By the order of MANDAMUS!
Checking the spam bin today, I came across an interesting, and new to me development in the Nigerian scam (in which “cleared” checks later bounce). I’ve seen the Dutch lottery wins and those goofy widow-of-deposed-general emails for a while now. But the emails from Vincent Gravens are the next step in the scam’s evolution.
The email you receive is apparently from a lawyer based in your own country apparently representing the estate of a (recently deceased) rich relative. A scenario that would pique the interest of quite a few, I’d imagine.
The number of data points is pretty low – a surname and a country (probably generated based on the top-level-domain of the email address) in a simple mail merge. We probably haven’t reached a future where rogue AIs are crunching online genealogy resources and spidering FOAF files in order to actually impersonate your friends and family, but we’re a small step closer.
Obviously, the next great advance in the deception will come when one of the Nigerian scammers pays someone to actually proof-read their form letters.
I’ve reproduced the message below. The address given is that of an actual solicitors office, but given the weird extra line on the address, I’m guessing it’s pulled at random from a list of London solicitors addresses. The only other references I can find to the Gravens mail online are in a German blog entry and a recent consumer warning story on a US website. It looks like information about this varient was added to the wikipedia hivemind in April.
Gravens & Associates
37 Bedford Row
London
WC1R 4JH
DX 75 Chancery Lane
Phone:+44-704-0112915Email:gravens_chamb1@fastermail.com
Dear YourSurname,With all sincerity my names is Mr.Vincent Gravens, a practicing financial attorney representing the late Mr.RandomFirstname YourSurname, my late client who died Recently leaving some estate funds Amounting(5.5million US Dollars)Five Million,Five Hundred Thousand Us Dollars deposited with his Finance House in Europe.Since he died, I have received from his Finance House, an order of MANDAMUS, mandating me to locate any of his relatives/confidant for purpose of Preparing them to receive ! the deposited sum.
However,The fund may be Donated to trust fund if there is no response to this Mandamus Within the period the Finance House permitted the search. I am currently in London and I decided to seek your collaboration in confidence. To permit me present you to the payment institution as the beneficiary/Next of kin to the deceased. There is evidence to back up our claims On presenting you as the Bonafide beneficiary to the fund.
All I require is your cooperation to work it out. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you and me from any breach of the law.Please reach me with your personal details. I will be sending you the transaction Detail of the transaction lmmediately. I repeat I have covered every legal side of the transaction.
Respond most urgent.I anticipate your urgent response to enable us meet the required date.
Please reply through this private email box
Email:gravens_chamb1@fastermail.com
Best regards,
Vincent Gravens
