A plea for help from Nigeria

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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 3:13 pm

From Surplus came this gem: http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=149256

I wrote back thus:

Quote:

This is a surprise. I'm baffled that you've had no help from the US Embassy. I'm also surprised that the seminar organisers won't help you - not to mention your family!

I'm perfectly willing to help - hell, I've given most of my life in service to our country - but I have to be sure that you've exhausted all avenues.

Reasonable questions, I thought... However:

Quote:

I can never thank you enough for your words of encouragement at this point in my life. I want to say THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU FOR EVEN CONSIDERING HELPING ME OUT.

In the last 3days I have sent over 20 emails to my family but I stil don't understand why nothing seem to be working in my favour and I'm getting really depressed.

For now I have unpaid hotel bills which already amounts to about $723.00US plus an average total daily bill of $84.23US though with a very reduced amount of food since I need to keep it as low as possible.

I also need to get to the embassy as quickly as I can and that will cost about $234.00 as the embassy is very far from the hotel(about 750KM to Abuja from Port-harcourt) and I can not go on public transport considering the rate of kidnap of foreigners in this region of the country.

Since I have no legal identification document on me, the hotel manager or accountant can help me pick up the money if you send it through Money Gram or Western Union to the hotel address here in Nigeria.

I can also recieve and send emails from the city library just 500m away from here or from the manager's office.

Thank you again and again for your understanding, I know God will keep you safe and bless you immensely for me.

Well, I'm sympathetic, but even so:

Quote:

First I'd better contact your family to let them know of your predicament. Forward me their email address and I'll get them to contact you. It's the least I can do for you.

What about the seminar organisers? They must have a duty of care for you!

In any case you didn't give me details for the hotel people to send money. If they're going to pick it up I'll need their names at least.

I hope I hit the right balance there...

Master Baiter Joined: 07 Sep 2004 Posts: 209

Quote:

...the embassy is very far from the hotel(about 750KM to Abuja from Port-harcourt) and I can not go on public transport considering the rate of kidnap of foreigners in this region of the country.

Yes, a private cab would be so much safer. I can recommend 'The Hand ' as being very reliable.

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:40 pm

Surely the hotel manager would let him make a call to the embassy. Here's the info for him. Very Happy

Quote:

The U.S. Embassy is located at 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central Area, Abuja. American citizens can call [234] (9) 461-4176 during office hours (Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). For after-hours emergencies, call [234] (9) 461-4000. The email address for the Consular Section in Abuja is [email protected].

This website, about the Embassy in Nigeria, has a lot of fascinating info, including:

Quote:

If you are concerned about an American in distress overseas, but you are not sure if it is a legitimate case, call our office of Overseas Citizens Services at 888-407-4747 (from overseas: 202-501-4444).

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:44 pm

He's still hopeful:

Quote:

I only have a brother who is divorced now though and both my parents are late so my brother is the only family that I have now.

I have tried severally to reach him through email but I'm yet to get a reply to any of my emails, You can still try though if you can help reach him for me.

I have also sent several emails to the organisers, tried their numbers a couple of times and all I get from the venue people is that the program has ended in nigeria and that they cannot reach any of the delegates on my behalf until the next six months when the program will be held again in Nigeria.

If you stil wish to assist me financially you can help me send the money to the hotel accountant using the details below.

Please send whatever you can through Money gram or Western Union to;

Name: Ms. F1m1bama L. Be1ema
Hotel Address: Yasm1n Hotel,
No.16 0koroji Str.,
E1ekahia
Port-Harcourt.
Nigeria.

Please email the payment details to me if you are able to send any money. I'll be at the manager's office waiting for your reply.

Thank you again for everything God will bless you and your family.

His brother will soon be told to contact the US Embassy for poor John to receive consular help.

ETA Wouldn't you know it? The AOL account is dead.

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:35 pm

Doesn't he have his brother's phone number?

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:10 am

Alas, I didn't ask...

I was thinking of sending a concerned email to the US embassy in Abuja, or the Consulate in Lagos (thanks for that link, Titania), ccing the Lad - it just seems the logical thing for a concerned citizen to do - but would the Embassy and the Consulate count as ITPs?

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:18 am

You'll have to break it to him gently that his brother's email account is dead, poor lad is stranded and must be terrified without his brothers help to rely on. How fortunate his email found you with your big kind heart!

Does he have a US address where he lives, assuming he's not homeless it might be quite a coincidence if you happened to live very nearby so you could break in and find his stuff to sell to send him the cash?

And what about his travel insurance company? Where are they in all this? No sane American is going to Africa without even a $50 policy to cover getting them home when their airline goes bust Wink

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:34 am

I would first tell the lad I was going to email the Embassy and Consulate. See what kind of backflips he will do on that score. Twisted Evil

When (not if) that doesn't work, I don't know if the Embassy should be considered an ITP when they have their contact information scattered all over the web, including a clear invitation to contact them if you get an email from someone who says they're stranded in Nigeria.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have a staff member whose primary job is to tell people who contact them, "No, the person you're referring to is not in Nigeria. That email is part of a scam."

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:25 am

I just sent this:

Quote:

I'm afraid that your brother's email account is out of service. You may have received the notification.

