Dearest,

I write to you with sadness in my heart and tears in my eyes.

I have just read that Nigerian fraudsters have learned how to crack Facebook’s security using high-end viruses and the like. They are sending messages posing as friends who are stranded abroad who need money wiring to buy a ticket home.

The trend of criminals moving into social media is because the traditional email scams – including those involving my late father, the former secretary to the Nigerian State Treasury – are becoming ineffective.

Unlike emails, these fake messages are written in good English although are given away by the use of foreign phrasing such as “cell phone” and similar.

I am contacting you so you are aware of these scams, as I fell for one and lost all my life savings. I now have no way to feed the many children in my orphanage. They are hungry and continue to cry through the night. Please you could spare $500 so I can bring a smile of joy to their sad faces.

Peace be with you,

Reverend Jacob Ashley

[Telegraph]