Liberian Gold Mine Scam

An approach from someone claiming to be an official at the Liberian Land Authortity wishing you to receive and look after some gold. This has every sign of being a scam...

E-Mail received:

Date: 20/10/2026, 13:20

From: Gaye Tnunah mailing@lla.gov.lr

To: [Name redacted]

Reply to: gaye.tnunah@lla.gov.lr

Subject: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

Hello Sir,

I am Gaye Tnunah. I am a government official who works with the Liberia Land Authority (LLA). Please take this message very seriously.

We have a gold mine and are looking for partners to work with us. Our partner's role is simply to receive the gold and keep it until further instructions. We will cover the operational costs.

If you would like to know more details about my proposal, please let me know. I would prefer that you reply with your WhatsApp number for direct communication, as I am always on the move and might miss your email.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah
Address: Ashmun & Gurley Streets, Monrovia, Liberia
Email: gaye.tnunah@lla.gov.lr

Notes: The email appears to come from a genuine Liberian government email account gaye.tnunah@lla.gov.lr but sender email addresses can be spoofed or faked. Examination of the source code and the headers suggest that the email was routed through a brazillian server... srv01.juniornet.psi.br which would be doubtful for an email being sent from a genuine liberian government email account.

The wording is both authoratative "Please take this message very seriously." and matter of fact "We have a gold mine", many of us have one, mine is on my allotment.

Wishing to communicate by WhatsApp is a redflag for any official government business as there is no "paper trail"

I reply requesting more information, I tell "Gaye" that I am unable to utilise Whats App on my phone. I may be doing a bit of "scam baiting" but cannot afford to subscribe to a separate sim card to use for communicating with scammers and have no intention of revealing my regulat number.

I have searched online and there is a Gaye Tnunah listed as the Special Assistant to the Chairman at the Liberian Land Authority (LLA). The LLA is located at the address in Monrovia given in the email. The truth of this information does not mean that the person contacting you is Gaye Tninah or has any connection with the LLA.

I do not have to wait long for a response setting out the arrangements...

E-Mail received:

Date: 21/10/2026, 17:26

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com

To: [Name redacted]

Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

Hi [Name redacted],

I would like to present you with two options.

Option 1: We will cover all costs, and the gold will be delivered to you. We will take responsibility for selling it. Once we have a buyer near your region, we will inform the buyer to that the pickup is at your location, and a middleman will collect the gold from you and deliver it to the buyer. Your commission is 10%. However, the quantity will be limited.

Option 2: If you are able to visit our vault in Kenya, you can come with your own testing equipment to confirm the purity of the gold. You can also melt the gold. You can take as much gold as you want, as long as you are able to cover the export tax of 7%, which will be paid directly to the government. This will ensure a smooth export. Once the gold arrives at your location, you will be responsible for sales. After the sale, you will deduct the 7% tax you have paid, and we will take the cost price of $120k per kg. The profit from the sales will be shared equally.

I think you should go with the first option because it means you don't have to involve your finances.

Please let me know your choice, and if you have any questions, you can ask me.

I will send you photos and videos of the gold, including the ownership certificate and origin certificate, after we have a clear understanding of where this is heading.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah

Notes: Note movement to an outlook.com email address, easier for the scammers than having to spoof the sender address each email.

I quickly respond Option 1. I am expecting that this scam will turn out to be a classic 419 Advanced Fee scam where I will be asked to pay fees to cover gold transfer expenses... custom dues, clearance certificates and the like, we will see.

Another quick response...

Sent: 22/10/2026, 18:31

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com

To: [Name and email address redacted]

Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

[Name redacted],

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your job and anything that will help us know you better.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah

Notes:This is the fist time I have been "interviewed" to be a scam victim! I respond with my fake identity details which include a fictitious job.

E-mail received...

Sent: 23/10/2026, 07:25

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com

To: [Name and email address redacted]

Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

[Name redacted]

Thank you for the introduction.

The first option is very straightforward. We cover the cost of the operation, and your role is just to store the gold until our buyer picks it up from you. You are the storage. We will arrange another partner who will be the middleman. This will ensure that the buyer does not deal directly with you or know your identity. Your commission is 10%. You are not responsible for the sale of the gold. Your role is purely storage. The gold will be delivered to you in the United Kingdom, and our delivery agent gets paid on delivery. Since your finance will not be involved, we will send you some money in cash which will cover the payment for the delivery. The amount will depend on the total gold.

We have had situations whereby our partner received some payment from the sale of gold into their account and they had issues with the bank due to the large payment. To avoid this type of situation, we would like to know your capacity so that we can determine the amount of gold sale that can go into your account at a time. To help us determine your capacity, please let me know how much money you have in your savings account. This information will be helpful. It will ensure we work according to your capacity.

