Prince Ike Ubandi would like to set the record straight: he is very much alive and is most definitely not giving away 125 million dollars on the Internet. The 31-year-old Ubandi, the great-great-great grandson of Ajaka Ubandi, a prominent 19th Century sultan and mine-owner, has no plans to part with any of his holdings, estimated to be worth over 900 million.

Nevertheless, billions of emails sent around the world over the past decade have named Ubandi as a benefactor in what is known as the “Nigerian 419″ scam. The 419 hoax is a clever phishing expedition where rogue spammers try to lure gullible recipients into sending a “small fee” - typically a couple thousand dollars - in order to claim the multi-million dollar estate of a deceased Nigerian, a prize that does not exist.

“I do not understand this 419 thing,” said the frustrated Ubandi in a phone interview from his loft in Nairobi. “Why are these people using my good name to steal money from stupid Americans? Why can’t they just do normal things like pickpocketing tourists or looting stores? Leave me out of this - I am getting a bad reputation.”

Indeed, as the scam has become so pervasive the prince can no longer send emails or text messages. No one responds to them.

“It is a shame…I cannot even use the Internet anymore,” complained the prince. “I had to close out my email account and my Twitter page. No one writes back to me. They don’t trust me - they all think I am a crook. The Internet is a lonely place for me.”

Despite Ubandi’s efforts to clear his good name, the scam continues to occur at a massive pace, with floods of emails pouring out of internet cafes across the nation, and no relief in sight.