De Master Yoda
07-26-2008, 10:21 AM
Hope Star Editor: Hope Star Online Newspaper.
With local residents half-a-world away on duty in Iraq with the Arkansas Army National Guard 39th Combat Brigade, the use of e-mail communications has proven comforting for military families. But, there is a downside in a pernicious variation on an old scam that is appearing in Arkansas.
Law enforcement has long been familiar with what is known as the “Nigerian Bank Scam,” in which a seemingly distraught Nigerian bank official or lawyer contacts someone by e-mail advising that he represents the estate of an someone who has left a great deal of money unclaimed.
The supposed official proposes that in order to get the money to the heirs of the estate, he must have the help of a third party, and he asks that if the e-mail recipient will agree, he will transfer an enormous sum of money to them for them to hold.
The supposed official promises a hefty participation in the proceeds, and asks that the recipient of the e-mail reply with pertinent banking and personal information. Once received, the e-mail recipient never hears any more about the money until his or her bank accounts have been drained, and identity stolen.
“They're countless,” Arkansas Attorney General's spokesman Gabe Holstrom said Thursday. “I had another variation today purporting to be the IRS.”
The newest variation takes the form of an e-mail from a supposed soldier in Iraq, a Lt. Stephen D. Moralis, who claims to have been part of a unit which discovered a safe filled with cash.
“After the fall of Saddam Hussein, We discovered various amounts of cash running into Millions of Dollars, which we returned to the relevant authorities here in Iraq,” the e-mail states.
After explaining that soldiers have been killed and injured in the subsequent fighting by insurgents, “Moralis” explains his supposed situation.
“During one of our routine operations we came across a safe that contained the total sum of $61,000,000 (Sixty one Million Us Dollars) that belonged to a member of the fallen regime, which I believe were stashed away from the country?s treasury for hi Personal use,” the e-mail states. “Upon the discovery of this sum, it was agreed by my team of soldiers, that the find be undisclosed and shared amongst us.”
“Moralis” goes on to explain that some of the funds were surrendered to authorities “....so we don?t attract any suspicion on us.”
He, then, offers a website link for the recipient to “read about similar events;” then, he offers to share part of $8 million which he claims to have kept and needs help in smuggling it from Iraq.
“I will have this project shared 50-50 between us, all you have to do is just help me receive this funds for investment when moved out of Iraq,” the e-mail states.
“Moralis” purports to be able to move the funds to Canada, Australia, Britain, and the U.S. through the use of “diplomatic immunity.” But, he also purports to need an investment partner until he returns from Iraq.
“If you can find it in your heart to help, I will send you full details, my duty now is to find a good partner that I can trust and that will assist me in investing the funds till we come out of this war,” the e-mail states.
“Moralis” then asks the e-mail recipient to send him a return e-mail “signifying your interest including your telephone/fax numbers for quick communication.”
Once in possession of legitimate telephone, fax numbers and the recipient's legitimate e-mail account, that information can be used independently, Holstrom explained.
“There are a lot of variations of that scam,” he said. “Oh, yeah, we've seen this one.”
He said that when scammers send a so-called web link somewhere in the e-mail, as with the so-called informational link in the “Moralis” e-mail, the recipient becomes a victim.
“They're so high-tech that if you click on it, it sends you to a different e-mail address,” Holstrom said.
Once there, the victim's e-mail is apparently appropriated without their knowledge.
Arkansas National Guard Public Information Officer Captain Chris Heathscott said one of the first things to be aware of when receiving e-mails from someone claiming to be in the military is the form of the e-mail address.
“The e-mail address itself ‘us.army.net' is simply to lure people into believing it looks like ours,” Capt. Heathscott said.
He said the “.net” designation is not legitimate.
“Anybody that I'd encounter, I'd let them know that it's obviously a scam,” he said.
Heathscott said that such scams are typically turned over to the Arkansas Attorney General's Office for investigation.
“The old adage is: ‘If it's too good to be true, it usually isn't,'” Holstrom said. “I say that all the time.”
He said the AG's office has a public protection department to deal with such scams, but “there are just so many of them, the most effective way to fight them is to educate people.”
