Scam Email Takes A Disturbing New Twist In Light Of The Mortgage Crisis

Photo By John Hoff, September 25

HACC Housing Director Jeff Skrenes is so completely obsessed with mortgages, that sometimes he will say, "Let me show you something funny!" And then he'll share a snippet of audio from the Onion website, or some cheeky parody article...but the subject is still MORTGAGES, MORTGAGES, MORTGAGES.

Well, Jeff was being "classic Jeff" again when he sent me this...

Bearing the subject line "Important Request," the email reads as follows:

I need to request your assistance with transfer of funds of great importance and magnitude. I am minister of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisisis (sic) that caused need for a large transfer of funds of $800 billion dollars US.

I cannot say with certainty which lobbyist will replace me on 20 January 2009, which is the reason I must need that you place the $800 billion dollars US in your bank account until such a time is complete. This transaction is 100 percent safe and of no risk to you!

We cannot transfer funds directly due to large media attention and current unforeseen government oversight, due to which we are now under constant surveylance. (sic) My family lawyer instructed me to find a trustworthy taxpayer in which we may place utmost confidence.

Please respond with your Social Security number and account numbers for all banking, retirement and college savings accounts, as well as where in house all emergency cash-on-hand may be, furthermore similar information for all children or grandchildren, and be willing to waive all legal rights and oversight for $800 billion dollars US.

Upon receive of these information (sic) I will send you instructions of safeguards to guarantee your commission for assistance.

Sincerely,

Minster of Treasury Henry Paulson

(Oh, by the way, check out this cool website dedicated to messing with the heads of the "Nigerian bank scammers." (Click here) I confess I've done more than my fair share of this kind of thing...in fact, I once managed to "take out" a fax machine operated by some of the scammers by sending an extraordinarily long document late at night, running the machine out of paper for several hours.

These days, I don't really have time to mess with the Nigerian bank scammers as much as I would like, (I'm hoping to train in my 11-year-old computer geek in the near future) but I still make a point of answering email solicitations by saying stuff like, "Wait, explain more...I'm confused...who are you, send me some proof, blah blah blah.")