The Zimbabwe Email Scam

So I get this email the other day which made me laugh out loud. Why is it so funny? Well read what it said and then I'll tell you why:

Attn; Sir/Madam,

My name is as above stated, the wife of Mr. Thomas Kabo from the republic of Zimbabwe. I know that this mail might come to you as a surprise. During the current war against the farmers in Zimbabwe from the supporters of our President Robert Mugabe, in his effort to chase all the white farmers out of the country, he ordered all the white farmers to surrender their farms to his party members and his followers.

My husband was one of the best and successful farmers in our country but he did not support the idea of dispossessing the white farmers of their Farm Because of this, his farm was invaded and burnt by government supporters. In the course of the attack, my husband was killed, and the invaders made away with a lot of items from my Husband's farm.

And our family house was utterly destroyed. He drew my attention to the sum of US$8.5 MILLION, Which he deposited with a security company in South Africa when this incident was going incase if something happens to him. My son and I decided to move out of Zimbabwe for our own security, because our lives were in danger. We decided to move to the Republic of South Africa where my Husband deposited this money. Till date, the security company is not aware of the content of the consignment because my husband used his diplomatic immunity as at that time to deposit this consignment as important personal valuables.

I decided to contact you to assist me to move the money out of South Africa. This becomes necessary because as political asylum seekers, we are not allowed to own or operate a bank account. If you accept this proposal, you shall receive 25% of the entire amount for assisting us to move this money out, 70% of this amount shall be for us, and the remaining 5% shall be mapped out for expenses incurred in the course of the transaction. As soon as I get your response, I will give you more details on how we can proceed. Thanks for your anticipated cooperation.
Urgent response waited.

Best regards,
Petunia Kabo

Ok, so why did I laugh. It is actually quite sad that email hoaxes as these are still traveling the web. Are people that gullible that they would fall for it? Apparently so. Even in all my contact with different people in New York City, I can only say that I have checked the ID of one or two people from Zimbabwe, let alone know a white farmer from that country.

If someone is sad enough to fall for this scam then maybe they should have their money taken from them. Me? No way. It ain't happening.

Later,
FH