14 DAY TRIAL // Over the past month or so, a new 419 scam has been making the rounds, attempting to trick users into getting involved in all sorts of shady activities.
Kaspersky experts, who have analyzed the bogus emails, entitled “Dollar Investment for the Companys President/Ceo!!! (Confidential),” highlight the fact that such scam messages usually claim to come from a Nigerian prince, or the relatives of a controversial figure.
However, the latest scheme claims to come from US Marine Sgt. Alex Crawford.
“I am Sgt. Alex Crawford, a US Marine Sgt. serving in the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. I am presently in Afghanistan. I have summoned up courage to write you, we managed to move funds that we seized from the sale of opium from the Taliban. The total amount is US$20.5 million in cash, mostly $100 dollar bills,” the email reads.
“We want to move this money to you so that you may invest it for us. No strings attached. We are not businessmen or investors so we need your help. Because of the elections back home we don’t know what the future holds, if we would be staying here longer than planned. The winner could make a drastic change anytime,” it continues.
“So we want to move the funds to you now using diplomatic and military means. Send us your full name and address and what you do for a living and what investment ideas you have for the funds. I will give you 40% of the total amount, 10% for expenses. Then you invest the other 50% for us.”
Users who become mesmerized by the promise of all that money and reply become entangled in a more or less intricate web of lies. At some point, the crooks will most likely ask them to wire a small amount of money that represents transfer costs, or some similar fee.
It’s important for internauts to remember that just because an email appears to come from someone you would probably trust, it’s not less dangerous than ones that come from the CEO of a Nigerian diamond mine.