Mr. Harold Swanson scambaits Barrister Ahmed Yusuf

Dear Friend,

URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL
This letter may come to you as a surprise since it is coming from someone you 
have not met before.
 
However, we decided to contact you based on a satisfactory information we had 
about your business person as regards this business information concerning your 
country and safety of our funds in a steady economy such as that of your 
country compared to our country Nigeria, Africa.
I am a civil adviser currently working with the Nigeria National Petroleum 
Corporation (NNPC). I and my close and trusted colleagues need your assistance 
in the transfer of US$7,500,000 (SEVEN MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED 
STATES DOLLARS) into any reliable account you may nominate overseas.
 
This fund was generated from over- invoicing of contracts executed by the NNPC 
under our control and supervision. This fund is now ready to be remitted into 
any account we put forward for that purpose. 
What we want from you is a good and reliable company or personal account into 
which we shall transfer this funds.

YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS ALSO AS FOLLOWS:-
5.Name: ..............................................
6.Address: .........................................
7.Telephone Number:........................
8.Email Address:................................
9.Age:................................................
10.Profession......................................
 
Upon the successful crediting of your account, the funds will be shared as 
follows.
1. 25% to you for your assistance.
2. 70% to myself and my colleagues. 3. 5% for contigencies and expenses. 
 This business is 100% risk free as we have secured our own side of the 
transaction.Thank you for your anticipated co-operation, while we look forward 
to amutually benefiting business relationship with you.Please send your reply 
to my personal email address for security reasons: a_yusuf01@yahoo.co.uk and 
kindly include your Telephone and Fax numbers, where I can reach you any time 
of the day.
 
Thanks and Best regards,
MR.Ahmed Yusuf

Swanson replies with the letter shown below in Red. The logic of Swanson's letter is as follows:

1) To make the lad think I am a wealthy precious metals and diamond trader.

2) To eliminate the need for phone calls and keep the lad restricted to e-mail only

3) To insert phony post 911 rules that favor me in the bait. This tactic of invoking post 911 rules allows a scambaiter to get away with just about anything.

All one need do is to create a phony letterhead and some officious language and one can cause virtually anything to appear in the mind of a conman. All we are doing is the same thing the lads are doing, and that is making up stories out of thin air. This letter will be most impressive to a lad because they will think they have hooked a rich idiot:

Swanson Precious Metals & Diamonds

Harold Swanson III, Proprietor & Broker

Beverly Hills, California

Please note that all transactions are by appointment only. Due to recent security concerns, no phone calls or faxes will be accepted. Please use our private e-mail address of halswanson2003@yahoo.com per NOYFB Code 9.86.11 which details rules governing precious metals and diamond transactions. Cash payments in excess of $10,000 will be reported as required by US law.

XXIII Novemberus in the Year of our Lord MMIV

Attn: MR.Ahmed Yusuf

Note: Per NOYFB Code 9.86.11, precious metals and diamond dealers in the US may not provide phone or fax modalities to parties outside of America due to post-911 rules. All transactions with foreign nationals must be by e-mail only in order to maintain a written record of all transactions. Subsequent to Rule 15 of NOYFB, all written transactions remain the private property of the registered dealer and may not be monitored by the US Government without a subpoena pursuant to the provisions of the Patriot I Act of 2002 as amended in 2003 by the Patriot II Act.   

With Best Regards,

Electronically signed per NOYFB Code 9.87.154 Rule 12.

Swanson Precious Metals & Diamonds: Serving the Elite since 1903.

11/25

Sir,

Thanks for your kind response and attached bank account and other information received, as a matter of fact we had to deliberate over and over again with a positive conclusion to have you work with us. Emphasis was more on the fact that we don?t know you from Adams, but after putting to consideration the tone of your mail, I reassured my other colleagues that they can be rest assured that with you this transaction is going to be a hitch free, I don?t know why but perceive that you are the right one for this transaction thus I suggest that you don?t take advantage of this opportunity of mutual benefits. Now that it?s a considered opinion that you work with us below here is the low down of how we are going to work.

