My first scambait in several years..

Scammers initial format;

I'm Mr. Paul Kokou, I work with a reputable bank here in Togo. I have a deal of mutual interest , regarding unclaimed funds of USD 200,000,000.00 in our bank. Of one late Oil and Gas Merchant that shared the same last name as yours.

He supplied petroleum equipment to One multi-national oil corporation. The payment has been processed and the cheque has been paid into his account but our Bank is finding it difficult to get in touch with him. The last we heard from him was when he made a supply to a company in Lybia, and from my recent findings he died Lybia as a result of the The First Libyan Civil War an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government.

And his assigned account officer I have tried to get across to any of the family members all to no avail.

The deal between you and I now is that I will present you as his beneficiary in accordance with Payable on Death (POD) to enable you claim this fund. Actually I don't have to involve myself officially because of my job, but I know what is required to get this funds released to you. Without taking much of your time, I will advise that you get in touch with me for more details. On my personal email

Please if you are not willing and interested in helping me kindly delete this e-mail from your computer and pretend you never got it.

Regards
Mr. Paul Kokou

My persona is mr. Leonidas "Lenny" Johansen (ref Lenny the bot). I am an 87 year old retired wax technician formerly working for Icarus Aviation. I live with my equally old sister, ms Lilly Benditt (ref Lilly the bot) in the small village Candleford, UK.

My initial reply;

"Dear Sirs,

I think you by error must have wrongfully sent me an email that was supposed to go to your business partners.

Blessings
Lenny"

...but it was actually for me..

"Dear Lenny

Thé e-mail is directed to you obviously if you can give me some attention I can explain further how this will be achieved. I expect your feedback

Regards
Mr. Paul Kokou"

...so we converse...

"Dear mr. Kokou,

Why me? I am an 87 year old retired man. I haven't engaged in the business life for many years. These days I spend most of my time tending to my roses as well as fundraisers and charity work for our church.

Are you a good Christian mr. Kokou? Do you fear God, pray and observe fasting?

Please tell me more about your intriguing proposal.

Blessings
Lenny"

...he wants to do business and introduce himself..

"Hello Lenny

Thank you for that prompt response. And. a very brilliant question, I’m Very good Christain it will interest you i was raised in the orphanage home and when this opportunity came to my desk I feel it will be a way to give to the less privileged and I’m more happy you run a charity organization.

It took me over 10 years to do all my due diligence on the deceased who happens to have the same last name with you. First he had a very terrible divorce from the wife who got almost all he worked for apart from this very amount that was a secret remote savings and this wife of his wasn’t a signatory to it unlike other accounts she got easily.

So after the divorce he really started getting depressed however we kept in touch even when he went to Libya where he finally died. I was in contact with him together with the doctor and when he passed away the doctor updated me of his demise along with a copy of his death certificate. Note: he had children I believe the reason why the wife got almost all he worked for doing their divorce.

You can trust me you aren’t in any way trying to do something wrong by getting involved in this transaction. I can assure you that 100%. Owing to how funds will be moved to your own country. I’ve been into the banking sector for over 28 years so obviously I’m well rooted in what is to be done in a situation like this.

All I need from you is this.
1. Your Telephone number

2. Your Home Address

3. Company name (if any)

5. Age

6. Your Occupation

7. A copy of your International passport/ Or Any Government issued ID of your country



Once I have the requested information of yours I will add your name as a beneficiary to the deceased account following probate procedures you will be entitled to make claims of the total funds.

Regarding to the modalities of sharing in this deal I has resolve it to be a 50/50 percentage I will be waiting on your response soon

Regards

Mr. Paul Kokou"

I'm in!

"Dear mr. Paul

Blessings in our Lords eternal lamb, Jesus Christ, and thank you for your frank and honest account of your life.

To be equally honest, it is only right of me to admit, that I am not at all well versed in the intricacies of banking, finance or inheritance law, so I will probably depend on your patient advice and guidance through this transaction.
After all, I am an old man of 87 years, retired from my job as a wax technician more than 20 years ago.

Please tell me how all this will go down and what timeframe we are talking about? I plan to spend some of my funds on a new organ for our church and buy toys for all the orphan children for Christmas. Do you think we will have concluded the transaction in time for the holiday?

