Fighting Nigerian Email Scams (funny!)

[suncrafter]

Have you ever gotten one of those Nigerian scams in your email? You know - where they say you won millions in a lottery (or whatever)? Well the webmaster on this site http://www.419hell.com/ answers those scam emails and does everything he can think of to mess with the scammer's head and waste their time.


Here is a fake photo ID that one of the scammers sent him...
(I think I could eat a photo with some paper and poop a more convincing ID!)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee204/suncrafter/AndersonTubmanAlistair_Darling_Mpja.jpg

[Lord Herman]

...

Is there anything in that picture that doesn't make it an obvious forgery?

I mean, the Scottish flag? On a Scottish British MP card dealie?

[unstattedCommoner]

The crude rendering of the Canadian coat of arms in three places?

'Honorable' (with no 'u') instead of 'Right Honourable' as befits a Privy Councillor?

'Member of the Parliament' instead of 'Chancellor of the Exchequer', which would make more sense on an HM Treasury ID?

No "'s" in "Her Majesty Treasury"?

[Flame of Anor]

Perhaps the crude cut-and-paste job under the badly positioned Her Majesty Treasury? Maybe the fact that the center coat of arms overlaps the exp. date? The "British Executive" actually on top of the "Scottish Executive"? What a cheapskate! They couldn't even be bothered to copy it from a real "British Executive" card, if there even is such a thing (I would suspect it should be "English Executive", as Scotland is part of Britain).

[chiasaur11]

Ah, but it is, obviously, too fake NOT to be real!

It must be some kind of scam to convince people the nigerian deal is fake, so the executor can seize all the money!

Devious.

[unstattedCommoner]

The fact that the expiry date is about 16 months after the end of the maximum term of the present Parliament (early May 2010) is another giveaway...


What a cheapskate! They couldn't even be bothered to copy it from a real "British Executive" card, if there even is such a thing (I would suspect it should be "English Executive", as Scotland is part of Britain).

There is no "British Executive" or "English Executive". There is only "Her Majesty's Government". ID cards for all MPs will be issued by the House of Commons; seperate ID cards for MPs who are Ministers are presumably issued through the Cabinet Office or the Department concerned.

[Flame of Anor]

Well, it did say "Scottish Executive", didn't it?

[Player_Zero]

Also, ya' know, the fact that he's saying he's Alistair Darling. That too.

[Kuma Da]

That's fantastic.

My friend's default response to them is "I ARE WEALTHY JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN!"

[Z-dan]

Seeings as the obvious joke hasn't been made yet (well, obvious to anyone that watches Have I Got News For You or Mock The Week) the fakest thing on there is his eyebrows!

[onasuma]

I always love these. In fact, Im really considering taking it up as a hobby. Considering my other two are warhammer and larping, it'll be nice to have something alot cheaper.

[Athaniar]

I think someone just failed a Forgery check...

[suncrafter]

I always love these. In fact, Im really considering taking it up as a hobby. Considering my other two are warhammer and larping, it'll be nice to have something alot cheaper.

If you want to get into baiting - you should read this page:
http://www.419hell.com/Nigerian_Scam_Baiting/Scam_Baiting_Tips.html

[onasuma]

Have done so, along with everything else on the site. I got my first piece of spam on my catcher account today. We'll see how it goes.

[The Neoclassic]

Have done so, along with everything else on the site. I got my first piece of spam on my catcher account today. We'll see how it goes.

Do keep us posted! I'd love to see how that goes. :smallsmile:

[xanaphia]

One fun game I've thought of was trying to get as much spam as possible in one month. You'd go to lots of disreputable websites, always reply to spam, and enter your email address to as many things as possible.

[Athaniar]

One fun game I've thought of was trying to get as much spam as possible in one month. You'd go to lots of disreputable websites, always reply to spam, and enter your email address to as many things as possible.

I do hope you have good anti-virus software...

[The Neoclassic]

I do hope you have good anti-virus software...

Yeah, and also: Don't open the spam mail with attachments. Most good email programs will tell you before you open it if it contains attachments. I think the 419 scam ones prolly don't have attachments on them though, since that's not how they are making their money.

