The Computer Wizards

I posted an article earlier today over on Not Rocket Science regarding e-mail scams - but I thought I would expound upon that here...

Let me caveat this post with the fact that - on average - I receive somewhere in the vicinity of 500 to 700 spam/scam/junk e-mail messages a day across multiple e-mail accounts.

So... I received an e-mail from my sister-in-law this morning - and I think I proved to myself that I have been around the Internet too blasted long...

The e-mail started with her saying "I get these scam things all the time but this one is a new low. I wonder how many people will fall for this."

I suppose that the sad part for me is - I have seen soooooooooooo many of the e-mail scams that I have become fairly numb to their contents - however this one struck a chord with me as well...

The E-mail reads as follows:
"Hello am Sgt Joey Jones, I am an American soldier with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in IRAQ for the United States, we have $25,000,000.00, that is in our Po ssession and we are ready to move it out of the country.The Money is part of the one we seized from late Saddam Hussein, but was not declared. My colleague and I need a good partner someone we can trust to actualize this Venture,but we are moving it through Diplomatic way to your house directly. Your share is 40% while 60% is for me and my colleague. Sincerely, Sgt Joey Jones."

Now anyone that bothers to REALLY look at this e-mail can tell it's a scam from the word "go" - but let me break it down for those who can't tell...
First - it came from "augusto.petrucci@fastwebnet.it" - ummmmm so yeah - THAT looks like "Joey Jones" - NOT! For those who don't know how to break down an e-mail address - anything that comes after the @ sign is the domain that the e-mail came from. To break it down further - the fact that the domain ends in ".it" tells me it came from ITALY!
Next, we look at the salutation part - "Hello am Sgt Joey Jones" - ok - I could buy off on a typo or two - but really??? The list of typos/grammatical errors in this e-mail is extensive. Add to that the fact that someone who claims to have stolen a large sum of money (that is what seizing money from Saddam Hussein's assets would be) is willing to give you 40% of it - this doesn't scream "SCAM!" to you??? Some stranger wants to make you a partner in their crime - and you think this is a GOOD thing??? And then - to add insult to injury - they claim to be a US SOLDIER???!!!

Folks - let me just say this - I spent 9 years serving in the Army. I am a Desert Shield/Storm veteran. To see someone masquerading as a member of the US Military Forces AND bragging about stealing large sums of money from countries that we are fighting to liberate and protect? This makes me so mad I could chew nails and spit bullets...

Even putting aside all of the above information - let's look at this from another perspective... If some stranger came up to you - on the street - and offered you 40% of 25 million that they just stole - would you take it???

I guess the sad point here is that there really ARE people that we all know and love that WOULD fall for something like this. Not because they are stupid - but because they simply lack the experience of spending many years on the Internet. So please, please, please - if you go out and buy Mom and Dad, or Grandma, or some other person, a computer - take the time to educate some of our "less than Internet savvy" family and friends about this and other scams that abound on the Internet today.
If nothing else, teach them how to research this stuff using sites like Snopes.

In case this is my last post before the Holidays - Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Good Kwanza - and whatever other holiday I may have missed - and a great New Year!