This is a classic 419 scam wrapped up as a Christian donation to charity.
419 scams are those where there is supposedly a large sum of money or gold or other ‘treasure’ available for the victim, but that leads to small payments for customs clearance or freight charges or insurance etc. and the victims has to make payments until they realise there is no treasure, just a scammer stealing their money.
The email claims to be from a Portuguese man named Ronald Davidson and tells a story of how he was very successful in business but was a horrible selfish person who has now found Jesus and wants to change his ways.
Plus, he has an incurable disease and $9.5 million to give away and needs your help to do so.
The story also gives excuses such as he cannot trust his family to disperse the fortune as he tried and was cheated by them. He cannot contact you by video as his illness is too severe and he can only be contacted by email.
These excuses are because contact by Skype for example would show he’s probably a young Nigerian man not an old Portuguese man dying from an incurable disease.
He wants 40% of the money to be donated to the recent earthquake/hurricane catastrophe (assuming there has been one) and 40% to a random charity and you get 20% for your troubles.
20% i.e. $1.9 million would be a good payment for so little effort but of course there is no fortune, just a scammer intent on stealing from anyone gullible enough to reply to the emails.
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