Mom’s been gone now almost two years – it hardly seems possible. But the scammers of the world still have her name on their lists. Yesterday we received a piece of mail addressed to her, from one of the most infuriating, amoral, and soulless scumbags out there: Joseph Rockfiller, the “Grand Treasurer of the Order of Saint Expedit.”

The entire communication is below.

Rockfiller is without doubt a pseudonym, and the photo on the letter assuredly a model.

Almost everyone knows about the Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud, also called the “419” scam, but letters like the one above, mailed out to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, are often more likely to attract victims, because they target the elderly and the infirm, those who are least educated, and more likely to believe the camel ejecta they are filled with.

I have mentioned this kind of fraud before, on the Sweepstakes Fraud Factsheet website, specifically mentions a scammer operating under the name of “Mathias,” and the letter that arrived yesterday is exactly the same kind of exasperating nonsense. “Mathias” only wanted $30.00 to start, but this Rockfiller operation is going for the brass ring, requesting “contributions” between $50.00 and $150.00, with commensurate “rewards” awaiting the faithful who swallow this excrement.

The address where victims send their money is 423 Brookline Avenue, #314, Boston, MA 02215:

The address is a UPS store; scammers of this nature invariably use maildrops or post office boxes to try to cover their trails. One of the things about scams like this is that although they violate all sorts of laws, the Post Office doesn’t give a rat’s south-40. I’ve taken many scummy mailings of this sort to my post office, and all I get is a blank stare or a “we can’t do anything about it” answer. Seriously irritating. Whether this outfit is operating from Boston or not is uncertain – On page 2, in tiny print, are the words “Human capital SA – MH 96960 Majuro.” If you failed geography, Majuro is a small atoll in the Marshall Islands, but that business name and address appears to be a dead end, or perhaps a red herring.

Just some of the mind-boggling horse-crap contained in this letter:

• Secret prayers (“This prayer, that will be revealed as soon as you have become a full-fledged member of our Order…”)
• Hollow promises – (“$450,000 have been put aside for you!”; By making a $150.00 offering to Saint Expedit and reciting his prayer: Will bring you $500.00 in a months time, $5,000 in two months time or $150,000 over a three month period.”)
• Flattering weasel words (“A successor of the 1st circle cannont be just anyone! He or she must possess within themselves the stigmata of St. Expedit” … You are one of us … You are the missing piece of the equation.”)
• General bullshit (“During the middle ages it was our mystical cognition which allowed our brother alchemists to transform lead into gold.”)
• Screaming contradictions (“NATURALLY ALL OF THIS IS TOTALLY FREE! All that is asked of you is to choose the sum you wish to offer to the Order of Saint Expedit as noted in his mystical works, a minimum of $50.00 and a maximum of $150.00”).

The rest you can read for yourself, if you have the stomach for it.

The point of this exercise is simply to get the word out. If you have vulnerable loved ones, please monitor their mail. If they get on a “sucker list,” they will get hundreds of these solicitations and similar ones, and they stand to lose their money, their identity, and their dignity.

Be careful out there.

The Old Wolf has spoken.