[charl]

It's actually starting to become a sort of sport to some communities, called scambaiting. I've seen a really brilliant one where the guy tricked the Nigerian scammer to accept 9 DHL packages (which the scammer paid the shipping for) sending, no kidding, a stove, a washing machine, a dryer, a refridgerator and several large bricks. The guy must have paid like 50k USD thinking he would eventually be sent the actual laptops he was trying to scam for himself.

[Raiser Blade]

P-P-P-Powerbook!


Gottaloveit.

[TreesOfDeath]

A simple one is to send them a virus via attachment, and claim its your credit card, which your sending by attachment as you don't want anyone to steal it (this both sounds plauasiable, and makes you seem stupid, thus letting walk into a trap. And thats how I stopped getting Nigerian Bank scams)

[The Neoclassic]

A simple one is to send them a virus via attachment, and claim its your credit card, which your sending by attachment as you don't want anyone to steal it (this both sounds plauasiable, and makes you seem stupid, thus letting walk into a trap. And thats how I stopped getting Nigerian Bank scams)

Uh.... No. Sending people viruses is (I think?) illegal, and if nothing else, promoting illegal things on the board is, well, not allowed.

That said, there is nothing wrong with sending an unopenable (but nonharmful) file to a scammer and telling them it's their fault they can't open it. :smallsmile: I believe that 419Hell (that site mentioned by the OP) has some guidelines for how to do that.

[charl]

You could always send them back obscene and insulting pictures. The kind that will scar them for life and cause nightmares for years to come.

Or pretend that you are a lawyer or similar and you are suing them. That would probably scare them. It's illegal in most places to impersonate a policeman, so, you know, don't do that.

Also it isn't illegal to send people computer viruses. At least not in Sweden. The USA might be different, but event there wouldn't it depend on what state you are in? Or are there federal anti-computer virus laws?

[reorith]

wow op, i feel slightly betrayed and mislead. i could have sworn you were going to show us something funny :smallannoyed:

[The Neoclassic]

wow op, i feel slightly betrayed and mislead. i could have sworn you were going to show us something funny :smallannoyed:

What about it isn't? I mean, I understand not thinking it is hilarious, but are you just saying this isn't your sense of humor or that somehow something here offends you?

@ Charl: Yeah, I'm not sure. I mean, I'd recommend people err on the safe side. Not to mention the ethical issues of it. Plenty of other fun ways one can waste their time.

[reorith]

What about it isn't? I mean, I understand not thinking it is hilarious, but are you just saying this isn't your sense of humor or that somehow something here offends you?

i'm offended that the op tried to pass this stuff off as humour with the (funny!) thing in his subject when the thread and the following site are about as funny as a recipe for kale chips. also, had this been truly funny, would the op have had to tell us so? no. in fact by doing so he denigrated our autonomy. a more accurate subject line for this thread would be fighting nigerian email scams (yawn!)

[onasuma]

Sending viruses in an email is indeed illegal in the USA and also in the UK (along with pretty much every where else.

Also, anyone who wants links to the stuff Im currently working on, please PM me for a link. I dont really want anything connecting this account to my baiting work.

[The Neoclassic]

@ reoirth: So... it's just not your sense of humor? It seems equivalent to someone posting a link to LOLcats or a youtube video of people sucking at "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?" If I didn't find those funny, I would indeed have the right to say "You are false. Your title stated this is funny and I do not find it to be so." However, that adds nothing to the discussion. If your autonomy is so easily threatened and your sensibilities so easily offended that someone claiming something is funny when said thing doesn't appeal to your sense of humor... Well, I don't know what to tell you except to avoid anything that claims to have any amusing value. If there is some rationale behind why you posted or why you find it bothersome other than your own personal tastes (for example, you find 419 scams to be depressing or you think what baiters do is cruel), then do feel free to explain that; that would actually contribute to a discussion.

