# Nigerian bankscammers joined the Army! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768 "2012-03-25T15:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/1 "2012-03-25T15:54:46Z")
Got this email: "Hello,I am Col.Tom Hall, I am a section commander with 395th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, stationed here at FOB Salerno Camp in Khowst Afghanistan as part of the troops still remaining to complete the later part of the war plan. Please I seek your urgent help this day to assist me with the safe keeping of two military trunk boxes that has just arrived the USA, and I am assuring you that this project am about to bring to the table will be of mutual interest for the both of us and will never expose you to any form of risk. Kindly get back to me ASAP so I can feed you with more information on how this project would be carried out. God Bless, Col.Tom Hall I guess military shipping scams have been around for a few years now, but it’s my first. And no, I’m not going to string him along etc. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/2 "2012-03-25T16:46:01Z")
It is still astounding that after over a decade of this scam being out there they still find enough suckers to justify the effort. [This list of their take is amazing](http://www.safety-security-crazy.com/nigerian-scams.html) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/3 "2012-03-25T19:23:17Z")
This would be more believable if it were some dipshit private or specialist. It is less believable that a Colonel would put his career on the line to ship some stolen war booty to some stranger. Also I have to accept two large trunks and store them somewhere in my tiny place? It might be less patriotic, but the Nigerians seem like less work for more profit. I’ll make sure to pass around Col. Hall’s message to all my friends, though! …Tom Hall, Tom Hall… I would’ve assumed he’d be a [commander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hall). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/4 "2012-03-25T19:36:59Z")
> [@astro](#): > > It is still astounding that after over a decade of this scam being out there they still find enough suckers to justify the effort. > > [This list of their take is amazing](http://www.safety-security-crazy.com/nigerian-scams.html) Well, you know, it is said that there’s a sucker born every minute. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/5 "2012-03-25T19:43:42Z")
I got one like that from some guy supposedly named “Ollie North” and his secretary “Fawn Hall” way back when, running some kind of “special ops” in the name of democracy. With names like that and the story they told? Who TF were they kidding? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/6 "2012-03-25T21:22:04Z")
I wonder if Fawn is any relation to Tom? I will send her very important documents so that we can verify. I won’t make any copies, I am sure she will take good care of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/7 "2012-03-25T21:28:20Z")
> [@astro](#): > > It is still astounding that after over a decade of this scam being out there they still find enough suckers to justify the effort. > > [This list of their take is amazing](http://www.safety-security-crazy.com/nigerian-scams.html) A decade? This has been going on for close to 30 years. They were sending them out by mail at first. ---
**Author:** ![bdennir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bdennir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdennir)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/8 "2012-04-19T17:31:05Z")
Just the same, a search for Col. Tom Hall is full of interesting individuals who apparently served the US with distinction since the Revolutionary War. The military history ad at the bottom of this page seemed quite appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nigerian-bankscammers-joined-the-army/616768/9 "2012-04-19T20:07:26Z")
My ads say: “Who really scammed you?” “Ask a Scam Investigator” “U.S. Navy Seals Hat Sale” I’m suspicious of the last one.