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The "EU Humanitarian Grant" is another simple AFF scam - they will send you a counterfeit check (it doesn't matter HOW real it looks - it is a fake, fraud, scam, counterfeit!). You cash it, and send the scammers part of it BACK (to cover "fees") and then use the rest of the "grant".
Except, they will have you send the money to to them via an instant and irretrievable method (Western Union or Money Gram) that they can pick up at any WU office worldwide, and you will be left with a check which will bounce a week or so later (it does take that long to go through the U.S. federal banking system) and then you will be out the amount you wired back to them (and any you spent). And possibly charged with passing counterfeit checks. And the scammers are gone, never to be seen again, and extremely unlikely to be caught.
If you need tangible proof, ask yourself this: why would an legitimate organization offer a huge grant to YOU, out of the blue, and ask you to reply to a free email address, like weboffice, yahoo, hotmail, aim, excite, etc. (which ANYONE could get)? Wouldn't an organization write you from its own email? For example, any government would have an email address that ends in ".gov". Prinate companies, would have their own domain, with a website like "www.microsoft.com" and email addresses like joe.blow@microsoft.com not microsoft_special_grants@yahoo.com
See this page for a step by step explanation of the scam.
We've highlighted a few of the more obvious clues to the scam below in the actual scam email:
From: eurofundgrant [mailto: notify@weboffice.com ] On Behalf Of European Union Grant
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 12:40 AM
To: mrichardson@uptowncolleagues.com
Cc: mrichardson@ffvf.org
Subject: EU Grant Update
EU Humanitarian Grant
Special EU Programmes Body
European Union House,
Castle Meadow Court,
Dublin Road,
Monaghan.
United Kingdom.
Dear Grantee,
Re: CONFIRMATION OF EU HUMANITARIAN GRANT.
I have been directed to inform you that your Humanitarian Grant has been validated by the awards committee in charge of grant validation. A total sum of 1,923,738 Euros has been approved to be released to you as your grant (please, download and read the attached document). The payment committee has also been involved in facilitating the payment of your grant through securing of final clearance from the UK Debt Management Office.
Please, note that the payment committee is presently in the process of assisting you meet with the financial requisites of the UK Debt Management Office, which is analyzed below for a better understanding:
The UK Debt Management office has requested that you immediately contact your bank to setup a Brokerage/Trading account for the purpose of payment of your grant funds. This account is to be utilized specifically for any transaction involving your humanitarian grant. In line with the recommendation above, I wish to strongly advise that you make prompt arrangement to setup a Brokerage/Trading account.
The humanitarian grant payment committee is presently making arrangement to send you fund to enable you meet-up with all financial requirements of the UK Debt Management Office. It is now officially required that payment of fees must be effected before your grant would be cleared for payment to you by the UK Debt Management Office. In line with this arrangement, the EU Humanitarian Grant payment committee will send you fund to enable you make payment of all accruable fees, the payment committee will be providing funds for you to pay such fees, through an affiliate financier. Funds required by you to pay fees will be provided by the grant payment committee. You are not required to use your personal funds to do so.
The required fees are as follows:
Tax: 128,025.07 Euros
Insurance: 75,194.26 Euros
Anti-terrorist clearance: 2,583.12 Euros
Filing charges: 91,044.33 Euros
Stamp duty: 38,009.40 Euros
TOTAL: 334,856.18 Euros
The affiliate financier will send to you a total sum or equivalent sum of 334,856.18 Euros to enable you pay all the fees required by the UK Debt Management Office through your Brokerage/Trading account. Your total grant fund (1,923,738 Euros) will be released to you in 72Hours after fees payment is confirmed by the UK Debt Management Office.
The Humanitarian Grant is awarded to you to enable you upgrade your existing charitable organization or NGO. If you do not have a charitable organization or NGO, you are required to utilize the grant fund to setup a Children's Home, which will cater for the needs of children (health, education and other material needs). This Children's Home is required to act as a support center for quick response in time of needs. The EU Humanitarian Grant must be open to inspection from time to time to ensure that you are using the grant fund in line with official guidelines, which will made available to you as soon the grant fund is released to you. You must make necessary contribution to the guidelines by streamlining the utilization of the fund to tally with the physical structures and facilities available in your locality.
Additional funds will be made available to you/your organization as needs arise. These needs will be communicated to the EU Humanitarian Grant by the supervising agents who will be in constant touch with you.
You must send feedback and any query to my office most urgently. You should feel free to request any information you need.
Take note:
The European Commission grants covers one or more of the following: research, education, health, consumer protection, protection of the environment, humanitarian aid, professional efficiency, etc.
The aim of the Humanitarian Grant is to aid the establishment of quick reach centers in case of emergency needs in order to fortify the United Nations millennium development goals through utilization of services by already established humanitarian agencies and those to be established by this grant (both private and public.) The areas of focus by the United Nations millennium development goals are:
* to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
* to achieve universal primary education
* to promote gender equality and empower women
* to reduce child mortality
* to improve national healthcare
* to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
* to ensure environmental sustainability
* to develop a global partnership on development.
The EU through various grant programs is trying to achieve the millennium development goals by focusing on the following areas: Trade and development, Regional cooperation, Poverty-reduction policies to support health and education, Transport infrastructure, Food security and sustainable rural development, Institutional capacity-building, good governance and the rule of law.
The grant is required to be utilized for the establishment of new charity or funding of charitable programs already in place. No repayment of the grant is required. Further funding of the program could only be done by the EU upon evaluation for need for further funding after a year of this grant award.
Further enquiry can be obtained via the following contact:
Awards Committee,
EU Humanitarian Grant
E-mail: eugrantfund@
*