With local residents half-a-world away on duty in Iraq with the Arkansas Army National Guard 39th Combat Brigade, the use of e-mail communications has proven comforting for military families. But, there is a downside in a pernicious variation on an old scam that is appearing in Arkansas.
Law enforcement has long been familiar with what is known as the “Nigerian Bank Scam,” in which a seemingly distraught Nigerian bank official or lawyer contacts someone by e-mail advising that he represents the estate of an someone who has left a great deal of money unclaimed.
The supposed official proposes that in order to get the money to the heirs of the estate, he must have the help of a third party, and he asks that if the e-mail recipient will agree, he will transfer an enormous sum of money to them for them to hold.
The supposed official promises a hefty participation in the proceeds, and asks that the recipient of the e-mail reply with pertinent banking and personal information. Once received, the e-mail recipient never hears any more about the money until his or her bank accounts have been drained, and identity stolen.
“They're countless,” Arkansas Attorney General's spokesman Gabe Holstrom said Thursday. “I had another variation today purporting to be the IRS.”
The newest variation takes the form of an e-mail from a supposed soldier in Iraq, a Lt. Stephen D. Moralis, who claims to have been part of a unit which discovered a safe filled with cash.
“After the fall of Saddam Hussein, We discovered various amounts of cash running into Millions of Dollars, which we returned to the relevant authorities here in Iraq,” the e-mail states.
After explaining that soldiers have been killed and injured in the subsequent fighting by insurgents, “Moralis” explains his supposed situation.
“During one of our routine operations we came across a safe that contained the total sum of $61,000,000 (Sixty one Million Us Dollars) that belonged to a member of the fallen regime, which I believe were stashed away from the country?s treasury for hi Personal use,” the e-mail states. “Upon the discovery of this sum, it was agreed by my team of soldiers, that the find be undisclosed and shared amongst us.”
“Moralis” goes on to explain that some of the funds were surrendered to authorities “....so we don?t attract any suspicion on us.”
He, then, offers a website link for the recipient to “read about similar events;” then, he offers to share part of $8 million which he claims to have kept and needs help in smuggling it from Iraq.
“I will have this project shared 50-50 between us, all you have to do is just help me receive this funds for investment when moved out of Iraq,” the e-mail states.
“Moralis” purports to be able to move the funds to Canada, Australia, Britain, and the U.S. through the use of “diplomatic immunity.” But, he also purports to need an investment partner until he returns from Iraq.
“If you can find it in your heart to help, I will send you full details, my duty now is to find a good partner that I can trust and that will assist me in investing the funds till we come out of this war,” the e-mail states.
“Moralis” then asks the e-mail recipient to send him a return e-mail “signifying your interest including your telephone/fax numbers for quick communication.”
Once in possession of legitimate telephone, fax numbers and the recipient's legitimate e-mail account, that information can be used independently, Holstrom explained.
“There are a lot of variations of that scam,” he said. “Oh, yeah, we've seen this one.”
He said that when scammers send a so-called web link somewhere in the e-mail, as with the so-called informational link in the “Moralis” e-mail, the recipient becomes a victim.
“They're so high-tech that if you click on it, it sends you to a different e-mail address,” Holstrom said.
Once there, the victim's e-mail is apparently appropriated without their knowledge.
Arkansas National Guard Public Information Officer Captain Chris Heathscott said one of the first things to be aware of when receiving e-mails from someone claiming to be in the military is the form of the e-mail address.
“The e-mail address itself ‘us.army.net' is simply to lure people into believing it looks like ours,” Capt. Heathscott said.
He said the “.net” designation is not legitimate.
“Anybody that I'd encounter, I'd let them know that it's obviously a scam,” he said.
Heathscott said that such scams are typically turned over to the Arkansas Attorney General's Office for investigation.
“The old adage is: ‘If it's too good to be true, it usually isn't,'” Holstrom said. “I say that all the time.”
He said the AG's office has a public protection department to deal with such scams, but “there are just so many of them, the most effective way to fight them is to educate people.”