Via fax, email or regular mail, you receive an impassioned plea from an individual purporting to be living in a third world country. The stranger claims to be a former high government official, perhaps the family member of a former dictator, seeking to transfer several millions of dollars to the U.S. The scammer offers a 25% commission for the use of your U.S. bank account to effect the transfer. He or she will request absolute secrecy and suggest the funds may not have been obtained legitimately. This is a ploy to secure the numbers of your bank accounts and drain them of funds. The fraudsters may also seek several thousand dollars from you supposedly to bribe a foreign government official who is blocking transfer of the millions into your accounts. Recent variations of this old scam include representations that the money that is being smuggled out of the Third World country is slated for orphans or a religious ministry.