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There have been a few scam messages circulating lately that use the war in Syria as a backdrop, but not as many as I would have expected so far. War zone scams in general are quite common, like this one that claims to be from “Mrs Baha Hussein,” who wants you to invest her fortune.
Subject: OUT OF SYRIA
From: “Mrs Baha Hussein” dgitb@ajk.gov.pk
Date: Mon, 29 Feb 2016
Reply-To: mrsbahahussein2020@gmail.com
Desk of Mrs Baha Hussein
Syrian Petroleum Company
Dummar Province Expransion Square ,
Island 19- Building 32
P.O.BOX 2849 or 3378
Middle East, Damascus
Syria.
A very good day to you. We have an immediate business proposal that involves US$198,000,000.00 Million Dollars which we will like to invest under your custody. Once I receive a message from you notifying me of your interest, the details of the transaction/the terms and condition of sharing regarding the business would then be brought to your knowledge.
Your urgent response will be highly appreciated and will swiftly bring us to the commencement of the transaction. We hope to conclude. This transaction within 10-14 working days do not forget to contact me on the receipt of this e-mail address. And please you have to maintain absolute confidentiality as regards this pending transaction. You have to send me your phone and fax numbers too so I can contact you.
I urgently await your response. By email.(mrsbahahussein@gmail.com)
Best Regards,
Mrs Baha Hussein
Here at the Scam Hunter website (scamhunter.org) we document scam messages like the one above in order to help people around the world stay safe online. Please share our scam alerts with your friends and coworkers today.
The wars in the Middle East are tragic, and (sad to say) tragic war zones attract scammers who try to make money from other people’s suffering. (See more examples of war zone scams.) You don’t have to be able to read German to recognize the message below as a standard advance fee fraud message. “Marwan Abadi” claims to have a fortune locked away in a security vault, and if you’ll only help him get out of Syria he’ll cut you in on part of the money:
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2015
From: jennybuchgraber@networld.at
Subject: Ich schreibe Ihnen, um Ihnen privat meine Qual in Syrien mitzuteilen
Ich schreibe Ihnen, um Ihnen privat meine Qual in Syrien mitzuteilen.
Mein Name ist Marwan Abadi, syrischer Staatsbürger. Mein Vater wurde in einer Stadt in Syrien getötet und sein Unternehmen niedergebrannt, weil er Rebellen unterstützt hat (der Syrische Nationalrat), der aktuell dafür kämpft, Syrer aus der Staatsgewalt von Präsident Bashar Al-Assad zu befreien.
Ich habe meinen Vater Sheik Abu Ibrahim Abadi verloren und seine Firma in Damaskus und das meiste des Familienvermögens, da die loyale Gewalt zu Präsident Bashar Al-Assad behauptet hat, dass mein Vater die Rebellen unterstützt und finanziert. So musste ich mit meiner Frau und Kindern flüchten und bin nun in einem Flüchtlingscamp in Syrien. Vor seinem Tod hat mein Vater 11,8 Millionen Euro (elf Millionen acht hundert tausend Euro) bei einer Sicherheitsfirma hinterlegt. Das ist das Einzige was mir und meiner Familie geblieben ist. Wir suchen nach einer Möglichkeit nach Geschäftspartnern in Ausland, denn in Syrien scheinen die politischen Unruhen für lange Zeit anzudauern.
Wir wollen investieren und von dem Geld in Ihrem Land Gebrauch machen, vielleicht dorthin übersiedeln bis die Krise in Syrien endgültig beendet ist.
Es gibt zwei Möglichkeiten wie die Überweisung geschehen kann. Das Kapital kann auf Ihr Konto überwiesen werden oder in bar von einem registrierten Diplomaten in Ihr Land gesendet werden. Ich kann versichern, dass die Überweisung reibungslos verläuft. Bitte teilen Sie mir mit, mit welcher Methode Sie mit uns arbeiten wollen, sodass wir mit den Maßnahmen beginnen können.
Sie können mich gerne jederzeit kontaktieren (abadimarwan01@gmail.com)
Lassen Sie mich hier enden, in der Hoffnung, eine rasche Antwort von Ihnen zu erhalten.
Here’s a general translation of the text (from German scam to English scam):
I am writing to you privately share my agony in Syria.
My name is Marwan Abadi, Syrian citizen. My father was in a Killed city in Syria and burned his company because he rebels support has (the Syrian National Council), currently fighting for Syrians to exempt from the state power of President Bashar Al-Assad.
I have my father Sheik Abu Ibrahim lost Abadi and his company in Damascus and most of the family’s wealth, because the loyal violence President Bashar Al-Assad has claimed that my father the rebels supported and financed. So I had to flee with my wife and kids and am now in a refugee camp in Syria. Before his death, my father 11.8 million Euro (11,000,008 hundred thousand euros) at a Security company deposited. That’s the only thing that me and my family has remained. We are looking for an opportunity for business partners in Abroad, because in Syria appear to the political turmoil for a long time to persist.
We want to invest and make use of the money in your country,maybe there are moving to the crisis in Syria is permanently discontinued.
There are two ways how the transfer can be done. The capital can be transferred to your bank account or in cash by a registered Diplomats are sent to your country. I can assure you that the Transfer proceeds smoothly. Please tell me, with what Method you want to work with us so we could start with the measures can.
You can feel free to contact me at any time (abadimarwan01@gmail.com)
Let me end here, in the hope of a quick response from you to obtain.
Here at the ScamHunter.org website we document online scams like this one to help people around the world avoid getting caught in the fraudsters’ traps. Share our scam alerts with your friends and family today.
Things have apparently gotten so bad for him and the Syrian Army that now he doesn’t have time to type actual messages, so he just puts the whole communique in the subject line.
Subject: Guten Tag, mein Name ist COL WAFA ALHALABI ADEL, COMMANDER in der syrischen army.I Deine Hilfe benötigen, Mittel zur Zeit beim Roten Kreuz unit.i Ihre ehrliche Antwort erwarten , also kann ich die vollständigen Details geben Grüße Col.Wafa Alhalabi Adel.
To: Recipients col.waalhalabi09@gmail.com
From: “Col.Wafa Alhalabi Adel'” fiks-heinz@t-online.de
Date: Thu, 21 May 2015
Reply-To: col.wafa985@hotmail.com
You don’t have to be able to read German to recognize this as a standard scam message, even though it’s an abbreviated one. The only thing “Col. Wafa” is interested in is getting you on the hook so he can pick your pocket.
Please be aware that scammers often use the names of real people and legitimate businesses in their fraudulent messages. Why? To lend an air of legitimacy to their criminal enterprise. Just because the name of a real person or a real bank or a real government agency appears in a scam message that doesn't mean the person or organization in question is involved in the scam in any way. The scammers are just stealing these names in order to make themselves look legitimate.