Published: July 22, 2008 10:26 am            

Cashing in with laughter

The folks in the editorial department have finally come up with a useful way to deal with annoying e-mails requesting help in accessing millions of dollars overseas.

You know the ones. “My name is Miss Victoria Adja, I am 22 years of age, please I want you to help me recover some funds my father left in the bank here in Abidjan. The amount is the sum of $9.5 million,” and “I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to you for assistance to help me and my family protect our interests,” or how about “I am an accountant who has stumbled over $10 million in unclaimed property and need your help to claim it.”

Anyone with an e-mail account gets hundreds of these every year. An impromptu survey of the scam messages reveal that the majority claim to be from African nations.

Last week, a joke started by our managing editor had all of us laughing all week.

He started by forwarding a message from Miss Adja to Kandace McCoy, our reporter. “I’m already helping a guy from Zimbabwe. Can you help this poor lady?”

Kandace replied to him with, “You’re gonna give up $9.5 million? I’m considering helping someone from Somalia. Guess I’ll have to make up my mind soon.”

Jeremy then got me in the act.

“It looks like Kandace and I are already assisting our brethren from other countries. You want to help this one?” Jeremy asked me.

My reply had both laughing as well.

“Sorry, I deal with these requests on a first-come, first-serve basis and I’m promised a portion of an inheritance by a lawyer in Mozambique. I’m just waiting to get my hands on the $5.3 million so I can retire. Should be coming any day now.”

That’s when I received a message supposedly written by a Mrs. Jennifer Wilson.

“After going through your profile I decided to contact you for friendship and assistance and distribution of my inheritances,” Mrs. Wilson wrote. “Have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any pains so I decided to contact you through this medium. I got your contact through a personal search via the Internet. As you read this, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday.

My name is Jennifer Wilson, I am a dying woman who has decided to donate what I have to you/church/charity/organizations. ...”

As Mrs. Wilson relayed her fight with esophageal cancer, and that she hasn’t lived her life well, hasn’t cared for anyone and “though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focused on myself,” I found myself wondering if people really fall for these obvious ploys to get trust and money from someone.

The last request is also a life lesson, although the person who sent it didn’t intend for it to be taken that way. They meant to prey on the sympathy of others in an effort to get money out of them. But, if a lesson can be learned, take the opportunity. Don’t wait until you are faced with dying to live your life in a way that is pleasing to God and others. Be generous with what little you may have — whether time or money. You may end this life still having regrets, but you’ll know you did your best.

Normally, most people I know ignore the e-mails asking for money to make money. But now, Kandace, Jeremy and I have finally been able to cash in on one of these scams — with laughter.

And, that’s a lesson we can use every day.

        

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