Please be aware of this scam!

This is disgraceful. Military families, please be aware, alert, and suspicious of any email you receive that asks for any money as it relates to Iraq:

Homeland security officials are outraged over a recent e-mail scheme targeting families of slain U.S. soldiers who were serving in Iraq, saying it’s one of the most “despicable” scams they’ve ever seen.

The scam first caught the attention of agents with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement about three weeks ago, when a handful of families told them they received e-mails asking for cash or personal information.

What really has agents steamed is that the e-mails, in an effort to give the scam some legitimacy, include a link to the ICE Web site. In one scam, the sender claims to be an ICE agent working in Iraq trying to recover money looted from the Iraqi Central Bank by Saddam Hussein’s son.

The second scam is perhaps the most disturbing because it’s hitting families who are already vulnerable and grieving because of their loss in Iraq. The e-mail says it’s from a friend of the fallen soldier who set money aside for the family. All the scammer needs is some cash or information to facilitate a bank transfer.

One telltale sign that the e-mail is part of the scam is that it claims to be from a friend of a fallen soldier or an ICE agent — homeland security officials say their agents would never ask for personal information such as a bank account or Social Security number online.