Below is one of many Nigerian scam emails that we have received in our inbox. This is provided for your entertainment as well as to give you an example of what these scams look like. If you have received one of these email messages (and odds are you have or will receive many of them) simply delete them from your inbox. They are scams, designed to con you from your hard-earned money.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Compliments of the season! This mail may be a surprise to you because i have being deprived of the privilege to meet you before now,also you do not know me in person,but before I tell you about myself I want you to please forgive me for sending this mail without your permission.
 
My name is Sarah Adidi Guei,the daughter of the late military Dictator of COTE D'VOIRE ( Retired Brigadier General Robert Guei) who was killed in a political crisis which led to war in my country(Ivory-Coast).My father, mother and two of my younger brothers were killed by some soldiers believed to be loyal to the government because of my father's objection to some certain policies of the present government.I was lucky to have escaped with a brother who is the last child of the family that night because we were visiting a family friend in another city far away from our home.
I have to go into hiding with my Little brother (JUNIOR) for some days before arrangements were made for us to leave Ivory-Coast for the Netherlands seeking political asylum.

Before we left for Netherland ,I visited our home where my mother and my two junior ones were killed in our village and during the search for some documents in my father's room I came accross some vital documents and the key to a secret vault in the house.I took the key and went down to where the vault is and there I discovered a (metal trunk box) which were carefully hidden. With the aide of the documents I was able to open the box only to find out that the trunk were full of money in hundred dollar bills. I could not count the money because I was very shock to see it and again it is too much for me to count but the documents that I recovered in my father's room which led me to the box put the money at $14.8,000,00.00(Fourteen million eight hundred thousand dollars).

I locked it back carefully and arranged for the box to be moved with me through the help of some family friends to Abidjan the capital city,where arrangement was made for the transfer of the box with the help of a (Diplomatic courier) in abidjan to a Financial security firm in the Netherlands for safe-keeping.I did not declare the content of the box to the firm,I only declare it as family valuables.
 
At this moment I am living in the netherlands with my brother(Junior) as of now, the code of conduct bureau of offense in my country does not permit me and any member of my family to: (a) Operate an offshore account. (b) Own a foreign company. This is my primary aim of seeking your assistance to secure this money for me and my little brother.

I wish to meet with you if you can make a trip to The netherland, Never mind about your expenditure it will be taken care of though I may not be able to send some money to you right now but i you will be compesated as soon as this business i finanlised and not only that,I am ready to offer 20% of the money to you for your assistance. It is not that I am paying you but as a sign of appreciation for every of your effort in this business.

Please I wish that this assistance be treated highly confidential, it will interest you to note, for security reason, i will appreciate if you
reply to our private mail

While Waiting to hear from you, your swift correspondence would be appreciated.

yours respecfully,

Sarah Guei.