[reorith]

@ reoirth: So... it's just not your sense of humor? It seems equivalent to someone posting a link to LOLcats or a youtube video of people sucking at "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?" If I didn't find those funny, I would indeed have the right to say "You are false. Your title stated this is funny and I do not find it to be so." However, that adds nothing to the discussion. If your autonomy is so easily threatened and your sensibilities so easily offended that someone claiming something is funny when said thing doesn't appeal to your sense of humor... Well, I don't know what to tell you except to avoid anything that claims to have any amusing value. If there is some rationale behind why you posted or why you find it bothersome other than your own personal tastes (for example, you find 419 scams to be depressing or you think what baiters do is cruel), then do feel free to explain that; that would actually contribute to a discussion.

a little background. so today, i went into work only to find out... i'd been laid off! hurray! no notification, no "we're sorry, good luck." just "oh hi, you and tony have been laid off. please gtleavefo." so i left and on my way home, i checked the mail only to find two rejection letters from the same journal for the same submission! i was rejected twice for one submission. awesome! so now i was weighing my options of either becoming an imitation jackson pollock painting or doing something more productive when i decided to poke around the forum before going out and looking for a new job when i stumbled across suncrafter's thread. "oh gee reorith, perhaps this can brighten such an otherwise gloomy day." so with misplaced optimism i clicked the link emboldened with "fighting nigerian email scams (funny!)" it must be funny i thought, still clinging to the hope that there was integrity in posting but no.

so... i'm offended by the op assuming i'd find this "funny!"

also, scam baiting is juvenile and senseless you all should be ashamed of yourselves.

[The Neoclassic]

Bad stuff.

I'm very sorry to hear about your job and your rejection letters. That does seriously suck.

That said, I don't think you having a bad day and it not being your sense of humor qualifies as the post being offensive.


also, scam baiting is juvenile and senseless you all should be ashamed of yourselves.

What, those of us who watch and don't join? The people who waste the time of scammers who are trying to con innocent (if naive and gullible) people out of their money? I agree that the trophy rooms of some baiting sites, sending viruses, and such things are juvenile, but wasting the time of a scammer is at worst ineffective and at best interferes with their criminal and immoral goals.

[Ms.Malbolge]

I'm going to have to go with Queenfange with this one. It might not be in league with your sense of humor, but for some it was pretty darn funny.

Also, of course it's petty and childish, a lot of 'funny' things are.

[Panabelle]

If you don't like it, don't read it. We're not responsible for you emotional well-being.

Anyway, lawl at the scambaiters. I don't think I'd bother to do it myself--mainly because I'm not particularly skilled in duplicity, but also because I doubt responding to a series of emails taxes the scammer's resources so heavily--but it's entertaining nonetheless.

[charl]

There is an ethical side of it. The Nigerians don't scam because they are inherently immoral people. They do it because it's their only choice. Their economy has been in a state of collapse for years, and there are no jobs. Their scams, while certainly bad, pay for education in a lot of cases (though a large part of the income goes to criminal gangs as well). They don't have their own computers either, but operate out of Internet cafés.

So when scambaiters trick them into accepting packages and paying for transfer, the loss of money that brings is horrendous. Not to mention the fact that their bosses probably will beat them, if not actually murder them, for it. By comparison, sending viruses is much nicer, and harmless pranks like sending disturbing pictures or things like that is just that: harmless.

Still, it can give you a lot of laughs. But whenever I read about a scambait against a Nigerian I feel a bit guilty about it entertaining me, because for these people this is their only chance to get out of poverty, and failure can be disastrous. That doesn't mean that what they do is right, but hurting them back isn't necessarily right either.

[reorith]

What, those of us who watch and don't join? The people who waste the time of scammers who are trying to con innocent (if naive and gullible) people out of their money? I agree that the trophy rooms of some baiting sites, sending viruses, and such things are juvenile, but wasting the time of a scammer is at worst ineffective and at best interferes with their criminal and immoral goals.

nigerian email scams aren't immoral, they are "outside your moral paradigm."

[The Neoclassic]

nigerian email scams aren't immoral, they are "outside your moral paradigm."

Conning people is immoral. If we disagree on that principle, I guess this conversation won't go anywhere. :smallbiggrin:


There is an ethical side of it. The Nigerians don't scam because they are inherently immoral people. They do it because it's their only choice. Their economy has been in a state of collapse for years, and there are no jobs. Their scams, while certainly bad, pay for education in a lot of cases (though a large part of the income goes to criminal gangs as well). They don't have their own computers either, but operate out of Internet cafés.

I doubt that all scammers are poor and starving or helping their families with it, though I'm not going to say that's never the case. We know they are at least educated enough to know English and rich enough to have access to a computer, which is probably more than many people in their country. I don't know the details of it though, but since I don't scam-bait, it's not really something I see as pressing to research, to be blunt.


