Con The Con Man - Part 1


Just when we thought it wouldn't happen to us, we received the notorious Nigeria Horse Scam email. Below are the current correspondences with the guy, aka Lanre, and we are hoping to have a little fun with this. If for nothing else than to hopefully frustrate the poor soul who decided to mess with us! :) For those of you that have yet to hear of the scam, check out the following link: Africa Scam Information


The "Subject":
Daddy's Money, aka "Reina"

3 yr. old 13 HH Welsh Pony Mare
The "Con Man":
Lanre "I Blow Goats" James




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 25 11:14 AM
Subject: EQUINE.COM - Daddy's Money


This message is from EQUINE.COM and is regarding your ad, Daddy's Money
The following information pertains to an interested EQUINE.COM user about your classified ad:


Name: Lanre James
Address:
City, State ZIP: ,
Phone: (234)803-351-7093
E-Mail:


Hello ,
How are you?I saw your advert on the Web about the things you sell,I am extremely interested in your Welsh Pony
I am based in West Africa
I am ready to pay $4200
I will like you to send me an email and also iw ill like to know the Conditon of what i am buying from you and also will love to see pictures also you can also email me Via the email address above and iw ill get back to you asap.


Regards


Hmmm, she's listed on the web at $4,000. What a generous man to offer to pay more than the listed price!




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 25 12:35 PM
Subject: EQUINE.COM - Daddy's Money


Lanre,
You can see Daddy's Money on her webpage at www.daventryfarms.com/daddysmoney.html. Daddy's Money is for sale for $4,000 US.
Tracy




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 26 3:34 AM
Subject: Agreed


Daventry Farms,
Thanks,
I am based in Lagos,Nigeria,West Africa.
I will be willing to buy your Daddy's Money for $4,000
I hope it is in excellent condition,i appreciate your effort by letting me know the conditions of what i am buying from you.Aspa shipping i have made all necessary arrangement with a shipping company Called Pacific Ocean Airliners they will be on ground to do the pick ,they gave me more information about their packaging they will be in charge of the Crafting of everything .


As regards payment,this is what i am going to do;I have an Associates in the Canada who is owing me $9,800 i would instruct him to make out a money order to you in that amount and as soon as it clears your bank you can now deduct your money from it and send my balance by MONEYGRAM INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER. Although the value of the money order is more than the price of the Daddy's Money but i think i should be able to trust you with my balance.The reason why i am doing this is that it would take a money order sent from over here in africa 30days to clear over there,whereas a money order sent from within the Canada would clear tops within 48hrs.I will also be using part of the balance to pay for the shipping company that will be on ground to do the pick up. So i would like you to deduct the MONEYGRAM charges from my balance.So if my terms are acceptable to you,i would like you to give me your full name address and phone numbers so that i can instruct my Business Associates in Canada to make out the money order to you.Pls get back to me as soon as you get this mail so that i can know my stand.
Regards,


After much searching, no company going by the name Pacific Ocean Airliners seems to exist. Isn't the name of the company an oxymoron?!?


We have contacted both the RCMP and phonebusters.com and they asked us to forward all correspondences to them.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 27 8:40 AM
Subject: Agreed


Lanre,


We are very excited here. It's not every day that we sell a horse to West Africa. We did have a consignment horse that sold to Hawaii last year and he was shipped by ocean liner as well. Up until then, we didn't realize they did that. I thought they always went by plane. It took a very long time for the horse to arrive as well.


Are you going to be using Daddy's Money, aka Reina, for breeding or do you have someone to ride her over there? We are very curious to hear about your hunter program over there, if one exists.


As with any horse that sells off of our property, it is our policy to ask for a deposit on the horse, especially since we have several other interested people in Reina. I think $200 would be more than fair and it is refundable. What I will do is include the $200 deposit with the $4,800 that you are wanting back out of the money gram once everything gets sorted out.


I'm also assuming that there is some type of quarantine that Reina has to go through as well. I'm assuming you've shipped from overseas before? It's also our policy that they stay here for free until such time shipping can be arranged and the horse/pony picked up.


This is very exciting!
Tracy


Ah, what the hell! Let's see if WE can get any money out of this.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 28 4:12 AM
Subject: Contact info


Tracy,


Thanks for your email we receive your email and the content was well understood.


