(Online scams) The US Army wanted to send me a box full of terrorist money, but I ruined everything

So this is what happened, a couple of days ago I received yet another spam email – only this time I decided to reply. There was something in the text that was particularly promising, or maybe I was just bored.

Anyway, what started was a 4-days exchange full of romance, intrigue and deception. I was publishing everything on my Facebook in real time and my friends an I had a lot of fun commenting the events in real time, and deciding the strategy together.

This is not the first time I do it, either. It follows that time when the Illuminati wanted me to join them, or when an African Witch Doctor promised to solve all my problems. The too long; didn’t read version is: these emails are all scams, done by a bunch of kids in their basements somewhere, and sadly they generate a lot of money, which means a lot of people fall for them. Please don’t. And if you find this article while doing some fact-checking and it saves you from potentially falling victim of a scam: cheers to you. Mission accomplished, team.

How it all started

Re, Sgt Monica Brown

Hi Dear My names are.Sgt Monica Brown, i’m among the US Special Force
Team deployed to Afghanistan. i would be pleased to keep in touch with
you over evacuation of  $3.700.000.00, as my team are among the
selected unit to join the US intervention in Syria, please get back to
me for more details of the deal and to let you know how the payment
will be made and in case you have any reasons to reject this offer,
please delete all my email conversation with you because any leakage
of this information will be very dangerous to me considering my
position in services.

Thanks from
Sgt.  Monica Brown

To which I promptly replied:

Sgt Monica Brown,
thank you for choosing me! I would be very interested in the cooperation. What can I do to support your operation?
I believe it’s extremely important and I am ready to do my patriot duty in helping to evacuate this immense cash reserve. 
I am keeping this conversation strictly confidential and I trust you will do the same. 
greetings

The die was cast! The game was on! The next morning, I received this long message (from another address):

Thanks for your understanding and willingness to assist me secure this
fund in your care .The most important thing I need from you is your
honesty as the funds will be in your care, I believe you will not and
never betrayed or hurt me, and you don’t need to meet your bank or
anyone. The box that contains the fund will be delivered directly to
your home by the United Nations diplomatic  delivery agent.

Dearest , i don’t have any family, i lost my parents in car accident
when i was 8 years old, after the death of my family, i live with my
Uncle  who is a military personnel that led to my engagement in the
Marine, but he died in Syria chemical weapons attack on 20th August
2014,  during an assignment. Dear, I hope I have made everything clear
to  you and I believe I am safe in your hand. Nobody knows about this
matter. Please, I am asking you for my safety to keep this matter as
top secret between us.

 I want to inform you about something very important to share with
you, during one of our rescue missions with my Military team we came
across a safe box that contained a huge amount of money that belongs
to the revolutionaries  repels  in  Afghanistan fighting  the
government forces  . I believe they want to use the money to buy
weapons and ammunition for war .  After we discovered the fund it was
agreed by all our military parties in that mission (war front) that
the money would be shared between us.

Out of the total funds my share was $ 3.700.000.00(Three Million Seven
Hundred Thousand USD ), right now I seek your assistance to evacuate
my share of the money, which is $ 3.700.000.00 to your place as
quickly as possible, because my team are among the selected unit to
join the US intervention in Syria, dear if you can assure me that my
funds will be safe in your care until I complete my service here in
the next few months, there are no risks involved. We  can have a
deal.

 Dear, due to my position in service, I kept the funds in a treasure
box and deposited it at the UN Security office here as family items
and due to my position in services, I cannot transfer the fund because
all our activities are intact beeing monitoring by the government,
also our military communication here is only radio message and
internet facilities. so to avoid losing the funds here due to the
level of crisis every day, I have made a solid arrangements with a UN
Security office, they agreed and promised to send their diplomats
delivery  agent to deliver the treasure box to any destination of my
choice

I need your urgent assistance and as you assist me receive and secure
the funds, I shall be compensating you with 20% of the total fund,
dear I plead you not to disclose this deal to a third party, if you
have any reasons to reject this offer, please delete all my email
conversation with you because any leakage of this information will be
very dangerous to me considering my position in services.

