This is different from the usual 419 ripoff though. The letter that they'd received was almost identical to this one except that:

• it used their names both in the address and in the salutation.
  
• a few key points were made a little more vague than the email sample below, such as: the exact amount was replaced with nebulous phrases like "valuable properties and convertable documents".
  
• there is no explicit mention of "an account to be provided by you" in the letter they received, though it does suggest it -- sort of a setup for later.
  
• he includes a phone number in the letter: 0031-62726-0788. Weird dude -- and fearless because of the distance?

When I searched the web for the fellow and his letter, I was surprised to actually come up with a hit on his email address! A few more hits came up on fraud / scam lists for the content of the message. But, if you're not familiar with the email scam and, as in this case, it appears in the postal mail with a pretty European stamp and postmark then it may come across as possibly legitimate. Moreso if the recipient is an elderly couple.

I'm posting this here so that there will be at least one more target to find and hopefully warm people when they search Google or elsewhere. It might be a good idea of AARP or some state Attorneys General post information about this. Maybe some of those consumer protecting TV stations too?

Don't know what's up with this guy "Fred Nokala", but my folks got their letter in April 2006, so he's been working this scam for awhile. What's up with the people at Walla.com that they let him keep using the mailbox? After 7 months, at least, you'd think they'd figure it out and track the fellow down.

No letterhead, but printed out and actually mailed from the Netherlands. The message below was found posted on an internet newsgroup.

Warn your parents and grandparents about this fraud.

Date: August, 2005
Reply-To: frednokala@walla.com
From: Fredrick Nokala
Subject: Your Consideration

Dear friend,

I am, a private financial consultant /Account portfolio manager of a financial and securities firm in Amsterdam. And I happen to have managed a particular account for a Resident Foreigner, here in the Netherlands, who died Intestate, leaving in our care a sizable amount in a domiciliary United States Dollars Investment ACC. For some reason this client does not have an easily identifiable next of Kin, and I have made several enquiries to locate any of my clients relatives; immediate and extended, this has proved unsuccessful.

Hence, I am contacting you. I need your assistance in securing the Money and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House here in the Netherlands. The Finance House has already issued a government Mandatory formality notice to provide the Next of Kin or have the account confiscated and this should expire within a month.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any of his relatives for over two years and convinced that no one is coming up and having satisfied the mandatory legal requirement of Beneficiary/next of kin Notification, I now seek a Reliable and Trustworthy person, with your consent and perfect understanding, to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that the proceeds of this account initially valued at Nine Million, Three Hundred And Twenty Thousand United States Dollars, interest not inclusive, can be paid into an account to be provided by you(preferably outside the Netherlands Financial Institutions), as the perceived Next Of Kin Legally and Otherwise.

All I require is your honest cooperation and confidence in me; which I know would not come easy. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate background that will protect you from any breach of the Law. I would advise that you give this positive consideration and get back to me soon. I'll be flexible and considerate in the percentage share that will be given to you for your assistance.

Upon receipt of your response which I await eagerly, I would bring you into a clearer picture of this transaction.

Regards,
Fredrick Nokala