Hello, my name is Peggy…

Did you ever get one of those 419 Nigerian scam emails? Did you know what to do when you saw it? Of course you did. But evidently, many other people aren’t as smart as you. If I replied, this is probably what I would write . . .

Did you ever get an email like this? Of course you did. And, did you know what to do when you saw it? Of course you did. But evidently, many other people aren’t as smart as you. Would you reply? Maybe, maybe not . . .

QUOTE:

 > Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:24 EDT
 > From: Elizabeth Etters 
 > Subject: PLEASE READ
 > 
 > Dear Friend I am Mrs Elizabeth Etters, a devoted christian. 
 > 
 > I have a foundation/Estate uncompleted worth sum of USD 
 > $2,142,728.00 Dollars and need somebody to help me finish 
 > it because of my health. Everything is available. 
 > Please contact me for more details via email: 
 > e-etters@rogers.com

END QUOTE

Would you reply to this ? Well, maybe …

The reply:

Hello Elizabeth,

Wow. Your note comes as a pretty startling surprise!

My name is Peggy. I’m flattered that you would write me, a person in the U.S., to assist you in such matters. Your estate is worth over 3,837,750,100 — three BILLION in Columbian pesos.

Thank the Lord for sending you to the right person. I do have the know-how to solve your problems — and can fully sympathize with your desires to protect your estate assets in Columbia.

With that kind of money in Columbia, you could live like royalty. But you can never be sure of safety and security in a 3rd world country, particularly right there in the lap of dangerous, murdering, drug cartels.

I can arrange for you to come to the U.S. and enjoy the best medical care in the world. Why fool around in the stinking jungles of Columbia? Of course, in the U.S., two million is really not a lot of money these days — but, it’s just enough to get you out of your predicament.

My mailing address is below — for the modest sum of 20-million pesos, ($ 11,166.58 US) I’ll arrange for immediate pick-up and transport to Puerto Barrio Airport by limo. From there, you’ll be flown to Homestead General Aviation via private jet ambulance. Once in Homestead, another limo will take you to a specialized healthcare facility near Miami. Waiting for you will be immediate health care along with the best immigration attorney available.

Don’t forget your passport. You do have a passport, don’t you?

Thank you so much for contacting me, and for giving me the opportunity to assist you at this stage of your life. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely

Of course I would NEVER send such an email … knowing it would never get to the person who first wrote it — even if it even got anywhere other than the bit bucket. Yes, this is yet another classic fraud email, phishing for money and identity theft.

The first time the “Mrs Elizabeth Etters” scam showed up was in May of 2005, and was posted to a number of very early (now defunct) blogs. It appeared in our spam traps on August 11th, and again on the 26th.

This cybercriminal sent this email through compromised proxy servers in Colombia – 200.80.8.194 – ifxnetworks.com. However, we can be fairly certain that it’s all forged, because its hostname 194.8.80.200.static.host.ifxnw.com.ar. does not exist, and 194.8.80.200 is located near Zurich, even though ifxnw.com.ar is registered to Emerging Networks S.R.L., Buenos Aires, Argentina.

There is another possibility however that the cybercriminal is in Florida, since ifxnetworks.com is registered to Michael Abramowitz in Hollywood, Florida. Go figure!

If it seems too good to believe, it probably is.

Do NOT click or respond to such emails. Delete them from your system all together, and/or report to spam authorities. Tell your friends, and especially the elderly or the youngest email users. They’re the ones most likely to fall prey to such scams.

FBI : Tips for Avoiding Internet Auction Fraud

Sometimes called the Advance-fee fraud

Also called the Nigerian Letter or 419 fraud

Nigerian scams keep evolving By Bob Sullivan Technology correspondent MSNBC

Thanks for reading…

You can also keep up with the efforts to curb spam and cybercrime by reading the news at
Knujon and
HostExploit.com. And, you should
switch to SpamCop and take a stand against spam.