So when scambaiters trick them into accepting packages and paying for transfer, the loss of money that brings is horrendous. Not to mention the fact that their bosses probably will beat them, if not actually murder them, for it. By comparison, sending viruses is much nicer, and harmless pranks like sending disturbing pictures or things like that is just that: harmless.

Oh, I agree that sending them packages that they have to pay for is rather questionable. I'd not support such a thing. I'm not sure where you've getting the bosses thing from, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were being somewhat coerced to work under someone else (who would likely be abusive as you suggest). Again, we frankly know very little about the actual lives and situations of these people, so it's hard to pass much moral judgement apart from the clear points: They are lying and conning people out of money. Sending them packages and making them pay for it is also deception and conning, and not justifiable like wasting their time is.


Still, it can give you a lot of laughs. But whenever I read about a scambait against a Nigerian I feel a bit guilty about it entertaining me, because for these people this is their only chance to get out of poverty, and failure can be disastrous. That doesn't mean that what they do is right, but hurting them back isn't necessarily right either.

Again, I think wasting their time is just fine and dandy, some of the excessive details that some baiters go to, not so much. As I said before, I doubt that all these people are poor and this is their only shot. What about all the Nigerians who are trying to find other ways to support themselves? Just saying. :smallsmile:

I hope this doesn't count as political?

[Panabelle]

Charl: Yeah, I almost feel bad for them too. But then I go, "Oh, wait," and think of the people who are conned into giving them thousands of dollars, many of them elderly. Yeaaaaah, that pity evaporates pretty quickly, I'd say.

[onasuma]

Scammers ruin lives. There was a teacher who lived in the north east of england, who fell for the "help me release my fortune" scam. She lost £30,000 and is going to be in debt for the rest of her life. Not only that, but so are her family, who she got to take money out, to help with the handeling fees. s far as I am concerned, that is a evil act.

Also, the nerve some of these scammers have is shocking - they are willing to sink to any low to get money from people. They have no objection to forging wills, no problem with bringing up national tragedies (9.11 and similar) to inlisit sympathy and no problem with down right lieing to everyone they meet.

I have no sypathy for those I bait. They are deliberatly scamming people (most often, the eldarly) out of money that they worked hard for. Using rough estimates, the teacher mentioned previously lost 10 months pay to these crooks. Thats a hell of alot of work. Anything that I can do to waste the time of these *insert appropriet word here* is something I will happily do, with no qualms, what so ever.

[SilverSheriff]

although I found this thread funny: Anyone and everyone who has fallen for these Nigerian scams deserved it and I'd probably give the bugger who conned them a pat on the back right after I finished breaking all of the bones in their limbs.

[Rettu Skcollob]

... Anyone and everyone who has fallen for these Nigerian scams deserved it...

I... Don't know about that one, mate. Sure, you'd have to be pretty gullible to fall for it, but gullibility isn't grounds for having your life ruined by these scams.

[onasuma]

although I found this thread funny: Anyone and everyone who has fallen for these Nigerian scams deserved it and I'd probably give the bugger who conned them a pat on the back right after I finished breaking all of the bones in their limbs.

I am sorry, but how can you possibly say that?

There is no way that everyone with acess to a computer automatically knows that these are fake. The eldarly in particular, and those who are actually in monetary worries are most likely to fall for these, two people who actually need that money and who will be affected most by its loss.

[SilverSheriff]

I am sorry, but how can you possibly say that?
Because they should know that if something sounds to good to be true then it most definitely is.


There is no way that everyone with access to a computer automatically knows that these are fake.
Even if it were real I'd probably delete the email, It's people who believe Con artist that allow me to say "Humans are pathetic and should be wiped out".


The elderly in particular, and those who are actually in monetary worries are most likely to fall for these,
The Elderly in particular? My Grandparents could spot Scam Mail as soon as it left Nigeria, they aren't idiots, but then again my sister is the only idiot in 5 generations, which is showing how intelligent the people in my family are...


the people who actually need that money and who will be affected most by its loss.
yet again I must emphasize 'if something sounds to good to be true then it most definitely is.'

[Zeful]

I have to say Black_Pants_Guy, that claiming that those scammed deserved it because they should have known better sounds similar to sentiments such as: "It's her fault she got raped/murdered because she was good looking" and "That jerk deserved to have his house broken into and robbed because he slighted me in some insignificant way."

