed. If you are interested, please reply immediately, sending the following details: 1. Your full name/Address 2. Your private telephone/Fax number 3. Your full bank account details, where these funds will be transferred into, a newlan empty account can serve Please observe the utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country. You have to note that you must send me a private fax number where I will be sending you documents in case I cannot e-mail it to you. I look forward to your earliest reply. Yours. Gardiah Mfana