419 Scammer Claims To Be U.S. Soldier

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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:55 pm

419 Scammer Claims To Be U.S. Soldier

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com

April 27, 2007

The latest incarnation of the so-called �419� email scam features an American soldier in Iraq, rather than a deposed African prince, in need of help in moving a large sum of money to the U.S.

�Good day,� the scammer begins, perhaps not realizing that�s not exactly how U.S. soldiers routinely greet people. �My name in Donald Smith Fitte, an American soldier serving in the military of the 3rd infantry division in Iraq.�

The email claims the sergeant and his confederates have been hiding $25 million in Saddam�s loot since 2003, but with the new U.S. troop surge, he expresses concern the stash might be uncovered. Therefore, he needs help getting the money out of the country.

That, of course, is where you come in.

The email promises a generous percentage of the cash if the email recipient will agree to accept it. From here, the scam works like any other advance fee scheme.

Victims will be asked to provide bank account information for a direct deposit. Or they may be asked to send money, $500 to $2,500 at a time, to facilitate the alleged transfer.

Even though these "419" email scams have been around almost as long as the Internet, people still fall for them. It has been estimated that there are well over 250,000 scammers involved in 419 scams worldwide and that they reap in over $1.5 billion annually.

The average victim pays out about $20,000.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 12:00 am

The latest version? Nope, one of my very first baits was a soldier sitting on millions of dollars in Iraq Laughing

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 1:40 am

That was one of my first letters too.

Personally, I think the lads shouldn't have watched Three Kings... Confused

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 5:23 am

I wouldn't mind spending a little time with one of these guys.

Lets just say that I have a certain "familiarity with the U. S. Military"

Always,
B. A. Ware

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 5:32 am

I found turning it around it became a great baiting character, really handy being on covert operations in some undisclosed location and only given limited access to a shared laptop a few times a week.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7101 Location: Yes

B. A. Ware wrote:

I wouldn't mind spending a little time with one of these guys.

Lets just say that I have a certain "familiarity with the U. S. Military"

Won't do you any good -- in fact it only hurts your bait. The more you press on their military background, the more the lad ducks and weaves until he ultimately twigs on you.

If you bait them, you have to heap on the praise for the good job they're doing (as much as it might sicken you) and ask lots of questions about Iraq or Afghanistan (and then believe whatever they tell you).

And instead of "Good day" -- I usually see "Hey Buddy"... Wink

Not quite a Newb Joined: 31 Oct 2006 Posts: 63

i was baiting 'fletcher davids' a while back, an american soldier fighting in iraq Laughing

he dropped me though after i slapped him for sending a badly photoshoped image Confused

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 3:35 pm

Tell him you're in Iraq too and you're also treasure hunting. Send him pictures of George Clooney and tell him that's you. Then you can send him stills from "Three Kings."

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 9:45 pm

I've got a neat pic which I have reused, it's a not to clear shot of a soldier standing in a shipping container throwing what appears to be money in the air.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 6

I don't like it when scammers pose as soldiers [of any nation]. I think it makes the soldiers look bad.

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 10:42 pm

^^^ It's no real difference to posing as a father, mother, son, daughter brother, sister or any other of the groups they single out to pose as. They just make humanity in general rather sick.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 11:53 am

This one here seems to be the latest incarnation,

Quote:

Dear Sir,
I have managed to sneak out this email to you from my confinement here in one of our military bases in Germany.My name is Col.Charles Telma of The US Army. I was based in Iraq until recently,I was sent back to Germany because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal in which I was unfortunately implicated. I am still under House Arrest,pending the outcome of investigation......................

Who is his target for this i wonder? Does he believe the Col. is some sort of hero in America? Rolling Eyes

The rest of this and 2 other Iraq scams can be found here:
http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=109138

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 12:21 pm

My first soldier forgot to include in his mail as to how he came by the $25mill. I had to write and ask him if he found it lying by the roadside. Very sloppy scamming but they have evolved.
My latest soldier is impressive. I know little about US corps but this lot sounds too much.

Quote:

My name is SGT David L.Banker .I am a 27 years old US ARMY currently serving in IRAQ.I am assigned to the 2nd Battalion,505th Parachute lnfantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft Bragg. N.C.

I guess if your parachute fails you become infantry.
I wonder if he does underwater panel beating as well Laughing

(Aussie service slang)

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 12:36 pm

Seems like someone was educating the Lad... or over-educating.

did he slip in any other military terms?

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