This transaction requires your company's name and address, (Swanson Precious Metals & Diamonds Company Ltd) including your home address to complete your company?s registration, in this regards I need your full company address.

The first step is to register you as a contractor in (?Category A?) both with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria. In view of this, the entire document relating to this transaction in your company?s name will be back dated to reconcile the actual date the contract was executed by the first contractor. We have discussed with all the officials involved in this process and they have agreed to collect a certain amount of money as bribe from us in order to perfect the documents in your company?s name as the real beneficiary of the funds US$7,500,000 (SEVEN MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) after we might have paid all the needed registration fees to these two bodies.

The next step will be to apply for all the necessary approval documents in connection to these funds from the Federal Ministry of Finance and paying of the Tax Clearance covering the time the contract was executed till date. We have also discussed with the officials involved to perfect this approvals and payment of the tax clearance with some certain amount of money as bribe to be given to them as soon as we start processing the release of the fund. You will make this application but I will send you the letter from where you will recopy with your company?s letter headed paper before you send to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The final step will be approval from our Apex Bank (Central Bank of Nigeria) which is where you will be totally involved please note that an agreement will be signed between both Parties (you and us) to cover our different interests and the percentage of the sharing as mentioned in our first letter to you (40-60). Also bear in mind that every expense incurred by both parties will be first deducted from the total sum before sharing the balance.

I would want to use this opportunity to assure you once again that there is no legal implication or risk whatsoever attached to this transaction as we have taken care of all the loopholes with regards to this transaction.

Please endeavor to give me a call as soon as you read my mail so that we can talk a bit on the modalties.234-80-37186338, this is my direct line and you can call me at any time. Please send me your company address to complete the transaction and will also like to have your Tele/fax/mobile numbers. Also I did agree on the conditions you made mention off in regards to the way of communications and executing of this transaction, I would start the process of securing the first two certificates plus the contract agreement from NNPC as soon as I receive the needed information from you. the information?s you send through the attachment are not complete.

Looking forward to your call and email.

Sincerely yours 

Ahmed Yusuf.

ND. PLEASE ALWAYS REPLY ME THROUGH THIS NEW MAILBOX FOR SECURITY REASONS: ahmedyusuf001@consultant.com

11/25

Dear Mr. Yusuf:

I have read your letter and have several issues to discuss:

1. Swanson Precious Metals & Diamonds is already fully registered in Nigeria as 
a corporation. I buy alluvial gold from Nigeria regularly, usually 10,000 grams 
at a time. 

2. As my letter indicated, I am not allowed to give my corporate address or 
phone number to foreign corporations. This is a post 911 rule. I can only 
communicate by e-mail so that a written record exists. I am not allowed to make 
phone calls to foreign nationals or I will lose my Class 47/F International 
Trading License, which License is valued at $5,000,000 as only 200 of these are 
issued by the US Government.

3. What does the NNPC have to do with the transaction? And why are you paying 
anyone a bribe? You told me this was a legal transaction and yet you are paying 
bribes. Bribes are illegal.

I cannot do business with you if it requires me to break the law or pay bribes. 
I wish you luck in finding another partner.

Regards,

Harold Swanson III

11/25

The first step is to register you as a contractor in (?Category A?) both with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria. In view of this, the entire document relating to this transaction in your company?s name will be back dated to reconcile the actual date the contract was executed by the first contractor. We have discussed with all the officials involved in this process and they have agreed to collect a certain amount of money as bribe from us in order to perfect the documents in your company?s name as the real beneficiary of the funds US$7,500,000 (SEVEN MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) after we might have paid all the needed registration fees to these two bodies.

Sincerely yours 

Ahmed Yusuf.

ND. PLEASE ALWAYS REPLY ME THROUGH THIS NEW MAILBOX FOR SECURITY REASONS: ahmedyusuf001@consultant.com