 I pray and believe you will not betray my trust, take me as your own
blood  sister or your business partner as the fund will be invested
under your control. Although you may wonder why I am so soon revealing
myself to you without knowing you so deeply, it is better I reveal it
to you and you help me, than losing the funds here out of my
ignorance, I have so much fear in me due to I have survived two bomb
attacks here, and now i have been selected to Syria mission.

Greetings   from
Sgt.  Monica

All this drama and creativity really sucked me in. This was my next reply:

hello again dear Sgt Monica,
your personal story was really sad and touched me deeply. Please tell me what can I do to help you?I really think you need all the support you can get, to help secure the Three Million SevenHundred Thousand USD you found in the box.
This will be an important business transaction and so before we proceed, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions. I have concerns regarding the whole operation. Can you please clarify:
– can you be sure the money was owned by the revolutionaries? that sounds like a lot of money. What if it was owned by the normal Afghanistan people and their families? – also, the box contained exactly three million seven hundred thousand dollars? No spare change? That sounds a bit odd and raised my suspicion.  

I hope you understand that my concerns are not out of distrust, but a real feeling of compassion for your story. I want to make sure I can fully trust you by sharing my fears and I hope this will be the beginning of a good friendship. 
in faith, 
Issa 

(I wanted to make a prolonged joke about “Issa lot of bullsh*t”, but I later dropped the idea).

So they replied to my concerns. There was definitely some intelligence displayed, so these email are hand-crafted and not just generated by bots.

The fund was owned by the revolutionaries and not to the
Afghanistanpeople and their familie, the box containing the funds
weighs 37 KG it’s a big box.

Notwithstanding  I give you enormous thanks for your kind mail
response and  assurance to the protection of the funds in your
custody, I have read and understood everything you said and appreciate
your concern in receiving this box, as I have taken time to explain
everything in detail, how this matter will be executed under the
guidance of the United Nations security service. Please I would like
you to send me your details as listed below. in which your details
will be forwarded to the UN security office, as I will be informing
them you are the receiver to my box and that will enable them to
deliver the treasure box containing the funds directly to your house,
through their official diplomatic agent.

 (1) your full names:
 (2) your Home address where to receive the treasure box:
 (3) Your City:
 (4) your phone number:
 (5) your age:
 (6) your Identity Card or passport for the UN diplomat to identify you

Do not worry about any risk to receive the treasure box in your house on
my behalf. The diplomats are professionals and they perfectly trained
for this diplomatic assignment. Please every arrangement towards this
matter is intact between both of us, and on no account should you
expose this information to anyone for security reasons. I would like
you to follow my instructions and directives to avoid any mistake
until the treasure box arrives in your possession.

like I keep saying please do not disclose this information to anyone
for my own safety, because of my position in the services here.  A
leak to this information will lead to my arrest and I will face
military persecution, As an  army  officer  my bank account is with
the Authorities and such an amount getting into my account will mean
trouble. Please upon your reply with your above listed

details, I will contact and forward your details to the UN security
office, to enable them proceed the delivering of the treasure box hand
to hand, (Face to Face) to your house. Looking forward to reading from
you. Take good care of yourself, and remain blessed.

My passport and pictures are attached.

Greetings   from
Sgt.  Monica Brown

To make this more believable, they attached 4 pictures to the last email.

Now, the thing is, the pictures are legit. So this – however crude – is an attempt at identity theft. The last picture commemorates a 2008 gala event in Washington with five servicemembers of the United Service Organizations and the woman is actually the Army Specialist Monica L. Brown. The photos lead to http://www.defense.gov. The ID is obviously a fake, and a bad one at that.

So I decided to reply in kind. I found a hack Italian ID card online (turned out it’s from a real person, sorry!) and I copy/pasted on it a picture of Claudio Garella, the legendary SSC Napoli goalkeeper from the Maradona years. I also added a fake picture of a cat to make the whole thing more interesting. I wrote:

my dearest Monica,

thank you very much for following on this.

Wow I did not expect 37 KG as a shipment. It is really a big box! Is all the money inside?

I work in the paper industry (industrial-grade toilet paper to be precise). One banknote weighs 1 gram on average, so I take this will be 37,000 x 1,000 USD banknotes. I have never seen this much money!I have to admit I am getting more and more excited. This is real!