Right now i will need your contact info oso that i can be able to instrcut my associates to make out payment to you asap and also aspa the shipping company,I have shipped overseas before and also with the Use of Pacific Ocean Airliners which they are reliable to me ,my wife is the one who is planning to have her and also take her for riding ,i have sold alot to people,police and everyone in africa so i get horses and take good care of them and sell them when they are well breeded,As soon as you receive the payment from my client i will want you to deduct the price of every necessary expences and iw ill want you to send me my balance via Moneygram .


so right now write back with your contact info.
regards


Throwing in the bit about the police was a nice touch. Also the bit about his wife. I have also been informed that English is the first language of Nigeria!


No word back from the authorities so we've decided to play this one out ourselves!




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 28 10:58 PM
Subject: Reina


Lanre,


I have received your latest e-mail. What kind of riding does your wife do? And are you familiar with the special needs of a horse trained in the American hunter style? Perhaps your wife should contact me as well, so we can discuss her needs. We will need to discuss your boarding and feed plans for Reina, as well as your planned veterinary arrangements for the impending trip overseas.


We are very careful with our horses, so we do require a $200 deposit to hold a horse. If you do not send such a deposit, we may be forced to sell to another buyer. Since putting Reina's ad up less than a week ago, we've received an overwhelming response and I do have two other prospective buyers waiting in the wings. Equine.com has been a great site for us as they don't last long once they're up there!


Tracy


Thanks to GotSpots from the COTH BB for helping me write this one! :)




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 29 7:58 AM
Subject: Contact info


I just realized that I forgot to include our contact info:


Daventry Farms
Box 46 Site 310 RR 3
Stony Plain, Alberta
T7Z 1X3


Also, what are the requirements for quarantine? Is she able to do some of it here before she leaves or does she have to go to a quarantine station? Sorry, I don't know much about that.


Tracy


After not receiving an email from Lanre last night, we've decided to email more bait.


Comments from Lanre fans!




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 30 7:56 AM
Subject: Contact info


Lanre,


Are you still interested in purchasing Reina? If not, can you please let me know so that we can pursue other avenues wit her.


Thanks,
Tracy


Well, I was afraid we lost the little bugger with the second request for a deposit so I decided to try one more time!




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 30 8:48 AM
Subject: Contact info


I do not know if you are willing to sell it to me cos there is no way io can send a deposit to you ,if i am going to pay a deposit i will like to send it via my associates who will be making a Payment to you there in canada so tell me if you accept my terms.


Regards


Interesting! One, he didn't email me in the middle of the night and two, he sure didn't wait long to answer my email.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 30 8:51 AM
Subject: Contact info


Lanre,


That would be fine.


Tracy




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 31 8:08 AM
Subject: Contact info


Thanks for the mail.
I will instruct my associates to make out payment to you and also will keep you posted of when to receive payment from him ,i emailed him all your contact info so that he will be able to make out payment to you asap ,thanks for the kind responce and i hope you have made arrangement for him to be shipped as soon as payment is been received which the Shipping company will come do the pick up at your location is your home the pick up address?write back.


Regards




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 31 8:10 AM
Subject: Shipping


Lanre,


You referred to Reina as 'him' in your email. You do realize that she is a mare...female?


No, the address I gave you is not our home address. We live out in the country. In Canada, such places do not have an exact address. Once shipping has been arranged, I'll talk with the shipping company and give them directions to get out here.


Reina will need a Coggins, health papers and various other vaccinations before shipping. All of that can take up to two weeks to process so it is extremely important that we get lots of notice before the transportation is booked so that I can schedule the vet out to get all of the tests done.


Again, about the quarantine. Is one required for Reina?


Tracy




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: May 31 8:19 AM
Subject: clearification


Hi Tracy,


Do you mean if i should instuct my client to make out payment to you ,you won't be able to receive the package i just want a clearification thats all is this the real address for the delivery of the package.


Regards




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: May 31 8:21 AM
Subject: clearification


Oh sorry Lanre, I thought you were talking about the address for the shipping company for Reina. Yes, the address I gave you will receive the package with no problems.


Tracy




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: June 2 8:56 PM
Subject: Payment


Lanre,


Can you let me know whether the payment has been sent off or not?



Thanks, Tracy


Due to the insane number of emails we're getting as to whether Lanre has written back yet or not, I decided to find out if the cheque has been sent off yet. I don't know what's more amazing, the fact that I'm actually corresponding with this guy or the number of people that are following this little soap opera. :)




----- Original Message -----
From: "Lanre James"
To: Daventry Farms
Sent: June 3 4:18 AM
Subject: Re: Payment

Tracy,


I just contacted my associates and he makes me to understand that he just came back from hinterland and that he will be making out payment to you asap and i will keep you posted of when you will be receiving payment from him .


regards




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: June 3 5:09 AM
Subject: Re: Payment


Lanre,


Thanks for your quick reply. Wow, Hinterland! No worries about sending the cheque ASAP. I'm assuming he'll need some time to settle in before getting all of his affairs in order.


