Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

There's A Sucker Born. Column for the week of August 22-28, 2004

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I have just received an exciting e-mail from Dr. Kunama in Lagos , Nigeria . He urges strict confidentiality. He got my name from a member of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council who was in the U.S. recently as part of a government delegation. (This is plausible because I know lots of government delegates…hm?) Anyway, Dr. Kunama is a director of engineering in Nigeria . He and four colleagues have access to overdue contract payments of $31 million. (I must keep this top secret!) They want to transfer this money to a foreign account. However since they are civil servants they cannot acquire the money in their names. That would be illegal. (Mum’s the word on this!) But if they had the name of an account in the U.S. they could transfer the money there because it would be like a partnership. If I can help with this my share would be 20% or about $6 million. (I’m so excited!) However, since I’m going to get 6 mil from the deal I will have to fork over some good faith money…a mere pittance when you think of what I’ll receive. What to do? What to do?

Of course I do have this other e-mail to consider. Stephen Lualua, son-in-law to the late president Mobutu Sese-Seko of Congo or Zaire (I know this is accurate info since I know all the presidents of the Congo), is in protective custody in Nigeria because the new Zaire government is out to kill him to get the family fortune. He got my name from someone in the U.S. at an International Franchise Expo. (Sounds logical to me!) He is working on behalf of his family to find a place to deposit around $9 million in a U.S. bank account for safekeeping. (Do not breathe a word about this to anyone! No one knows about this money!) If I help I will get around $2 million for my trouble. Of course, they will need to make arrangements with me to transfer these funds. What to do? What to do?

Yes, I know it sounds ludicrous but according to the July 16,2004 issue of The Week magazine Nigeria announced they have arrested around 500 suspected con artists for sending e-mails promising a share of secret fortunes. More than $500 million was recovered. FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS! Are we gullible or what?

But hey, who can cast the first stone? There is probably not one of us who hasn’t been scammed in one way or another. Maybe we didn’t buy the Brooklyn Bridge or some Florida swamp land or send a chain letter to 10 people. Maybe we decided to invest in Enron or World Com instead. As movie producer Joseph E. Levine says, “You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough!”

Years ago I remember an ad distributed in the south for a potato bug killer. It was only a dollar so why not send for one? When the package arrived it contained two little blocks of wood. One block had a black X in the middle of it. The instructions read, “Place potato bug on the X and hit with other block of wood. Potato bug will die!” Hey, what can I say? Sounds good to me. The laugh alone was worth a buck. After all, I still think the pet rock and mood ring were good investments. It’s said that a fool and his money are soon parted which is true to a certain degree but even smart people get taken. I like the saying, “Only a fool repeats his folly.” (Proverbs 26:11)

So let’s all learn from our mistakes. Look for the tell tale signs of a scam. If it looks too good to be true, it is! Don’t buy a pig in a poke! Read the fine print! Read the medium print! Read the big print! Read between the lines! Make sure there is an out. Realize today is not your only opportunity. Don’t keep it a secret. This is not your last chance. No one has a fortune with your name on it. You can’t get something for nothing. There is no free prize! There is no free lunch! There is no free anything!

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.