I have just received a great sounding deal

I have just received a great sounding deal:

'To Future Partner,                                     

Good day, I know this mail will come to you as a surprise, but I need to contact you because of the urgency and confidentiality of this business transaction. I am the Chief Account Officer of the Ghana Gold Mining Corporation (GGMC). I have a deal here in my office, and I need a foreign partner to execute it with my colleague and me. We over-invoiced a contract payment valued at US$ 100 million. We awarded contracts for the supply and maintenance of all the Gold field and mining equipment for the national gold mines to some foreign contractors valued at US$ 5 billion, which we over-invoiced by US$ 100 million in addition to the total contract sum. 

Most contractors have been paid, and the remaining contractors’ payments are currently being processed for payment. With that, my colleague and I have decided to include you among these remaining contractors to process the sum of US$ 100 million in your company or in your name to claim it for our mutual benefit. So I am now contacting you to present you as the sub-contractor who has this amount of US$ 100 million to be paid for the supply of heavy mining equipment used in the recent overhauling of the refineries and mining sites. I will advise you to furnish me with your personal information, including your cell phone number and the name of your company with address, to enable me to register it with our corporate affairs commission in charge of allied and companies registration as an indigenous company.

Any foreign company must be registered in this country. Also, with your acceptance to execute this business with me, I need to be sure of your confidentiality regarding the conclusion of this deal. you will be given 30% of the total amount, while my colleague and I will take 70% once the money gets into your company account in your country. Also, with my position here, I can officially arrange with you to be lifting 140 or 200 Kilograms of gold per month by getting a one-year or two-year Gold allocation contract in your name and company name, whether you are here or not. With this, we can make more money from the Gold lifting here in Ghana. I will detail more on this once I get your response.

Thank you, and hope to hear from you as soon as possible.

Send me your cell phone number or Email to call you for more details.

Best Regards

Chief Account Officer (GGMC) '

This is a scam. This type of fraud is commonly known as an advance-fee scam or a 419 scam, named after the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud.

Here's why this is a scam and what you should do:

Red Flags

• "Surprise" Email from Unknown Sender: Legitimate business opportunities rarely come out of the blue from someone you don't know, especially with claims of urgency and confidentiality.
• Over-Invoicing Scheme: The core of the "deal" is an illegal act of defrauding a government entity. Participating in such a scheme, even if it were real, would make you an accomplice to a crime.
• Promise of Large, Unearned Sums: US$100 million for doing essentially nothing is an unrealistic return. Scammers use these large figures to entice victims.
• Request for Personal Information: They ask for your personal details, company name, and address. This information can be used for identity theft or to create fake documents to further the scam.
• "Confidentiality" Clause: Scammers often stress confidentiality to prevent you from discussing the "deal" with others who might recognize it as a fraud.
• Advance Fee Twist (Likely to Come): While not explicitly stated yet, these scams almost always eventually ask for an "advance fee" for things like taxes, legal fees, transfer fees, or bribes. They'll tell you this fee is necessary to release the large sum of money, but once you pay, the money never materializes, and they disappear.
• Pressure to Act Quickly: The "urgency" mentioned is a common tactic to rush victims into making decisions before they have time to think critically or seek advice.
• Unsolicited Gold Deal: The offer of a gold allocation contract is another lure to make the deal seem even more lucrative and legitimate.
• Poor Grammar and Phrasing: While not always a definitive sign, the email contains some awkward phrasing ("furnish me with your personal information," "lifting 140 or 200 Kilograms of gold per month") that can be indicative of non-native English speakers often involved in these scams.

What You Should Do

1. Do NOT Reply: Any response, even to say no, can signal to the scammers that your email address is active and that you might be a potential target.
2. Do NOT Provide Any Information: Absolutely do not share your personal information, company details, bank account numbers, or any other sensitive data.
3. Do NOT Send Any Money: If they ask for money at any point, do not send it. You will lose it.
4. Block the Sender: Block the sender's email address to prevent further communication.
5. Report It: You should report this to the relevant authorities. In the UK, you can report it to Action Fraud (the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime).

This is a classic scam designed to defraud you of your money and potentially compromise your identity. There is no "deal" or US$100 million waiting for you.

How Would it Work?

You're right to ask that question - understanding how they get the money is key to protecting yourself. While the initial email from the "Chief Account Officer (GGMC)" only asks for your information, the scam would quickly evolve to extract money from you through various "advance fees."