Also, I am a little embarrassed to say this, and please do not judge me, but you look really pretty in the pictures. I am opening my personal feelings to you and I hope this will be well received.I hope you don’t mind me being this forward. I am very happy to become your friend. Who knows, maybe one day we can meet?

I am not married and still looking for the right person. I will be rich after this transaction so maybe you want to move in with me? Would you consider delivering the shipment in person? I guarantee you, I am an honest man, family-oriented and I work hard. And I will be rich after this, so financial matters will not be a problem.

I also have a cat, I am sure you will love him. His name is Freddy, and I am attaching a picture. He is really cuddly. We would offer you a perfect life and we could live rich together.

Here is the information you requested.

(1) your full names: ABBATE IGNAZIO

(2) your Home address where to receive the treasure box: this is a problem. I cannot receive a large shipment to my home. I am writing the address of the factory where I work.CARTA IGIENICA RUVIDA INDUSTRY Zona Industriale – 81083 Tantacacca (CE) – Italy

(3) Your City:Tantacacca

(4) your phone number:+39776558321 (obviously a fake)

(5) your age:51

(6) your Identity Card or passport for the UN diplomat to identify you(see attached)

Please get back to me as soon as possible. This is really exciting for me and a little scary. I have a heart condition and I cannot suffer prolonged periods of stress. This money will really improve my life!And also, hopefully, bring a romantic relationship with you?

Yours sincerely, IGNAZIO

“Tantacacca” means “A lot of poo” in Italian. Also, “CARTA IGIENICA RUVIDA” means “ROUGH TOILET PAPER”, something I cannot wish to anybody. I was peppering my emails with so many silly or just nonsense references, I can’t believe they never took notice.

I realize also I made a counting mistake: 37000 banknotes means the “box” was filled with 100 USD bills, not 1000. Not that it matters because once again, they didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

Their next reply arrived:

Dear Ignazio,

Thanks for your quick response and details received for receiving and
securing my funds in your possession, your concern and assistance is
profoundly appreciated.

 Also I’m writing to inform you that I’m just coming back from the UN
Security Office for submitting your details as the receiver to my
funds, that’s in a consignment box, which i declared to the United
Nations security Service as a  family items, which you and i alone
knows the content, the box will be delivered to you by the United
Nations delivery agent,

Therefore the UN security delivery agent will be moving today to
arrive Italy by tomorrow or next, according to them you will be
contacted upon their arrival in Italy but when they contact you,
please let them know that you are the partner to (US military officer
Sgt Monica Brown ) that you are the one waiting to receive the
consignment box containing family items.

I will also email them but take note the funds inside the shipping box
will be under your protection until I complete my services and join
you soon. And never unfold the contents of the box to the security
agent nor allow the security person who comes to deliver the box to
your home to notice that the treasure box contains funds, keep it only
for yourself, because everything about this shipping box is intact
between you and i only, in no way should you expose this information
to anyone for security purposes.

Also make sure you forward to me any message that will be sent to you
by the United Nations security delivery agents but in case if i’m
unable to respond back to you quickly, it means i have left to Syria,
as i told you my team has been among the selected unit that will be
joining the US intervention in Syria but while in Syria i will
communicate with you as soon as i will have internet network

Thanks from
Sgt Monica Brown

I continued to just make fun of them. I decided to invest in the romantic interest “ignazio” was developing for Monica.

Dearest Monica, 
I feel so lucky to have this personal connection with you. This is really my destiny fulfilling! 

A couple of notes: 
– please take care, your ID is about to expire! It reads 15th of April 2021. I am so worried, thinking you may be deployed in Syria for active duty with an expired ID. You may be taken hostage and get in real danger! I will send you my thoughts and prayers to make sure you and your personal data are safe and updated. I have a heart condition and I can feel my heart racing really fast right now, thinking about you. 

– in order to receive the parcel, I really need the exact precise measurements of the box. Please write them in the format Height x Lenght x Width. This is really really important. The storage department in my industry will not let in through and they may accidentally open it. We can’t let that happen. I cannot tell them any more information about the content, so that could be a problem. 

– can you send a picture of the box? So the guys at the reception know what to expect.

