An actual (unedited) email from an "African millionaire"

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Dear Sir
REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE IN A FINANCIAL TRANSACTION
I am interested in your partnership in business dealing. This business proposal I wish to intimate you with is of mutual benefit and it's success is entirely based on mutual trust, cooperation and a high level of confidentiality as regard this transaction. I am representing the board of the contract award and monitoring committe of the Zambian Ministry of Mining and Resources. I am seeking your assistance to enable me transfer the sum of US$30,500,000.00 (Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) into your private/company account. The fund came about as a result of a contract awarded and executed for and on behalf of my Ministry. The contract was supposed to be awarded to two foreign contractors to the tune of US$180,000,000.00 (One hundred and Eighty Million United States Dollars). But in the course of negotiation, the contract was awarded to a Bulgarian contractor at the cost of US$149,500,000.00 (One hundred and Forty-nine Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to my benefit unknown to the contractor. This contract has been satisfactorily executed and inspected as the Bulgarian firm is presently securing payment from my Ministry, where our Board is in-charge of all foreign contract payment approval. As a civil servant still in active government service, I am forbidden by law to operate an account outside the shores of Zambia. Hence this message to you seeking your assistance so as to enable me present your private/company account details as a beneficiary of contractual claims alongside that of the Bulgarian contractor, to enable me transfer the difference of US$30,500,000.00 (Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) into your provided account. On actualisation, the fund will be disbursed as stated below.
1. 20% of the fund will be for you as beneficiary
2. 80% of the fund will be for Us.
All logistics are in place and all modalities worked out for a smooth actualisation of the transaction within the next few working days of commencement. For further details as to the work ability of this transaction, please reach me as soon as possible for further clarification. Please, call me on receipt of this mail on 0031-627-105-921.or you can also reach me with this email address below:
kunde@zwallet.com

Thank you and God bless as I await your urgent response.

Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Lawrence Kunde

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Pendragon's response:

Dear Mr. Kunde, I just received your email.   I don't know how you got my address, but believe me, you've come to the right person!   I certainly want to help you. It must be fate or karma or something, because I've been getting four or five emails per week from African people like yourself who have millions of dollars stuck in foreign banks, and somehow you need my help in retrieving the money.   And you all tell me that you've heard (from somewhere) what a wonderful fellow I am !   And coincidentally, every one of you wants to give me 20% or 30% of the total balance as a reward for helping you. Anyway, here's the problem: I've been so busy helping all of you African folks that it's become a full-time job.   As a result, I'm now forced to charge a modest up-front fee of $25,000.00 (and I'll take just 10% on the back side, instead of the generous 20% you offered).   Considering the millions and millions of dollars that are languishing in that bank in Zambia, $25,000.00 isn't much, is it?   Just make the check payable to: Help the African Millionaires, Inc. (my new Texas corporation) and send me all the information   -   your name and phone number, the name and address of that Zambian bank, etc.   As soon as your $25,000.00 check clears my bank, I'll get to work!