Walsall Man Receives Nigerian 419 Scam Letter From Queen of Nigeria Meghan Markle

A Walsall man, 37, was conned out of sending money to Her Majesty the Queen of Nigeria, Meghan Markle. The distraught man received the email on Sunday and naively replied to the message by sending funds to an unknown bank account traced to Montecito, California, USA.

This was the email the duped man received:

REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

BY APPOINTMENT FROM THE ROYAL OFFICE OF HER HIGHNESS QUEEN MEGHAN MARKLE OF NIGERIA

FIRST, I MUST SOLICIT YOUR STRICTEST CONFIDENCE IN THIS TRANSACTION. THIS IS BY VIRTUE OF ITS NATURE AS BEING UTTERLY CONFIDENTIAL AND ‘TOP SECRET’. I AM SURE AND HAVE CONFIDENCE OF YOUR ABILITY AND RELIABILITY TO PROSECUTE A TRANSACTION OF THIS GREAT MAGNITUDE INVOLVING A PENDING TRANSACTION REQUIRING MAXIIMUM CONFIDENCE.

I AM THE HONORARY RIGHTFUL AND HIGHLY RESPECTED NUBIAN QUEEN OF NIGERIA WHO IS INTERESTED IN IMPORATION OF GOODS INTO OUR COUNTRY WITH FUNDS WHICH ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN NIGERIA. IN ORDER TO COMMENCE THIS BUSINESS I SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE TO ENABLE US TRANSFER INTO YOUR ACCOUNT THE SAID TRAPPED FUNDS.

THE SOURCE OF THIS FUND IS AS FOLLOWS; DURING THE LAST MILITARY REGIME HERE IN NIGERIA, THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SET UP COMPANIES AND AWARDED THEMSELVES CONTRACTS WHICH WERE GROSSLY OVER-INVOICED IN VARIOUS MINISTRIES. THE PRESENT CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT SET UP A CONTRACT REVIEW PANEL AND WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A LOT OF INFLATED CONTRACT FUNDS WHICH ARE PRESENTLY FLOATING IN THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA READY FOR PAYMENT.

HOWEVER, BY VIRTUE OF ONES POSITION AS MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF NIGERIA, WE CANNOT ACQUIRE THIS MONEY IN OUR NAMES. I HAVE THEREFORE, BEEN DELEGATED AS A MATTER OF TRUST BY MY COLLEAGUES OF THE ROYAL FAMILY TO LOOK FOR AN OVERSEAS PARTNER INTO WHOSE ACCOUNT WE WOULD TRANSFER THE SUM OF US$61,320,000.00(SIXTY ONE MILLION, THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND U.S DOLLARS). HENCE WE ARE WRITING YOU THIS LETTER. WE HAVE AGREED TO SHARE THE MONEY THUS; 1. 20% FOR THE ACCOUNT OWNER 2. 70% FOR US (THE ROYAL FAMILY) 3. 10% TO BE USED IN SETTLING TAXATION AND ALL LOCAL AND FOREIGN EXPENSES. IT IS FROM THE 70% THAT WE WISH TO COMMENCE THE IMPORTATION BUSINESS. TO AVAIL YOURSELF OF THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY PLEASE SEND $1,200 (ONE THOUSAND TWOO HUNDRED DOLLARS) TO THIS BANK NUMBER IMMEDIATELY 00 1 XXX-XXX-XXXX (BANK NUMBER REDACTED )

PLEASE,NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% SAFE AND WE HOPE TO COMMENCE THE TRANSFER LATEST SEVEN (7) BANKING DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE RECEIPT OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIOM BY TEL/FAX; 234-1-7740449, YOUR COMPANY’S SIGNED, AND STAMPED LETTERHEAD PAPER THE ABOVE INFORMATION WILL ENABLE US WRITE LETTERS OF CLAIM AND JOB DESCRIPTION RESPECTIVELY. THIS WAY WE WILL USE YOUR  NAME TO APPLY FOR PAYMENT AND RE-AWARD THE CONTRACT IN YOUR COMPANY’S NAME.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THIS BUSINESS WITH YOU AND SOLICIT YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY IN THIS TRANSATION. PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF THIS LETTER USING THE ABOVE TEL/FAX NUMBERS. I WILL SEND YOU DETAILED INFORMATION OF THIS PENDING PROJECT WHEN I HAVE HEARD FROM YOU.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF NIGERIA MEGHAN MARKLE

NOTE; PLEASE QUOTE THIS REFERENCE NUMBER (MM/S/06/24) IN ALL YOUR RESPONSES.

After sending a sum of $1,200 to the address, the supposed Queen of Nigeria followed up with an additional “small request” of $25,000 to cover “unforeseen circumstances regarding a feud with the British royal family”. The man complied, then never heard back from the scammer.

Every year, millions of dollars and pounds are scammed from people in Europe and the USA by Nigerian scammers. If you receive such a scam email, be sure to never reply and to put it in the trash.

Meghan Markle spokesperson Omid Scobie was contacted for this article but refused to talk to us.