Hmm, all my reliable overseas business contacts giving me $$$BILLIONS OF USD$$$ make far more spelling and grammar errors than this guy. The fact that this Ruben fellow's English is almost perfect makes me suspect this is a scam of some sort.... Beware!

Maybe I just don't posses the sophisticated criminal mind of this guy, but I'm not sure what he's trying to accomplish with this. The information that he's asking for is all part of the public record and could be gathered with skillful use of a search engine or two. Usually I see these asking for SS numbers or bank account info.

But...but...he's a British Citizen, who just happens to be living in Africa, so it can't be a scam! :P
(albeit he must have skipped school a lot)

That'll be for a later stage, establish a degree of trust with remotely plausible excuses overshined by idiotic greed (especially since idiots would think they could rip the guy off once they have the money), then they get the compromising information to screw people with

Then you've probably never received the one using the names of some very real Canadian and UK couples who won their respective lotteries.

You must be quite right, all I ever receive are e-mails from Nigeria.

He seems to want to "liaise" with you. Is that even legal where you live?

They've done that. Enter 419eater.

Just discovered this in my spam folder. The strange thing is that the e-mail address it came to I only gave out to an institution of my university...

DEAR FRIEND,


URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL:

TRANSFER OF [$13,500.000.00 USD. THIRTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES
DOLLARS

WE WANT TO TRANSFER TO OVERSEAS [$13,500.000.00] THIRTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
UNITED STATES DOLLARS FROM OUR BANK IN SOUTH AFRICA. I WOULD LIKE, IF YOU WILL BE CAPABLE
AND FIT TO PROVIDE EITHER AN EXISTING BANK ACCOUNT OR TO SET UP A NEW BANK ACCOUNT
IMMEDIATELY TO RECEIVE THIS MONEY, EVEN AN EMPTY ACCOUNT CAN SERVE TO RECEIVE THIS MONEY,
AS LONG AS YOU WILL REMAIN HONEST TO ME TILL THE END OF THIS IMPORTANT BUSINESS
TRANSACTION.


I WANT TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN EITHER NOW OR IN FUTURE. I AM MR. ROBERT
HILL DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT OF OUR BANK IN SA, DURING THE COURSE OF OUR AUDITING
I DISCOVERED A FLOATING FUND IN AN ACCOUNT OPENED WITH A SECURITY COMPANY IN 2000 AND
SINCE 2005 TILL TODAY NOBODY HAS OPERATED ON THIS ACCOUNT AGAIN, AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME
OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS I DISCOVERED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT DIED WITHOUT AN HEIR
HENCE THE MONEY IS FLOATING AND IF I DO NOT REMIT THIS MONEY OUT URGENTLY IT WILL BE
FORFEITED FOR NOTHING.


THE OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT WAS A FOREIGNER,AN INDUSTRIALIST, HE DIED SINCE 2002 AND NO
OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR ANYTHING CONCERNING IT, THE ACCOUNT HAS NO
BENEFICIARY AND MY INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT THE ACCOUNT OWNER UNTIL HIS
DEATH WAS A EXPERTRIATE/CONTRACTOR WITH ESKOM IN SOUTH AFRICA [PTY] SA.


I AM CONTACTING YOU AS A FOREIGNER BECAUSE THIS MONEY CAN ONLY BE APPROVED TO A FOREIGNER
WITH A VALID INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR DRIVERS LICENCE AND FOREIGN ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE
MONEY IS IN U.S DOLLARS AND THE FORMER OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT IS A FOREIGNER.I AM REVEALING
ALL THIS TO YOU WITH THE BELIEF THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN IN THIS BUSINESS, YOU ARE
THE FIRST AND THE ONLY PERSON I AM CONTACTING FOR THE BUSINESS SO PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY
FOR ME TO TELL YOU THE NEXT STEP TO TAKE.


YOU SHOULD FORWARD YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS WHICH IS ALSO NEEDED. YOU WILL HAVE TO
GIVE ME THE ASSURANCE WHEN WE MEET THAT THIS MONEY WILL BE INTACT PENDING OUR PHYSICAL
ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR SHARING AND DISBURSEMENT OF THE FUND WHICH WILL BE 40% FOR
YOUR ASSISTANCE, 55% WILL BE FOR US WHILE 5% WILL BE SET ASIDE TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE
EXPENSES THAT WILL BE INCURED BY BOTH PARTIES DURING THE COURSE OF THE TRANSFER.


I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR EARLIEST RESPONSE, NOTE YOU CAN ALSO CALL ME ON MY PRIVATE NUMBER
OR MY E-MAIL ADDRESS BELOW, FOR SECURITY REASONS.


MR. ROBERT HILL
TEL:+xxxx
BEST REGARDS,

So the former owner was using the account after his death then. Interesting.

One of my roommates last year had to spend several minutes loudly telling his immigrant mother over the phone that no one sends random lottery winnings through email.

There's an entire online community doing just that. They call it scambaiting and as you'll see from the link, they get some hilarious results. :)