He's Not in Nigeria, He Doesn't Need $5,000, and His Name isn't "Arobert"

We get a fair number of e-mails from A. Robert Kaufman, the recent mayoral candidate and life-long agitator on behalf of socialist and antiracist ideals. But this was the first time Bob asked for money. It was also the first time he described taking a "business as usual" trip to Angola. And the first to be sent via Blackberry wireless device. For those who know Bob Kaufman, these and many, many other clues within the e-mail's text were good indications that the e-mail did not, in fact, originate from Kaufman (who actually does not use a computer, preferring to write his e-mails on paper and have a friend, Karen Reed, transcribe and send them to his 600 or so contacts). For your amusement, the email is reproduced here:

The e-mail is, of course, a classic "419 scam," so known in Nigeria by the number of the law that forbids it. 419 scams have been perpetrated for decades by postal letter, fax, e-mail, and

. The scam is believed to be Nigeria's second or third biggest industry, although it is perpetrated by people all over the world, not just Nigerians. Bob's faithful assistant, Karen Reed, sent an e-mail to as many of the people on Bob's list as she could last week explaining that the Nigerian e-mail is bogus. (Kaufman requires kidney dialysis three times per week, he is not in the oil business, and he does not travel to Africa on business; also he does not sign his name "Arobert.") Reed says Bob's Gmail account has been hijacked and that they're working with Google to get it back. She is worried that some of the 400 or more people who did not get Reed's announcement might think the e-mail is real. Reed admits she "would have laughed a lot" at the e-mail but for the fact that Kaufman blew up at her. For him it's a serious thing; if anyone sends money to the scammer, it could be serious for them as well. So we'll suppress a chuckle and just remind everyone: Bob Kaufman does not want $5,000 sent to Lagos, Nigeria.

. If you've got one of them to spare, contact him--just don't use that Gmail account.