Nigerian Scam... in Portuguese? Thread poster: Paul Dixon
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Paul Dixon 
Brazil
Local time: 22:56
Portuguese to English
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I received this (not through ProZ) last week and thought I would post it to warn ProZians, as it seems to be a new version of the Nigerian scam. I have reproduced it exactly as received, including mistakes, but leaving out names and sums of money. One thing that caught my eye is the fact that accented letters were replaced by Russian letters (these have also been kept in place below)
"Queridos em Cristo,
Nуs te saudar em nome de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo nosso Senhor q... See more I received this (not through ProZ) last week and thought I would post it to warn ProZians, as it seems to be a new version of the Nigerian scam. I have reproduced it exactly as received, including mistakes, but leaving out names and sums of money. One thing that caught my eye is the fact that accented letters were replaced by Russian letters (these have also been kept in place below)
"Queridos em Cristo,
Nуs te saudar em nome de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo nosso Senhor que sou deputada xxxxx Repъblica do Kuwait, onde eu estava com o Dr. xxxxx, que trabalharam com o Kuwait embaixada na Costa do Marfim nove anos antes de morrer, em 12 / 01/2004.
Fomos casados por onze anos sem uma crianзa. Ele morreu apуs uma breve enfermidade que durou apenas quatro dias. Antes de sua morte fomos ambos nascidos de novo cristгo. Desde sua morte que decidiu nгo se casar novamente ou nгo ter uma crianзa fora da minha casa contra o que a Bнblia й.
Quando o meu falecido marido era vivo ele depositou a quantia de xxxxx de unida 00 dуlares em um banco estatal em Abidjan Costa do Marfim na Бfrica Ocidental. Atualmente, esse dinheiro ainda estб no banco. Recentemente, o meu mйdico me disse para nгo tomar os prуximos oito meses, devido ao cвncer problema.
Qualquer pessoa que mais me perturba й o meu enjфo. Conhecendo meu estado eu decidi doar o fundo a uma organizaзгo caritativa que irгo utilizar esse dinheiro da maneira que eu vou enviar adjunto. Eu quero uma organizaзгo que utiliza este fundo para o orfanato, escolas, igrejas, viъvas, propagaзгo da palavra de Deus e esforзo que a casa de Deus й mantido. A Bнblia nos fez compreender que "bendito й o lado que dб."
Tomei esta decisгo porque nгo tкm qualquer filho que vai herdar esse dinheiro e meu marido familiares nгo sгo cristгos e nгo quero que o meu marido esforзos
para ser utilizado por pessoas que nгo acreditam em Deus.
Eu nгo quero uma situaзгo em que esse dinheiro serб usado em um mal caminho. Й por isso que estou tomando esta decisгo. Nгo tenho medo da morte, portanto, eu
sei onde eu vou. Sei que vai ser no peito do Senhor. O Кxodo 14:14 diz que "o Sr. combate o meu caso e eu vou conduzir a minha paz."
Eu nгo necessita de qualquer comunicaзгo telefуnica a esse respeito por causa da minha saъde, portanto, a presenзa de parentes do meu marido sempre ao meu
redor. Eu nгo quero que eles sabem sobre essa evoluзгo. Com Deus tudo й possнvel. Assim que recebermos a sua resposta eu vou dar-lhe o contacto do banco em
Abidjan Costa do Marfim na Бfrica Ocidental.
Nуs tambйm publicar uma carta que vocк experimente os actuais beneficiбrios do fundo de garantia do Ministйrio da Justiзa, Cфte d'Ivoire. Desejo-vos e que a Igreja sempre rogaran para mim, porque o Senhor й meu pastor. Minha felicidade й que eu vivi uma vida digna de um cristгo.
Quem quiser servir o Senhor tem de servir-lhe em espнrito e verdade. Por favor, orem sempre com toda a sua vida. Para entrar em contato com o e-mail acima, qualquer atraso na sua resposta vai me dar o site para adquirir uma outra igreja para este mesmo fim. Por favor, certifique-se de agir em conformidade, conforme indicado abaixo. A espera para receber a sua resposta em breve.
Continuar no Senhor abenзoou.
Seu irmгo em Cristo,
xxxxx"
The originating e-mail address was: [email protected]´
There seems to be evidence of machine translation, and why Russian characters appear instead of accents is beyond me. For example, "câncer problema" which is a machine translation for "cancer problem" - in Portuguese it would be "problema do câncer". Similarly, "sem uma criança" is machine translation for "childless" - in Portuguese it would be "sem filhos".
Could this be a scam? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Summary in English | May 14, 2010 |
Can you give us a summary of this e-mail in English?