– do you have more personal pictures? I really think you look cute in your uniform. 

If I may add a little personal note…… please don’t think I am weird or anything……. what is your zodiac sign? I am really fond of girls from Aquarius, Gemini and Libra. I think I have the best connection with air signs. I really hope you are an air sign…….. anyway, even if you have any other sign, I am sure we can find a way to make our beautiful friendship work……. and develop into something more.

Anyway, how are you? I am sending you one more personal picture. I hope you will like it. I stopped exercising due to the pandemic but I used to be in a much better shape! 

Really thinking about you. Please do take care when you traverse those dangerous territories. 

At this point, they started a different game. I was receiving messages from two entities, my beloved “Monica Brown” and a UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE. The idea was that the United Nations were in charge of delivering the parcel (LOL), while Monica acted as a liaison while still deployed in Syria and remained in contact with me.

UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE <info-UN@post.com>

Mr Abbate Ignazio, We are writing in respect to your details submitted as the person responsible to receive a consignment box belonging to American Soldier Sgt, Monica Brown, which shall be leaving Afghanistan today to your country Italy. Your name and details has been submitted by Sgt, Monica Brown as the person responsible to receive her box. However, be informed the 37KG box will be first cleared from the Customs logistics department before proceeding to your desired address, therefore you should endeavor to arrange clearing charges, which shall be notified by the delivery agent upon arrival in Italy. Receiving address are below as submitted by Sgt, Monica Brown
ARTA IGIENICA RUVIDA INDUSTRY
Zona Industriale – 81083 Tantacacca (CE) – Italy 
Receiver Phone number +39776558321 

Mrs Deborah Lyons
Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Afghanistan and Head of the United NationsAssistance Mission in Afghanistan

and another message from Sgr Monica Brown

Dear Abbate,

The forwarded message was sent to me by the United Nations Delivery Service
 I’m just seeing their message now due to not having access to mail
since in the morning and they didn’t inform me about clearing
charges at the initial time.

Please I want to be sure you can handle everything over there? as i
know the charges cannot be much despite they have not declared the
amount, which is yet to be declared upon arrival of the delivery agent
in Italy..

Attached are my pictures as you requested for more of my pictures.

Also Mr Abbate, remember you told me you are single, therefore don’t
disappoint me, as i have already have you in my heart.

And she included new personal pictures!

 I did a reverse search and the one with glasses appears listed in different websites: scamwarners.com (makes sense), meetcrunch.com and yourdirtymind.com (also makes sense). It seems to belong to an adult model who goes under the name of “Lia19” and the full picture has a title: “Chilly point nipple hike”. You can search it for yourselves  (I recommend incognito mode).

The pic in full military gear is indeed a different person and a reverse image search lists only one result, on a bulletin board named postimg.cc.Do you know how to make a reverse image search? It’s a very useful tool to sniff around scams and fishy operations online. I use www.tineye.com

Cutting a longer story short, I wrote to the courier (LOL)

dear UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE,

I received your message. However, my last request was ignored and I cannot unfortunately receive the parcel if the conditions are not met.

In particular I need:

– the exact precise measurements of the box. Please write them in the format Height x Lenght x Width and list them in centimeters and inches. This is really really important because the storage department in my factory will not let it through and they may accidentally open it

– we can’t let that happen because it will compromise the security of our entire operation.

– I also need a picture of the box. So the guys at the reception know what to expect.

For this negotiation I was in touch with miss Monica Brown and I developed a personal connection with her. She has also assured in our correspondence that our feelings are mutual. I need to know at all times her whereabouts and that she is safe. Also I need constant updates about her safety because I am concerned………… personal pictures will be nice.If I don’t hear from Monica I will consider our trust broken and interrupt communication.I am sitting here in my office in Tantacacca and I am very worried about her. Thank you for understanding this.

With greetings,

then I received a message from Monica and strap yourselves in, because things get really interesting

Sgt Monica Brown1:42 PM (2 hours ago)

to me Dear Abbat, I received a message from the United Nations Delivering Service, they sent me the message you sent askinging them spates of questions, it’slike they didn’t respond to your questions but never mind, the most important let the consignment funds be delivered to the address given by you. Please be alert with your phone as they stated in their mail that your will be contacted today by their delivery agent.