Now, out of curiosity, did he visit Hinterland, South Africa or Hinterland, Australia? They're both such beautiful places for holiday travel. Oddly enough, we have a rock 'n roll band in Vancouver named Hinterland but I'm assuming he didn't go visit them?!?


Any word on shipping and when you want to get the vet work and coggins test done on Reina as we need roughly two weeks to get the results processed? My vet has also informed me that for travelling overseas, she will also need to be tested for BSE as we have had a recent outbreak in Canada. I assume your country has heard of our outbreak over the last two weeks as apparently, it has hit news rooms around the world. But I can assure you that our property has always been BSE free, to the best of my knowledge, and I'm sure she'll test fine.


We are very excited for Reina and her adventures to come. We have already started heavily blanketing her so that her adjustment to the new temperatures in Lagos will not be too uncomfortable for her. And hopefully she will not get too sea sick on the boat ride over. As I'm sure you've done this so many times before, it must be a lot easier to take them across than one might think.


Anyways, thanks again for the update. Looking forward to meeting your associate. Do you know if he would be interested in looking at any horses for sale as we have several more available for purchase? I could easily make a package deal for the two of you. Just a thought!


Thanks,
Tracy


I'm finding it hard not to make funny replies, for fear that he may catch on. I have absolutely no idea as the the amount of horse knowledge this guy really has. I guess we'll find out! I wonder if he knows that Reina's brain will have to be tested for BSE. No one said she had to get there in one piece.


On another note, while we're all waiting for the cheque to arrive, if anyone else is interested in purchasing Reina, she's still for sale! :)




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: June 6 8:03 AM
Subject: Re: Payment


Lanre,


Can you let me know if your associate is sending the cheque by regular mail or by courier? If it's by courier, I need to put a waiver sign in our mailbox so that no one has to sign for it. Otherwise, they won't deliver the package. Also what is your associates name so I don't have to keep calling him the associate.


Thanks,
Tracy




----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: June 7 2:52 PM
Subject: Re: Payment


Lanre,


I'm not sure whether you got my last email or not. I wanted to find out if the cheque is coming by regular mail or by courier?


Thanks,
Tracy


Comments from Lanre fans!





----- Original Message -----
From: "Daventry Farms"
To: Lanre James
Sent: June 10 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: Payment


Lanre,


Please read to the end of the email as I think you will find something very interesting to look at!


I'm assuming that you are no longer interested in purchasing Reina since I have not heard from you for several days, nor have you been answering ANY of my questions or concerns about getting a Coggins test done, quarantine, etc. And, I'm assuming you have not written me back as you have now realized that I know what is going on.


I'd like to let you know that we've known from day one that you were trying to scam us. The 'Nigeria Horse Scam' email has been all over the internet for the past six months. How dumb do you think we are? Not to mention the fact that you were willing to give us an extra $4,800 on top of Reina's purchase price and trust that we'd refund the difference. Christ, I applaud you for being able to scam anyone with this lame idea!


For future reference, ENGLISH is the most common language in Nigeria and the official language of business. ANYONE with any money would know how to speak and write english fluently, despite your lame attempt at posing yourself as a foreigner by writing bad, broken english!


From your first email, we starting posting your letters up on our website and advertised the webpage heavily. You have no idea how many people have been following this little charade with much interest and since putting the webpage up, we have been getting over 1000 hits a day just on that one page!!! You have created a Lanre Fan Club. People have been flocking to the site just to see how long I could string you along.


I'd like to thank you for all of your letters as I couldn't have asked for better advertising for our website or our horses. Since you started emailing me, we have sold over $12,000 worth of horses due to people coming to read your emails and consequently looking at other horses we had for sale. Thank-you Lanre! :)


I'd like to give you the link to the webpage so you can peruse through it. You should also take the time to read the 'Comments from Lanre Fans' as they are quite amusing. www.daventryfarms.com/scam.html


So, once again, thanks again for the entertainment and the business you have brought to our busy farm. It is much appreciated. And, I suppose I should apologize too...for wasting your time...you a$$hole!


Sincerely,
Tracy Dopko
'Scammer of Scammers'
Daventry Farms
www.daventryfarms.com


Comments from Lanre fans!


Thank-You's from other scam victims!


On to our next scam!
We have a "Welcome Home" policy for all horses & ponies that we have bred, sold or that are sired by any of our stallions. Should an owner ever find themselves in unfortunate circumstances, or a horse or pony is in need of retirement, they may be returned to our farm at any time.