Finally, we would like to take our money out of the UK in cash. Once payment is made into your account, you will find a way to slowly get the money out of your bank in cash. If you find this task difficult, then we will have to involve some partners to help you with this task.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah

Notes: This email leaves me puzzled... They talk of paying me 10% then talk is of getting their money out in cash and that I will find a way of slowly getting the money out of my bank in cash. Are they wishing me to act as a "Money mule"?

I send an email hoping for clarification as to whether 10% is to be paid presumably into my account (it never will of course) or if the entire proceeds of the sale of the gold are to pass through my account with me retaining 10% (again a fictional scenario)

A response comes very quickly...

Sent: 23/10/2026, 11:19

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com

To: [Name and Email address redacted]

Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

[Name redacted]

In option 1, your role is to act as the storage. We give you the gold, you store it until we have a buyer, then we pick it up from you. You will take a 10% commission for acting as our storage.

Once the gold is sold, payment from the sale will go into your account, or it will be made in cash. Let us assume the payment is sent to your bank account; you will have to get the money out of your account because we will take it in cash.

I am suggesting that we would like to take our 90% in cash.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah

Notes; So they wish a money trail that does not lead back to them. So I would be the recipient of the gold and the person who receives the money, there would be no trail as the money leaves me as it would be in cash. A scenario which if implemented would leave me as the "fall guy" for receiving stolen gold and the proceeds of that gold. However I don't believe there is any gold but will follow the classic 419 scam with advanced fees asked of me.

I reply thanking "Gaye" for the clarification and asking how much gold we are talking of... is it £1 million, about 10Kg. Fancy a £1 million deposit to my bank account and withdrawing in small amounts £900,000 of it. Knowing UK banking regulations many many questions would be asked.

E-mail received...

Sent: 23/10/2026, 13:08

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com

To: [Name and email address redacted]

Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

[Name redacted]

Like I said, we need to know your capacity before can determine the amount of gold to start with. Your financial status determines your capacity. How much do you have in your savings? This will help us determine your capacity. We do not want a situation whereby millions of pounds will be transferred to an account with a couple of hundred pounds as a balance. This will raise a red flag and the bank will begin to question you about the money. I believe you understand what I am trying to avoid here.

Regards,
Gaye Tnunah

Notes: So what figure do I gave them, click the link at the end of this text to see the bank balance I gave them, this bears no relation to my actual financial position. Click link

And a detailed email received where they invite me to meet them in Paris...

Sent: 23/10/2026, 15:05

From: "Gaye Tnunah" gaye.tnunah@outlook.com>

To: [Name and email address redacted]Subject: Re: [Important] Liberian Gold Partnership

[Name redacted],

If we are starting with 200 kg, the 5% delivery fee would be US$1.2 million. The delivery team will receive their cash upon delivery. For this reason, we will send you the delivery fees in cash in advance. This will ensure that you hand over the payment to the delivery team as soon as they deliver the gold. As you can see, we are taking the risk of sending you money for the delivery payment, and we are also sending you 200 kg of gold without any upfront payment. And you are going to earn 2.4m USD.

I would like you to meet with our financial team in Paris. In the meeting, they will discuss with you our mode of transporting cash. Since we are going to be dealing with cash and moving cash across borders, they will show you how we want our money to be transported out of the UK. Once we have sold the gold, the cash will be handed to our financial team, then the cash will be coated with a chemical before being transported out of the UK. This process ensures that the airport scanning machines do not detect the cash.

Please let me know if you are able to attend this vital meeting in Paris. Give me a date, and my men will be there to explain things more clearly. It is going to be a very short meeting. You can return to the UK within a few hours. The meeting is necessary. It is not only about how they will take the cash out of the UK after the sale of the gold, but also how to coordinate the delivery.

Regards,
Gaye

Notes: I reply, I have no passport and suggest they visit me in the UK.

They quickly reply, get a passport.

I respond saying how trying to get an emergency passport will raise all sorts of red flags within the government organisation I claim to work for. I say they need to send me a company invitation to attend a meeting... a "private financial compliance seminar" which will enable the security checks to be bye-passed.

A further brusque email comes from the spammers "You must find way to get your passport. My guys cannot send you any invitation. Get back to me when you have figured a way of getting your passport." I repeat my assetion that I can only obtain a passport through legal routes, "finding a way" is not an answer and suggest that they visit me in the UK.

Finally starting to understand the next email "I understand your situation. Please send me your ID card. I will try to see if I can arrange the meeting in the UK." I send my fake "ID card".

A response comes "The ID you sent are AI generated. You are not being honest. I think we should call of the deal." All is not lost and I challenge the scammers calling them paranoid and unprofessional and saying if they behave like that I want nothing to do with them!

We will see if they come back to me not wishing to actually lose the chance of making money.

Michael Fowler

Potential Communications

Promoting the Christian message over the internet

Liberian Gold Mine Scam

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