post #31
29 June 2005, 10:40 UTC#31
Lol these guys are getting more and more obvious.
As I'm sure your aware, this is a fake. It's an act of fraud commonly known as advance-fee fraud. Its also sometimes called the 419 scam, cos when it first started dudes were writing out of an area of Nigeria where the penal code for this type of scam is 419. It started in the mid 80s when literally thousands of handwritten letters were sent around the world asking for details of the recipients bank account and a few sheets of their headed company notepaper be sent back to the Nigerian capital, Lagos. The letters were often addressed from desperate but insanely rich Nigerian nobles, who needed large sums of illicitly gained money to be transferred in a western bank ccout. In return for playing hose to several million dollars, the letter reciepient would be promised a commission, like 15%. It was really a bite in the dick when the guy handed over their bank details, only to find out a few months later that, suprise suprise, the fraudsters had used the headed notepaper to forge a letter requesting that the bank transfer the enitre balance of the accout to them. MAJOR PWN.
Of course, with email these things became far more advanced. There have been occasions when the letter reciepient was asked to actually meet with people to give over their bank details, and by doing this they can be reassured that the whole things legit. Well, they fly out to say Amsterdam to meet with the people, hand over their bank details, fly home, wait for their commission, then the bank rings and says "why hello. We were wondering why youv withdrawn all your money. Oh, you didnt know? Youv been pwn3d. Shame."
That this comes from Iraq is not suprising, it shows that these guys will use current events to pluck at the heartstrings of stupid people. If you dont reply to it, theyl take it that the address is dormant and they wont bother you again.
As I'm sure your aware, this is a fake. It's an act of fraud commonly known as advance-fee fraud. Its also sometimes called the 419 scam, cos when it first started dudes were writing out of an area of Nigeria where the penal code for this type of scam is 419. It started in the mid 80s when literally thousands of handwritten letters were sent around the world asking for details of the recipients bank account and a few sheets of their headed company notepaper be sent back to the Nigerian capital, Lagos. The letters were often addressed from desperate but insanely rich Nigerian nobles, who needed large sums of illicitly gained money to be transferred in a western bank ccout. In return for playing hose to several million dollars, the letter reciepient would be promised a commission, like 15%. It was really a bite in the dick when the guy handed over their bank details, only to find out a few months later that, suprise suprise, the fraudsters had used the headed notepaper to forge a letter requesting that the bank transfer the enitre balance of the accout to them. MAJOR PWN.
Of course, with email these things became far more advanced. There have been occasions when the letter reciepient was asked to actually meet with people to give over their bank details, and by doing this they can be reassured that the whole things legit. Well, they fly out to say Amsterdam to meet with the people, hand over their bank details, fly home, wait for their commission, then the bank rings and says "why hello. We were wondering why youv withdrawn all your money. Oh, you didnt know? Youv been pwn3d. Shame."
That this comes from Iraq is not suprising, it shows that these guys will use current events to pluck at the heartstrings of stupid people. If you dont reply to it, theyl take it that the address is dormant and they wont bother you again.
