Taunting the 419 Scammers
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You've doubtless received one of these emails - a gentleman in Nigeria has a staggering sum of money gained through various means. What luck! He's asking you to help him move this loot out of the country, and promises to make you rich in return. Everything seems to be going fine, until he runs into a snag and needs you to send some money for processing fees, bank charges, or several other plausible things. Hey, you'll be getting a huge return on investment, right? Why sweat a couple thousand dollars?
Soon enough, your money dries up and the scammer drifts away. People who have tried to get their money back find nothing but frustration, and a few even more unlucky have lost their lives in the attempt.
So what happens if somebody responds to these rotten bastards? What if that correspondent is... different somehow?
Cthulhu Vs. the Nigerians - it took several tries to
get any traction here, but it finally happened. Hopefully I'll be able to
get it onto the site soon.
(baits in reverse chronological order)
Hargrove the Marxist Detective vs. Dr. Frank Pedro vs. Barnum the Capitalist Detective - a three-way tag team wrestling match!
Take Off, to the Great White North: the hockey match-up we've all been waiting to see - Canada versus West Africa (finished)
A Captain Morgan double-bill:
Captain Morgan and the South African bankers, and
Captain Morgan and the Senator
Don Morgan Jr., the rich, dissolute teenager vs. Edom John (or was it John Edom?)
Licorice Whips Inc., a poor scammer caught between his intended victim, and the victim's dominatrix
Saruman White, CEO - What happens when wizards get day jobs?
Hargrove the Marxist Detective - what
Marxist would pass up a chance at a fortune?
(the irrepressible Dr. Frank Pedro keeps contacting us every few months, and
we're planning a section just for him)
Hazel Morgan - the captain's confused, rich widow
Capt. Morgan - Rum Distiller, ex-Naval Captain, & heavy drinker
And just to answer a question we've received, yes, these are actual correspondences. If you respond to an email from one of these scam artists, they will write back. If they think they still have a chance of getting your money, they will keep writing back.
If you go into the guestbook, you'll notice a message from someone who feels he couldn't do a bait as well as the ones here. Well, you only get to see the good ones, frankly. Many wither and die on the vine, or just aren't very entertaining. If you are ever tempted to engage in scam-baiting them, first read the Pointers page at www.scamorama.com
Always, always, always make sure that whatever you do, the scammers can't trace things back to you.
The inspiration for this came from http://sweetchillisauce.com/nigeria.html
Another site worth checking out: http://j-walk.com/blog/docs/conference.htm
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