To be frank i’m ashamed to say this, I have developed conjugal love in you, in spite of that: please abide by the instructions that will be given by the delivery agent as to enable the successful delivery of the consignment to the address given by you, as that is the most tmomentous in our lives at the moment, as you and i know it’s the funds that will keep us together, because life without money is sketchy.

Love you forever Thanks from Sgt Monica Brown

Well, I guess we are a couple now. The “life without money is sketchy” is an insta-quote and I am seriously considering to produce a t-shirt with it. Anyway this was my reply:

hello Monica,

I am so happy to hear from you! How are you? How is life in Syria? Please send me another picture to show me that you are happy and thinking about me. About the UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE, I am sorry but I am really disappointed about their lack of professionalism. They don’t answer my technical questions and this means I cannot receive the parcel at work. Also, I 100% need a picture of the box since they have to treat it with bleach and lemon juice (COVID-19 regulations) and we need to make sure it fits.

I cannot have the parcel delivered at home.I live with my mother who is 93 years old and really afraid of coronavirus, so I am not allowed to receive couriers. We also only eat home-grown food since February last year. To be honest with you, it’s a bit tough, but at least our tomatoes are good.

If the UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE keep ignoring my questions and insist with their requests………… I am sorry to ask you, but do you really trust them? My mom told me that a lot of these messages online are fake or scam, and we already lost a lot of money in the past because I trusted a Nigerian prince (long story, please don’t ask).

Maybe we shouldn’t put all our trust in them? It’s really a lot of money to trust into the wrong hands. Please write me again as soon as you can.
PS What is your zodiac sign? I really really dream of meeting a Libra or an Aquarius, but your strong personality could also be a Gemini or Aries.
From Tantacacca, with love
yours.

Then, I received two emails. First, from my favorite courier UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE (forwarded to me by Monica Brown, their excellent role play continues)

UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE11:43 AM (2 hours ago)to me

Sgt Monica Brown, You should notify your receiver Mr Abbate Ignazio, that delivery agent arrived in Germany since yesterday and the agent has been calling him from Germany but he was not picking, the name of the Agent is Mr Rico Nicholas, the flight they used for the delivery was private jet that was carrying Covid-19 vaccine and equipments they arrived in Germany and he need to communicate with your receiver in Italy before he will be proceeding delivery to Italy Let your receiver call the delivery agent through the number calling him since yesterday from Germany, so that the officer will let him know the necessary procedures on how the consignment will be delivered to his address in Italy.
He was asking some questions and let him contact the delivery officer in regards to that.
Yours in service

and then from Sgt Monica Brown, who was rather upset with me

Dear Abbat,
What’s going on? look at what the United Nations Delivery Service are saying, so the agent has been calling you since yesterday but why didn’t you pick his call? you want to put the consignment in danger?You want to drive me crazy with your attitude towards the delivery agent but I informed you that they will be contacting you by tomorrow, so why didn’t you pick the call when he was calling?
Please follow the instructions given by the United Nations Delivery Service to avoid damages but why did you decide to put me in this kind of state? Oh what are you doing? please! please! call the delivery agent now as instructed by the United Nations Delivery Service.

You already caused me trauma, please resolve the situation to enable me to regain myself..You were talking about Nigerias, what do I have to do with Africans, I’m not happy hearing you referring me to Africans or WHAT.

Believing to have a positive resônse from you.
YoursSgt Monica

This twist was surprising. Also the racist note. Considering that later they will give me personal information to send my money and the name they will give me is, well, African.

dear Sgt Monica,

please don’t get mad at me!!1!

Yesterday the call arrived outside of my working hours, and I couldn’t pick up the call since it’s a work phone. I was already at home with my mom. She is quite old and extremely distrustful of strangers (and technology in general). We can only watch tv when together, and never in the evening hours because the programs can be distasteful. I cannot go back to the warehouse on a weekend because I live 200 km away from work. I commute, plus I have to look after my mom who is affected by stitichezza clamorosa, an illness that requires constant care. Please don’t be upset!