I can't send any money today as the local WU office is closed on Sundays. What I can do is send word to the Embassy in Abuja, and to the Consulate in Lagos; either or both can arrange for what you need to safely return at the very least.

Another thing; if you give me the email address for the hotel manager, I can tell him that help is on the way and he'll cut you some slack.

I hope that's the right blend...

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:37 am

I wouldn't really contact the embassy -- it would be a needless waste of their time -- but you can certainly tell the lad that you plan to do it. He'll come up with frantic excuses why you shouldn't.

I've baited two "stranded American" lads this year and found them to be very entertaining baits. A pleasant change from the usual NOK routine. Wink

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:10 am

No frantic excuses, just some clumsy footwork...

Quote:

I can never show enough gratitude for the extent you have gone to see that my situation is remedied, although I have sent several email messages to the embassy here but none has yielded any positive results.

However I've decided to go there myself only if I can get some money to settle my hotel bills and also pay the airfare to abuja where the embassy is located.

I showed your email to the Hotel people stating that you are ex-US marine corps, so they seem to have slowed down a little on their constant harrasments.

Please do your best possible to help me if you can, I hope to hear from you anytime soon at least to help me get to the embassy by tomorrow evening and from there I can seek ways to get back to home by tuesday.

God will bless you for everything you have done for me so far, I hope to see you personally when I get back home.

The hotel accountant just said you can also send WESTERN UNION online using credit cards, at least that will make it faster to get on monday morning when their offices open here in Nigeria.

(NIGERIA IS 6HOURS AHEAD OF THE US CENTRAL TIME).

Thank you again.

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:47 am

@Yastreb. You could create your own US Embassy email address and write to that addy, with a cc. to your lad. Then you could control the replies from the Embassy side. You could then introduce a character from the Embassy who emails the lad directly offering assistance.

This way there are no ITP conflicts and you are firmly in the driving seat.

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:22 am

For the time being, I think the US Embassy can wait... though I'd like to know about creating a US Embassy domain - Tigbitties, please enlighten me on that.

My last message to him was:

Quote:

I'm glad to see that the hotel staff knuckled under to just a mention of the Corps! Trust me, the USMC is the finest force in the world, no question.

With respect to the hotel accountant, I am not going to send anything online via credit cards - I've had enough problems with keyloggers. It's regular means or not at all.

By the way - if you are going to pay me a visit, it might be out of your way. I live on the far side of CONUS from you - Charleston, South Carolina.

One more point - who should receive the money for the hotal bills? I think they'd rather have that money sent straight to them.

And the Lad can sense payday...

Quote:

Thank you very much for your speedy reply. I've been sitting here expecting it. (I'll bet he has)

Payments are usually made directly in cash at the reception desk or with credit cards which is not very safe for you at this point because you'll have to provide your credit card details.

This is why the accountant has decided to help me get the money from the western union office tomorrow when you send it.

I have provided her details below:

Name: Ms F1m1bama L. Be1ema
Hotel Address: Yasm1n Hotel,
No.16 0koroji Str.,
3lekahia
Port-Harcourt.
Nigeria.

Just email the details of payment once you have done it, I'll be checking my mail regularly at the manager's office tomorrow.

I'll find a way to reach you at charleston, even if it takes one month after my arrival to do that.

Thank you again and again for everything. GOD BLESS YOU FOR ME.

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:10 am

How about setting up another free email account for the brother, such as [email protected] and tell the lad you found it on google. Then email the lad in the guise of his brother.

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:49 am

Mr Tambourine Man wrote:

How about setting up another free email account for the brother, such as [email protected] and tell the lad you found it on google. Then email the lad in the guise of his brother

It would be ironic if the "brother" turned out in "real" life the illusive Gomer - who threatens a chop if the lad didn't play along!

Ok we're heading into compliant lad territory to get here, and it's all a bit too early to get too funky, but it could be a fun and chaotic way to go one day.

Interesting to see how eloquent your lad is, clearly you've got one of the smarter ones here (not in the same bag as Dan or Insanity Stanley), and that makes him more dangerous to real vics, and that means he deserves more pain as he should have the mental capacity to understand he's just another common vulgar thief Sad

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:09 pm

Damn it, he's backed off!

Quote:

I wish to personally thank you for all the efforts you have put in so far to ensure that I get back home safely and in good time.

It pleases me to also inform you that I finally got through to an uncle(mother's brother) who sent $3,500 to me today to cover all my bills and pay my flight back home so I woun't be needing any money from you anymore.

Thanks for everything, though I'll look for you when i get back home.

I think manbiteslion is correct; this one needs some special treatment. Do you think Gomer Pyle should be informed, or maybe the Safari team(s)? This Lad should be targetted for ASEMs!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 05 Oct 2008 Posts: 33

So he sends 20 emails to family and only has a brother? how does that work? Oxymoron, man. Laughing

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:35 am

I noticed that bit about the family/brother, but thought it better to leave him in ignorance...

I hope this makes him wince!

Quote:

Excellent news - travel safely. Drop me a line when you get home; maybe we could show you some Southern hospitality!

I have to go back to Western Union now - I sent $1200 to your manager, and now it's surplus to requirements!

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