If they want you to pay for a service it is most likely scam. It is hard for me to say now since I do not understand Portoguese.
| | | | | Screams "SCAM!!!" to me | May 14, 2010 |
I think your question is a rhetorical one - it's too obvious that it is one of those infamous Nigerian scams. As they run out of people who even bother to read this letters, they try different tactics - such as different languages, appealing to your faith in God, or changing a story slightly.
I find your second question - why Russian letters? - to be a more interesting one, especially to the translators. I think it's a question of encoding, but unfortunately, I know very little ab... See more I think your question is a rhetorical one - it's too obvious that it is one of those infamous Nigerian scams. As they run out of people who even bother to read this letters, they try different tactics - such as different languages, appealing to your faith in God, or changing a story slightly.
I find your second question - why Russian letters? - to be a more interesting one, especially to the translators. I think it's a question of encoding, but unfortunately, I know very little about it. I sometimes come across websites where special characters (such as ê, ç, ñ, Ñ, or ã) are replaced by something strange and weird looking. I don't know why, but I'm sure that it was not the intention of people who created those websites.
Maybe somebody knowledgeable in these matters helps us with this mystery... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It's machine translation | May 14, 2010 |
I got a very similar one, though the MT engine was even worse. Some really funny wording there.
Matter of fact, I receive these Nigerian scams all the time, in many languages, including some I don't understand at all.
A common telltale sign is when the sender is "Mr. ", "Dr.", "Mrs." and, accordingly, the message starts with "My name is Doctor so-and-so". Is there any culture where the title (even if it's jusr Mr. or Mrs.) is part of the individual's NAME?
... See more I got a very similar one, though the MT engine was even worse. Some really funny wording there.
Matter of fact, I receive these Nigerian scams all the time, in many languages, including some I don't understand at all.
A common telltale sign is when the sender is "Mr. ", "Dr.", "Mrs." and, accordingly, the message starts with "My name is Doctor so-and-so". Is there any culture where the title (even if it's jusr Mr. or Mrs.) is part of the individual's NAME?
I receive most of these at the e-mail address published on my web site. As I get these on webmail, I bulk-delete them by the dozen. ▲ Collapse
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Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 22:56
Portuguese to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Translation into English | May 16, 2010 |
I have been asked to translate the e-mail into English, so here goes. I have translated it as literally as possible, the confusing parts have been indicated with (?)
"Brothers in Christ,
We greet you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Congresswoman xxxxx from the Republic of Kuwait, where I was with Dr xxxxx who worked at the Kuwaiti Embassy in the Ivory Coast nine years before he died on 12 January 2004.
We were married for eleven years and remaine... See more I have been asked to translate the e-mail into English, so here goes. I have translated it as literally as possible, the confusing parts have been indicated with (?)
"Brothers in Christ,
We greet you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Congresswoman xxxxx from the Republic of Kuwait, where I was with Dr xxxxx who worked at the Kuwaiti Embassy in the Ivory Coast nine years before he died on 12 January 2004.
We were married for eleven years and remained childless. He died after a short illness that lasted four days. Before his death we were both born again as Christians. Since his death, he decided (?) not to marry again and not to have a child outside the home, against the Bible.
When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of xxx American Dollars at a state bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in West Africa. This money is still in the bank. Recebtly, my doctor told me not to take the next eight months (?) due to the cancer problem.
Anyone (?) what disturbs me most is my nausea. Aware of my state, I decided to donate this fund to a charity organisation that shall use this money in the manner as I shall send attached. I want an organisation that can use this money for orphanages, schools, churches, and to spread the word of God and make an effort to keep the House of God going. The Bible makes us understand that "blessed is the side that gives".
I have taken this decision because I have no offspring who could inherit this money and my husband's family are not Christian, and I do not want my husband's efforts to be used by people who do not believe in God.
I do not want a situation where this money shall be used for bad things. This is why I am making this decision. I am not afraid of death, and I know where I am going. I know this will be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14:14 says that "the Lord fights my case and I shall lead my peace".
I do not need any telephone calls about this matter because of my health, therefore the presence of my husband's relatives always around me. I do not want them to know about this. With God, everything is possible. As soon as we receive your reply, I shall send you contact details of the bank in Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast, in West Africa.
We also publish a letter that (?) you try the actual beneficiaries of the guarantee fund of the Ministry for Justice in the Ivory Coast. I wish you and the Church to always pray for me, as the Lord is my shepherd. My happiness lies in my living a life worthy of a Christian.
If you want to serve the Lord, you must serve Him in spirit and truth. Please always pray with your whole life. To contact the above e-mail, any delay in your reply shall give me the site to acquire another church for this purpose. Please make sure you act accordingly, as shown below. Awaiting your answer soon.
Stay blessed in the Lord,
Your brother in Christ,
xxxxx"
Sounds too good to be true - and I have never owned a church or even intend to. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 03:56
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
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