The money can really save our life. I am sure my elderly mother will love you and we can be happy together. She is quite a dominant woman, just like you. I cannot communicate by phone while I am here. Only email, please. I will do what I can to reply as soon as I can. It’s a very delicate situation because the doctor said if my mom gets upset or scared it could be fatal. Stitichezza is very dangerous and the situation could become explosive. The guys at the warehouse are my friends and can help us, that’s why I was asking for the specifics of the parcel, I promised them 1.000 USD each and they said they will be our trusted friends in this whole operation. Here in Tantacacca money can open many doors. So, send me:- the precise measurements of the parcel in inches and centimeters- a picture of the box- the exact time of arrival to Tantacacca (CE) Italy and they will be ready to receive it and ask no questions.

Please let’s do it because already too many people have been involved! My mom, my colleagues, and the people who squash the lemons (they have to be fresh to work against COVID-19).I am sorry to read you don’t like Africans, a few work with us at the factory and they are actually cool people. We used to play football together. I thought everybody lived together in America, but maybe I am wrong.

Missing you……… do you have another picture? It must be hot in Syria.

yours, Abbat

Once again, I received two distinct answers about this. 

UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY :15 PM (26 minutes ago) to me

Mr Abbate Ignazio,in view of your message which was forwarded to us by Sgt Monica Brown, which you stated clear that you cannot communicate by phone, However, we are writing to notify you that the delivery agent need to clear the goods first from the Customs logistics department before proceeding to your desired address, therefore you should endeavor to send the clearing charges as requested by the customs officers the sum of (1, 600 Euros) immediately to enable the delivery officer do the necessary and proceed delivery to your desired address as below.

ARTA IGIENICA RUVIDA INDUSTRY Zona Industriale – 81083 Tantacacca (CE) – Italy
Receiver Phone number +39776558321
You are advised to pay the clearing charges by Monday to the below account.
Name Chukwuma Owusi Bank Name Postepay Italiane
IBAN : (1TO70360810513821598661*****)
Country Italy.

Take note the agent will complete the delivery to your address by Monday as soon as the clearing charges are paid early Monday morning. Yours in service

Ooook. So that name now, it doesn’t sound very European. Right? 

Sgt Monica Brown6:28 PM (17 minutes ago)to me

Dear Abbat,I have just forwarded to you the message I received from the UnitedNations Delivery Service, because i told them that you can not communicate by phone, as you told me, now the delivery agent are waiting for the clearing charges to complete delivery to the address provided by you but they said everything will be by Monday.

I will send you more pictures by Monday but please follow the instructions of the United Nations Delivery Service, so that the consignment will be delivered successfully.

My regards to your mum love you baby

Yours Sgt Monica Brown

This was my latest reply

My love……….

thank you for your quick reply. I am writing in the bathroom hoping that my mom will not notice me. I tried to transfer the money but there is a mistake in the IBAN, I showed it to my cousin who works in the local Banca Piena di Tantacacca and he says there is something wrong in the number. I don’t understand these matters so I trust him. He can help me to make the transfer tomorrow even if it’s Sunday.

Also, I will send the money from my mom’s account, she is too old and will never find out. So please inform the UNITED NATIONS DELIVERY SERVICE that Bufalina Abbat is actually the name of my mother and it’s 100% legit.

Anyway………. I am really disappointed you are not sending me anything personal………… no picture & measurements of the box as I requested but most importantly no pictures of yourself, so I am starting to have doubts. I feel so much distance between us right now!!1! 1600 EUR is a lot of money……….. My mom may need the money to treat the Stitichezza…………. I feel like a bad person for this!!!!! How can I be sure? Tonight, the TV said there are many online scams in particular for Valentine’s day! Is your love for me true? How do I know?????? Please send me a proof!

always yours, but tonight desperate

A

And they:

My love i will send you pictures by Monday, please secure the funds as soon as the consignment is delivered.

Here is the account, the IBAN started with i not 1, so see below the correct IBAN.Name Chuk***** Ow***Bank Name Postepay ItalianeIBAN : (iTO7036081051382159866*****)Country Italy.

 

I decided to give it an emotional twist, so last night I wrote this:

I don’t know now, you seem interested only in money, and my mom is sick. Can I really trust you anymore?

