Unlike the other looking-for-money-scams that I typically delete, I was duped and read this one even though the subject line clearly read ***SPAM***. The reason, it was from SGT Perry. I have a soft spot for the military as I served in the US Army on active duty for five years.
Beware of yet another. And this one is getting a little bit more sophisticated. Here we have the scam artists preying on our loyalties and decency in regard to the military. Unlike trying to make a connection with a person from a foreign country, this one strikes a chord at home.
From: SGT PERRY
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2009 10:23 AM
Cc: recipient list not shown:
Subject: ***SPAM***
Hello friend,
I hope my email meets you well. I am in need of your assistance. My name is Sgt Perry Rice. I am in the Engineering military unit here in Ba'qubah in Iraq,we have some amount of funds that we want to move out of the country.
My partners and I need a good partner someone we can trust. It is oil money and legal.Basically since we are working for the government we cannot keep these funds, but we want to transfer and move the funds to you, so that you can keep it for us in your safe account or an offshore account. But we are moving it through Diplomatic means, to send it to your house directly or a bank of your choice using Diplomatic Courier Service.
The most important thing is that can we trust you? Once the funds get to you, you take your 30% out and keep our own 70%. Your own part of this deal is to find a safe place where the funds can be sent to. Our own part is sending it to you.If you are interested i will furnish you with more details.
But the whole process is simple and we must keep a low profile at all times.
Waiting for your urgent response via my private email:
XXXXXXXXX@gmail.com
This business is risk free.
Best Regards,
Sgt Perry Rice
Ira,
Your comment about striking a chord puzzled me a little. The style and wording of the message clearly suggests that "Sgt Perry Rice" does not speak proper English. Switch to "we" in the second half of the forth sentence is the dead giveaway of the scam. Such a trick is common in developing countries to boost one's credibility (as a representative for a group of people). As for the financial side of the message, it is simply laughable. A message in a bottle. If you were stuck in the middle of nowhere with a significant chunk of money, would you reach out to complete strangers and entrust them all of the money?
Posted by: Oleg | April 13, 2009 at 10:43
Oleg...imagine that you are reading your inbox, scanning messages quickly. You notice the from and it says "SGT Perry." This is what happened to me. The name more than anything else pulled me in and prompted me to read the email.
It was different, new, and I got suckered into reading it (smile).
Posted by: Ira Koretsky (The Chief Storyteller®) | April 14, 2009 at 22:21