New kind of phishing scam

There's a new variation of the "advance fee" scam making the rounds. A friend of mine caught this one in his inbox and nearly responded. Since it's being propagated via spam, like other 419 schemes, I thought it worth mentioning here.

The scam works like this: You get a letter from someone overseas who wants to reserve a room in your B&B, hire you as a guide or interpeter, or otherwise engage your services. The scam is targeted directly to you; the scammer is obviously perusing on-line advertisements.

Hello,
I am Bishop Mensah Opoko, an English speaking clergy from Ghana with the Synagogue church of Christ. I will be coming over to UK: London on holidays from the 1st of August to the 10th of August 2005 for a 10 day Vacation with my Albanian wife, daughter and son of the ages of 3 and 5 respectively. My wife Rev.Mrs Cindy Opoko only speaks Albanian and my native language, because her mum happens to come from Ghana.
We will require the services of a Albanian interpreter for 5 hours,12 noon to 5pm daily although this might be flexibly based on your availability for 10 days because I will not always be with them on most occasions due to other church functions which I most attend.
We will like to pay in advance of our visit so she can be assured of an interpreter during her shopping and sightseeing because this is her first visit. An early reply will be appreciated. Please acknowledge if you can offer this service and give me a price quote, and immediately call me on my direct line (+233244-0243879257 and +233244-033930 ) as soon as you receive this email, so we can conclude on all other arrangements ASAP, as time is not really on our side.

Remain Blessed,
His Lordship,
Bishop Mensah Opoko.

Spiritual Director,
Synagogue Church Of Christ,
10 Nkuruma Avenue, Community 6,
Tema,Ghana.

Tel.+233244-033930 or
+233244-0243879257

The scammer agrees to your price, and sends you a certified check or money order for the correct amount plus some extra, maybe $3000 or so. They ask you to forward the excess on to their travel agent to pay for tickets or some such. Since you've already deposited the check, and the bank assures you it's good, you figure why not? I mean, a certified check or money order is as good as cash, right? Nope.

For some reason, the customer can't make it (family emergency, you know). If you're really unlucky, you're convinced to refund the balance. Later (as much as two years later), it turns out the check was fraudulent, and the amount is deducted back out of your bank account.

A good source of information on this scam can be found at the Chartered Institute of Linguists discussion board. Apparently a lot of interpreters have been getting hit with this one.

It's worth noting that the 033930 phone number seems to be a constant in these scams.