Ron,
Good question!
A Nigerian type scam involves offering you a share in a large sum of money
on the condition you help them to transfer it out of their country.
See more at:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-money/nigerian-scams
See also:
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/advancefee/inherit.asp
If anyone responds to the email regarding the $2.4 million then there will
be an offer to share the money ... if you help them. This is what is called
a Nigerian Scam. While this is similar to other scams through out history,
the Nigerian version took it to a new height via email and the internet.
This type of advance fee scam has been around for a long time. They were
once put in newspapers looking for the proper inheritors. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam#History
A Carpenter Family Association in the United States during the mid 1800s
fell for one of these scams hook line and sinker. They put tens of
thousands of dollars into research and developed a way to disinherit
Carpenters who supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War or
who were even Loyalists to the Crown during the American Revolution. Amos
B. Carpenter in his 1898 900 page Tome spent several pages giving the
history and stating that there was not millions of pounds of British
Sterling awaiting the proper heirs.
The only people who got money from this scam was the lawyers the Carpenter
Family Association had hired and who seemed intent in keeping the scam going
for as long as they could.
Today, with the advantage of Y-DNA and easier access to genealogical
material, many of the Carpenter (and a few Zimmerman) lines that had their
genealogy re-written in the mid to late 1800s are now being sorted out.
In general, if it sounds to good to be true, it is probably a scam.
Especially if they what your bank account number and such ahead of any
promised money.
John R. Carpenter
La Mesa, CA USA
Carpenter Cousins Project
http://carpentercousins.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Carroll
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2016 12:47 PM
To: carpenter(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [CARPENTER] Warning regarding Nigerian type scams directed at
Carpenters
I'm curious what has identified this as a Nigerian scan versus the many
other countries with scammers and hackers.
<SNIP>