New twist on an old scam

Look out, Nigeria; Iraq is stealing your scam. I received the following email today allegedly offering me the chance to get my hands on bagfuls of $100 bills from a secret stash of twenty-five million bucks once belonging to Saddam Hussein (I'm certain he had stacks of U.S. currency just laying around one of his palaces that no one discovered before now). Sadly, even though this hoax and its numerous variations have been debunked so widely and for so long that it's hard to believe anyone could still fall for it, some greedy, clueless person probably will be duped into turning over their bank account information to this con artist (and I use the word "artist" loosely):

Hey Buddy,

This mail may not be surprising to you if you have been following current events in the international media with reference to the Middle East and Iraq in particular. I am Sgt Lee Boyd, I am a soldier And photo journalist, serving in the military. I am with the 248th Engineer corp. in the National Guard. I am writing this message from Ar-ramadi in Iraq. We hit Iraq May 2003 and have moved around a few times building up f.o.b. around the western side of the country as well as missions into Baghdad. With attacks by insurgents everyday and car bombs, We Managed to move funds belonging to Saddam Hussein Family. The total amount is Twenty-five Million US dollars in cash, mostly Hundred Dollar bills. We want to move this money out of Iraqi. No strings attached, just help us receive it, Iraq is a war zone although partially ended. We plan on using diplomatic courier to ship the money out in one large silver box, using Diplomatic Immunity. If you are interested I will send you the full details, when you receive this letter signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone/fax numbers for quick response also your contact details. In case you don't accept please do not let me out to the Security and international media as I am giving you this information in total Trust and Confidence. I look forward to your prompt favorable response. Thanks for your understanding.

Yours Respectfully,
Sgt Lee Boyd

So, "Sgt. Boyd", how do you like my "prompt favorable response" by posting it on my blog, sucka? I might also add that I'm especially impressed with your Inappropriate Use of Capital Letters.

Another common fraud is the "sweepstakes" ploy. The victim receives a notice, often originating from a foreign country such as Canada or the Netherlands, that they have won a huge cash prize of a hundred thousand dollars or more in a national lottery. The letter is accompanied by a very genuine-looking check for $1,000 or so. The victim is instructed to cash or deposit the check and send part of the funds back to cover "fees" so that the balance of the prize money can be sent. The "fee" is relatively small compared to the enclosed check, perhaps one or two hundred dollars. Of course, several weeks later the check is returned as bogus and the victim is out the "fee" as well as unpaid check charges from their bank. Amazingly, quite a few people have been taken recently by this scam.

As Will Rogers revised the old idiom, "a fool and his money are soon elected."