New version of e-mail scam purports to be from American soldier in Afghanistan
Source: SiliconValley.com
A new e-mail scam from a purported American ``Special Forces Commando'' in Afghanistan who needs help getting terrorist drug money out of the country is making the rounds on the Internet.
The Secret Service says it is the latest incarnation of a fraud scheme that targets hundreds of people each day.
The e-mail starts simply -- a request to respond to the e-mail to get a phone number -- but authorities say it is the first step of a long con that takes in victims looking for easy cash. Other versions of the con involve wiring funds overseas or even traveling to an African nation to claim the nonexistent money.
``The one common link remains with all these letters -- they are always a fraud attempt to steal your money,'' Secret Service Special Agent Brian Deck said Wednesday.
The scam is best known as the ``Nigerian e-mail scam'' or ''419 scam,'' a reference to Nigerian penal code against fraud. Authorities now call it ``advance fee fraud.''