Well anyway, to your requested information;

My telephone number is #LENNY
My address is 33 Gideon Salasso street, W3142 Candleford, United Kingdom.
My former company was Icarus Aviation Inc.
My age is 87
My occupation is retired

Regards from your brother in Christ

Lenny"


Ps. Added a blurry unreadable passport image..


Apart for one small detail, he is happy...

"Dear Lenny

Your Last Email Refers,

I have received your email and well noted. First you can be rest assured as a banker I know the whole process to what we have at stake in compliance with foreign payment analysis. I'm happy to hear your plans to buy an organ for the church and toys for the kids which are quite caring of you. the time to conclude this will not take longer than 3 working days provided you are prompt with your response and your own duties to this transaction.

I’m a very realistic person , we are about to make ourselves One Hundred Million United States Dollars each provided we do the needful. I’m just like any banker, our lives mostly are always limited owing to the salaries we receive after the month and after the covid pandemic it has not been rosy so this window of opportunity is a good one for me to change that narrative in my life and to be able to give to the less privileged around the world just like you doing now which we have that in common.

I don’t want to get stuck at any point in this transaction which is the reason I have mapped out my plans ahead to assure our success in the next three working days and with the option of having the services of a lawyer represent you to secure whatever needful probate documents in your name as this implies in compliance with foreign payment analysis like this

That being said, I will contact a probate attorney by tomorrow and know what his retainer-ship in a delegation like this will cost. From his charges I will know how much I have with me and we can negotiate the best way to handle it without any delays. In all fairness you will handle some quota of whatever financial obligations this transaction will cost us while I handle the major percentage of whatever cost,

Is very important to note Due to very strict policies laid down by the Togo Affairs Commission, we are unable to process the COT package by deducting from beneficiary funds like this. These policies have been put in place to check previously experienced mishandling and/or diversion of beneficiary funds, we are obligated to act in line with these policies. Lastly, I wish to inform you that this inheritance claim is Guaranteed by the FDIC Affairs commission whose policy ensures that all beneficiaries under your category are paid their amount in full. This makes it totally impossible for us to make the necessary deductions from your total funds to cover costs before it's transferred to your account in the UK as the legitimate beneficiary.

However, whatever it cost us to get the lawyer and probate documents needed in your name as the legal beneficiary. Once funds get credited to your account in the UK we will always reimburse ourselves from the share of the total funds. I do believe this will give you a clear understanding. In your next mail indicating your will for us to proceed further I will have the MOU drafted thus the cost of everything will be noted therein the MOU once I meet with the lawyer.

Last not least the copy of your passport you sent isn't clear at all. Please could you take your time and send me a clearer copy so I can do the needful with the rest of the data you sent as this implies. I also attached my own copy of ID to ensure we have trust in each other even as we proceed further. Thank you as I expect your prompt response please find attached copies of my ID for a mutual trust and will to proceed even further.

Regards
Mr. Paul Kokou"


Ps. There are pictures and clear passport images. Will add once I am on my PC and have censored them..


Got no interest in sending him anything more so I wait for 3 days before I answer the following..

""Dear Paul,

I have bad news today my dear friend. On friday afternoon I suddenly felt sick and had to lie down. After some 20 I lost control of my right arm and felt as if I was losing my hearing. At that point my sister Lilly who lives with me, God bless her, called the emergency room for help. After explaining the symptoms they feared I had had a stroke and the ambulance was here in a matter of minutes. I was taken to the local hospital, but transferred by helicopter to London central hospital for treatment. They found an aneurism in my brain and had to open my skull to drain it.
I confess to you my dear Paul, it was a very scary experience. I never stopped praying and praising the Lord until I was put under for the surgery.
Thank God the surgery was successful and saved my life. I will be transferred home tomorrow and recieve in home treatment by the house nurse here locally.
I am however ordered to stay in bed and take it easy for at least 2 weeks.

What is the next step in our transaction? I hope this unfortunate event doesn't delay the conclusion of our affairs?