[The Neoclassic]

I have to say Black_Pants_Guy, that claiming that those scammed deserved it because they should have known better sounds similar to sentiments such as: "It's her fault she got raped/murdered because she was good looking" and "That jerk deserved to have his house broken into and robbed because he slighted me in some insignificant way."

Exactly.

Frankly, even if they deserve it... wait, I can't make that argument without going into politics. Long story short, society is not benefiting from people taking these scams and it may in fact cost all of us money. Also, what about other financial scams? [Insert tons of other examples here which I won't mention in case of political implications.] Even if people are stupid and gullible, that doesn't make the crime any less of a crime.

[SilverSheriff]

I have to say Black_Pants_Guy, that claiming that those scammed deserved it because they should have known better sounds similar to sentiments such as: "It's her fault she got raped/murdered because she was good looking" and "That jerk deserved to have his house broken into and robbed because he slighted me in some insignificant way."

no, this is a "You deserved Police Brutality because you weren't being a good citizen and accepting the speeding ticket, instead opting to get out of the vehicle and challenge the Officers masculinity in a round of fisticuffs" situation.:mad:

[The Neoclassic]

no, this is a "You deserved Police Brutality because you weren't being a good citizen and accepting the speeding ticket, instead opting to get out of the vehicle and challenge the Officers masculinity in a round of fisticuffs" situation.:mad:

Uh, bad example. In that case the guy deserves to be smacked and handled quite roughly, but that doesn't justify repeated beating once he is subdued or forcible insertion of objections into various parts of him (which are what qualifies as police brutality from what I understand, not just reasonable force).

Oh, the inability of threads to stay on-topic. And my lack of steering them back on track... :smalltongue:

[Zeful]

no, this is a "You deserved Police Brutality because you weren't being a good citizen and accepting the speeding ticket, instead opting to get out of the vehicle and challenge the Officers masculinity in a round of fisticuffs" situation.:mad:

From your point of view that's true, from mine no. Perception is a powerful tool.

[The Neoclassic]

From your point of view that's true, from mine no. Perception is a powerful tool.

Mmhm! Also, as I said before, you cannot forget:


Even if people are stupid and gullible, that doesn't make the crime any less of a crime.

[Panabelle]

Also, even if you do accept your argument that people should know better (which I don't), what about older people with the beginning stages of dementia? They represent a decent portion of the people suckered. If they're clearly not in possession of their full mental faculties and someone is taking advantage of them, do they still deserve your hardcore bone-breaking punishment?

[SilverSheriff]

Also, even if you do accept your argument that people should know better (which I don't), what about older people with the beginning stages of dementia? They represent a decent portion of the people suckered. If they're clearly not in possession of their full mental faculties and someone is taking advantage of them, do they still deserve your hardcore bone-breaking punishment?

If you had read my post correctly you would have noticed that the Hardcore bone-breaking punishment is clearly for the Con Artists themselves.:smallsigh:

[onasuma]

So, your argument is it is easy to spot, so its their fault if they fall for it?

Does that make it the blinds fault if I stole from them as they couldnt see it coming? Come on, they didnt notice, so it must be their fault right? [/dripping sarcasm]

[Fri]

Well, saying that Nigerian people can scam all they want because they're poor is wrong. Not just the 'scam all they want' part, but the 'because they're poor' part.

You european and american kept thinking that everywhere beside your northern hemisphere is a crappy, post apocalyptic, desert, world.

Nigeria is one of the best country to live in West Africa, and it's one of the emerging market country. It's not perfect, rife with problems that plagues most emerging market, but it's not, relatively, a 'poor' country. It's maybe about on par with Indonesia.

What? Isn't Indonesia is a poor, south asian country with dictators and dying people and ****ty place to live and everything? No, it is not.

Of course it got slums and backyard places and everything, but most of it people live relatively comfortably, though, not on your level of spoiled rich first world country comfort.

I'm not a Nigerian, by the way. Not even from the same continent. Just giving some background information.

