Dear edward123,
I assume you are asking this question because you received an e-mail,
allegedly from a bank manager, businessman or similar person located
in an African country like Togo or Nigeria. I further assume that the
e-mail stated that German businessman Adolf Spear died in a plane
crash, leaving no heirs except of you, and that you should now hand
over certain information to the e-mail's sender so you can claim the
fortune Herr Spear reportedly left behind.
E-mails of this or very similar content, built around the feigned
death of Adolf Spear, have been sent to many Internet users during the
past few weeks. The senders' names and ostensible identities vary,
also the exact circumstances of Adolf Spear's alleged death. But the
main message is always the same: "You are the only person who can
claim Herr Spear's money - so give us all necessary information as
fast as possible!"
I recommend to not take this e-mail for serious and to not reply to it
at all. No single German source knows about a businessman of that name
who died in Africa. The name "Adolf Spear" only shows up in connection
with warnings of scam mails, with the only purpose to find out the
addressees' bank account data or similar information. There is no
actual person of that name mentioned in connection to a plane crash in
Africa.
I would like to add that "Spear" is not a German surname at all, and
that the given name "Adolf" has become most unusual after World War
II, due to Adolf Hitler's name. Almost no German born after 1945 was
named Adolf, and a businessman trying to be internationally successful
using that name is simply unthinkable. So the name of the alleged
plane crash victim, Adolf Spear, is not authentic at all.
These points, and the fact that so many recipients of such e-mails are
reportedly the "only heir" of "Adolf Spear", as well as the numerous
different fictitious senders and organizations always using
non-retraceable e-mail accounts, show very clearly that there is
nothing true about the Adolf Spear story.
Additional sources:
Scam-O-Rama: Dead Bank Customers
http://www.scamorama.com/bankcustomer.html
NASPA: Nigerian Petroleum Corporation scams NPC Scams letters, crooks
frauds and general security alerts - Fake Adolf Spear of Germany Scam
http://members.tripod.com/aspaaus/kokoh.htm
e-Prevention.ch: Escroquerie nigériane - Fiche 121 : Deuxième étape
d'une escroquerie (in French)
http://www.e-prevention.ch/web/result.asp?id_fiche=121
Search terms used:
"Adolf Spear"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&scoring=d&q=%22Adolf+Spear%22&sa=N&tab=gw
"Adolf Spear"
http://groups.google.de/groups?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&scoring=d&q=%22Adolf+Spear%22&sa=N&tab=wg&meta=
"adolf spear"
http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&cs=utf-8&q=%22adolf+spear%22&_sb_lang=de+en
Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Scriptor |