Blessings in the name of our Lords eternal Lamb, Jesus Christ

Lenny"

..it worked. Passport is forgotten. I suspect though that Lennys health will remain fragile.. 😁


"Calvary greetings to you Brother

Is very good to hear from you again , and it melts my heart to hear about your health. Praying for you to get well soon, brother! May God give you the mental and physical strength to recover from this tragic accident!. I was really worried when I didn't hear from you for some days now owing to the time frame I mapped out to ensure we have this completed. You asked a very good question: what is the next step to our transaction.

Next step is securing of probate documents in your name through a probate attorney here, So far I have made contact with a reputable attorney for the job and he listed the below that is what is needed :

(1). Letter of Administration (Original) from the "Probate Registry" in any court of competent Legal Jurisdiction in Togo

(2). Sworn Affidavit (Original) from the "Probate Registry" in any court of competent Legal Jurisdiction in Togo

(3). Death Certificate of Late client certified true copy.

And of-course their retainer-ship charges which in total will be a total sum of 40,000 GBP. Like 10 lawyers I went to their office said the same thing and you know with the amount at stake the best I could get was 40000 GBP. You must understand brother I have part of this money already with me however not all of it which is where you come in just as is written in the book of Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Brother I believe you can assume part of the financial responsibilities while I handle some too. I will welcome any further negotiation regarding this. In summary the ball is on your court either to proceed further with me or not but one thing I can assure you is that this deal will be a smooth one provided we follow the steps I have laid down and we can make change in a lot of people's life giving them better hope to humanity with financial support with what we have at stake will provide. I expect your response soon.

Regards
Brother In the Lord
Bro. Paul Kokou "

Even though I am sick, I am motivated. I have a request though.. 😆


"My dear brother Paul,

Your words of prayer, wisdom and hope today brought tears to my eyes. Bless you, bless you!

Your Bible verse moved me in the depth of my soul and lifted my heart from my sad and uncomfortable condition.

I am so glad that this most unfortunate event will not hamper our transaction, and I am impressed with your dedication, initiative and hard work on our behalf, to secure this transaction.

Now I have to ask you a question, and I truly hope you don't take offense of what I am about to ask; Please my brother, let me handle the major portion of the fees. Don't be angry with me, brother, but let me explain.
I am a very old and frail man. My time to meet our maker is nigh, and through my life I have many sins to atone for. Our Lord says in Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Furthermore he says in Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

These two verses came to me as I was reading yours and lay upon my heart. Let me handle 70% of the fees and you carry the smaller burden of the remaining 30%.

If you want me to transfer the money to you, so that you can pay them there, I would need your bank account. I am not well enough to travel, but I can ask my sister Lilly to go to the bank and make the transfer for me.

Under his eye, blessed be the fruit!

Lenny"

...and then he presents me with a problem. He actually has a bank account. (See bank reporting). This needs to go away, or be sorted in some other fashion. At this point I think Lenny comes down with another aneurism or something..

Calvary Greetings Brother

You just made me cry with such a sincerity and pure heart which is one thing we have in common, Believe me you as I bring you this word from the gospel of (John 11:4)When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.just like the Lord heard the prayers of Hezekiah in (Isaiah 38) 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “O Lord, I ask you from my heart to remember now how I have walked with You in truth and with a whole heart. I have done what is good in Your eyes.” And Hezekiah cried with a bitter cry. 4 Then the Word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘The Lord, the God of your father David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. See, I will add fifteen years to your life.

Believe me in a joint faith you are coming out of this and it will end in praise to the almighty Lord who has done it already , you are already in my prayers and surely I know whenever I call on God he hears me so brother be strong and keep your faith in God as always we will definitely meet each other once this transaction is concluded. If it pleases you to handle 70% of the total amount which will be 28,000.00 GBP while I handle 12,000.oo GBP. Sister Lilly will have to make a direct deposit to the account below. Once that is done you should have a copy of the payment deposit receipt sent to me and I will take it up from there.

Name: XXXXXXXXX
Code : XXXCCCCCC
Account number:XXXXXXXXXX
Bank Name: XXXXXXXXXXX

Note : Purpose of transfer should be for charity I will expect your earliest response brother. Again according to gospel (Joshua 1:9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”Hold on to his word brother and see how faithful he is. Do have a pleasant evening ahead.

Regards
Brother In the Lord
Bro. Paul Kokou