No further explanations. Just like that. I wanted to see what would happen next. And this came in:

Sgt Monica Brown to me

Why are you sending this kind of message to me at this time? (i don’t know now, you seem interested only in money, and my mom is sick. Can I really trust you anymore? )

Should I start regretting why I submitted your details and name as the receiver to the consignment? and why is it now that I have suddenly developed conjugal relationship on you? Please what exactly do you mean by I’m interested in only money that your mom is sick, I’m wondering are you intending to suspend delivering of the consignment or what, because receiving the consignment does not cause your mom more illness, so what’s bringing the word interested only in money, should I cancelled the delivering of the consignment to you by this time? when it has nothing to do with your mom’s illness.

Please I’m totally flummoxed by your mail and I’m having traumatic feelings about that, this is $3,700 000 00 USD in the consignment and you’re telling me that I’m interested in money, I’m flabbergasted receiving this kind of message from you at this time.Now what do you want me to do please tell me and also will be waiting to hear more from you in regards to your last mail, which has already caused me stern traumatic feelings.

YoursSgt Monica Brown

Ouch, so they moved on the offensive! So this was my reply.

I am so sorry, I was having doubts and I had a terrible night, I was missing you and your loving messages. I understand the mistake in my ways, I felt so guilty I did the bank transfer right away. Here you have the receipt. My cousin helped me. Please tell me that everything is OK and that you still love me. My life is so sad and empty without you.

BUT CAN YOU SEND ME YOUR PICTURE????

So Monica finally came through. This is our reconciliation.

So sorry for the late in response, I have been occupied since in the morning, Yes i have sent the slip to the United Nation’s Delivery Service hoping for their favorable response, as the delivery will be taken place by tomorrow.
My love please I have entrusted those funds in your care, make sure you keep the consignment where no one will have access to open the box and mostly make sure you do not let any one know the content of the box for security reasons.
I will be expecting good news from you by tomorrow.
The trust and connubial love I have for you have already bind together as couple, I can’t dream to miss you in my life for helping me to secure those funds in your custody.
Take proper care of the consignment and don’t let anyone know the content.
Thanks from
Sgt Monica Brown

Ok this was enough. It was getting boring. So I decided to end the game, it was fun while it lasted.

dear “Monica”
All I asked you was a swimsuit picture. And still, I got nothing from you. So let’s end it here. 

I have to admit, I had a lot of fun playing but enough is enough. I am not real. This email address is not real. Nothing I wrote to you is real. There is no bank transfer. In fact, this whole account is a joke. Can you see it now?Just like you are not a member of the US military, the United Nations have nothing to do with you, and there is no box. All a joke. 
The truth is, I am a journalist and I have been publishing your emails on my social media accounts and soon they will be a big story on my blog. 
I have tracked every single picture, information and detail you sent me, and I reported everything including email addresses and bank account information to the Internet Crime Unit of the FBI, to the Italian Police and to Google. 
Internet scamming and identity theft are serious crimes, punished under international law. Now, I don’t know if they will ever find you, or at least suspend your accounts, but this is my advice to you:

You seem like a smart kid. Your writing is excellent (your photo-editing skills, not so much). You are creative and bright. 
Stop doing what you are doing, and get a job. 
You were right, life without money is sketchy. But this is not how to do it. The money you may receive from sad and desperate people is bad. You can do much, much better for yourself and for your community.
I had fun while it lasted, and so have my readers. Thanks a lot for that. I gotta admit, I will be missing our exchanges. 

Happy fuc*ing Valentine. 
Yours truly

They never replied back.

So this is the end of the story. Point is, if these emails promise easy money and seem fishy, it’s because they are. They are all scams, and that’s what they are. The conversation goes on for a while and they can be playful or not, but they all inevitably come to the point where they ask for your money. Not much, but enough to justify their work.

If you read this, never, ever fall for these scams, and warn everybody else. It may be fun to play with them for a while, but at the end make sure you report them to the law enforcement agencies, and to google, hotmail or whatever their internet provider seems to be.

They use bank accounts and money transfer services and these can be interested to know about these illegal activities too. These guys may never be arrested, but at least their activities will be disrupted for a while. And that is better than nothing.