Here's how they would typically try to get money from you in this kind of scam:

1. "Registration Fees" / "Company Incorporation": They've already stated: "I will advise you to furnish me with your personal information, including your cell phone number and the name of your company with address, to enable me to register it with our corporate affairs commission in charge of allied and companies registration as an indigenous company. Any foreign company must be registered in this country."

   This is the first likely point where they'll demand money. They'll claim that to register your company as a "sub-contractor" or "indigenous company" in Ghana, there are mandatory fees. They'll present official-looking but fake documents and invoices for these "registration fees," "incorporation taxes," or "legal processing costs." They'll stress the urgency and necessity of these payments to move forward with the "deal."

2. "Taxes," "Bribes," "Clearance Certificates," or "Transfer Fees": Once your "company" is supposedly registered, they'll move to the next stage of the "payment process." They'll claim that to release the US$100 million into your account, you need to pay various fees. These could include:

   • "Tax Clearance Certificates": They'll say the Ghanaian government requires a tax payment on the US$100 million before it can be transferred.
   • "Anti-Terrorist Financing Certificates": A common tactic, especially for large sums of money, is to claim that an "Anti-Terrorist Certificate" or similar document is required, and there's a fee to obtain it.
   • "Central Bank Fees" / "Transfer Charges": They'll invent fees required by the central bank or for the international transfer of such a large sum.
   • "Bribes" / "Facilitation Payments": They might even explicitly, or implicitly, suggest that certain officials need to be "greased" to speed up the process, and you'll need to contribute your share. They'll frame this as a necessary evil to get the large sum released.

3. "Legal Fees" / "Lawyer Costs": They might introduce a fake lawyer or legal firm who will "handle" the transfer process. This "lawyer" will then demand fees for their services, drawing up fake contracts, or resolving "complications" that arise.

4. Unexpected "Obstacles" and More Fees: The hallmark of an advance-fee scam is that once you pay one fee, another "unexpected obstacle" or "new regulation" will pop up, requiring another fee. This cycle continues as long as you're willing to pay. They will string you along, always promising that this "one last payment" will finally unlock the millions. They might use tactics like:

   • "The government just introduced a new surcharge."
   • "There was an error in the paperwork, and it needs to be corrected with a fee."
   • "An audit requires a special payment."

5. Travel Costs (Less Common, but Possible): In some more elaborate scams, they might even try to convince you to travel to Ghana to "finalize" the deal, only to demand cash once you're there for various fabricated expenses or "bribes" before you can leave.

How the Money is Transferred to Them:

They will typically instruct you to send money through methods that are difficult to trace and impossible to reverse, such as:

• Wire Transfers (e.g., Western Union, MoneyGram): These are preferred by scammers because once the money is picked up, it's virtually impossible to get back.
• Cryptocurrency: Increasingly, scammers are asking for payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which are highly anonymous and irreversible.
• Bank Transfers to Mule Accounts: They might provide bank account details, often in different countries, which belong to "money mules" - individuals who are either unwitting participants or complicit in the scam, moving the money on for the fraudsters.

The key is that you will never see the US$100 million. Every dollar you send them is a dollar you lose permanently. The whole story about the over-invoiced contract is a fabrication designed to create a believable (albeit illegal) scenario to get you to send them money.

Now that you mention it, giving $100m to all the recipients of an anonymous mass mailer wouldn't be a great business model

You've hit on a crucial point that perfectly illustrates why this is a scam!

Why a Mass Mailer for $100 Million Makes No Sense

Think about it from a legitimate business perspective:

• Due Diligence: No reputable entity, especially one dealing with such enormous sums, would distribute $100 million based on an unsolicited email exchange. They would conduct extensive due diligence, verify identities, and go through rigorous legal and financial vetting processes.
• Anonymity: The idea of sending a massive amount of money to an "anonymous mass mailer recipient" completely undermines any form of accountability, security, or legal standing.
• Risk Management: A legitimate corporation or government body would have robust internal controls to prevent fraud and misuse of funds. Randomly sending money to unknown individuals would be an unimaginable breach of financial governance and legal responsibility.
• Business Model for the Scammers: While it makes no sense for the "Ghana Gold Mining Corporation," it makes perfect sense for the scammers. Their "business model" isn't to give you money, but to convince enough people to believe them so that a small percentage will send them "advance fees" in the hope of receiving the larger sum. They cast a wide net with these mass emails, knowing that even a few successful scams will be highly profitable for them.

The sheer absurdity of distributing $100 million to random email addresses is a giant red flag. Your observation is spot-on - it's an unsustainable and nonsensical "business model" for anyone except the fraudsters looking to trick you.