[SilverSheriff]

So, your argument is it is easy to spot, so its their fault if they fall for it?
Does that make it the blinds fault if I stole from them as they couldnt see it coming? Come on, they didnt notice, so it must be their fault right? [/dripping sarcasm]
No, the blind person has no means to notice that you have stolen from them, where-as the victim of the con artist has use of all major senses to notice if s/he has been stolen from, if someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night with a gun there is no way you could stop that, but if you left some $100 in cash on the table and invited someone wearing a balaclava into your house and expected them not to steal it then you would indeed deserve it.
That is what these Nigerian Money scammers are like, the guy you had never met before and invited into your house expecting them not to steal the $100 note on the table, except these guys pretend to be the sons of princes and kings in far off countries that are in fact now democracies, wanting to give you there money even though they are homeless.:annoyed:

[The Neoclassic]

That is what these Nigerian Money scammers are like, the guy you had never met before and invited into your house expecting them not to steal the $100 note on the table, except these guys pretend to be the sons of princes and kings in far off countries that are in fact now democracies, wanting to give you there money even though they are homeless.:annoyed:

You've ignored the matter of some older people growing forgetful and gullible. Perhaps they shouldn't be having access to the internet, but the matter remains: If an elderly relative of yours in failing health and wavering mind fell for such a scam, would you tell them "Darn right, you deserved that!"?

And again, even if people did "deserve" to have their money stolen, that doesn't make it any less of a crime.

[onasuma]

No, the blind person has no means to notice that you have stolen from them, where-as the victim of the con artist has use of all major senses to notice if s/he has been stolen from, if someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night with a gun there is no way you could stop that, but if you left some $100 in cash on the table and invited someone wearing a balaclava into your house and expected them not to steal it then you would indeed deserve it.
That is what these Nigerian Money scammers are like, the guy you had never met before and invited into your house expecting them not to steal the $100 note on the table, except these guys pretend to be the sons of princes and kings in far off countries that are in fact now democracies, wanting to give you there money even though they are homeless.:annoyed:

I believe a blind person could tell that I have stolen from them when they try to use the money and find it gone. The absense of knowledge here is pretty close to the blindness in my example. Neither would know they are being stolen from in either situation until it is to late. Granted, one is more psycological, and one more physical, but the point remains the same.

[Lupy]

I believe a blind person could tell that I have stolen from them when they try to use the money and find it gone. The absense of knowledge here is pretty close to the blindness in my example. Neither would know they are being stolen from in either situation until it is to late. Granted, one is more psycological, and one more physical, but the point remains the same.

A very good friend of mine is Legally blind, he only sees light and dark, and he has a hard time making out people unless they have something like a flashlight or are standing in front of something bright. Even then he only sees a blob of shadow that could be anything, so he uses a cane when he is somewhere unfamiliar to walk around without hitting anyone/thing.

If someone were to break into his house, he couldn't do anything but push the alarm button in his room, and the police wouldn't be there for 20ish minutes.

Is it his fault he got robbed? No.

[Yarram]

A better website for that is http://www.419eater.com
It has a whole forum for people who play the sport of "scam-baiting"
Warning: The trophy room has some graphic images including nudity (censored of course). Just warning though.


You've ignored the matter of some older people growing forgetful and gullible. Perhaps they shouldn't be having access to the internet, but the matter remains: If an elderly relative of yours in failing health and wavering mind fell for such a scam, would you tell them "Darn right, you deserved that!"?

And again, even if people did "deserve" to have their money stolen, that doesn't make it any less of a crime.

You'll find that a large amount of the scams are based on greed. So it's really mostly greedy people that get caught out, but, you should read the page on scam-baiting ethic's in the website above and it will give you a more informed picture.

[The Neoclassic]

You'll find that a large amount of the scams are based on greed. So it's really mostly greedy people that get caught out, but, you should read the page on scam-baiting ethic's in the website above and it will give you a more informed picture.

When did I ever say that people weren't greedy? It's not just greed; it's also a large measure of gullibility. I never said that people who fall for them are necessarily poor, innocent victims who haven't made a bad choice; I'm simply pointing out that to dismiss every single scam victim as a greedy sucker who deserved it is oversimplifing the matter and, once again, ignoring that it does not impact the legality or morality of scamming people.

Really, if all the victims are morons and that makes scamming OK, then why are you advocating scam baiting? Just for sport and to humiliate people who, if they aren't doing anything wrong because their victims are idiots, are just trying to earn a living? Just saying, kind of mixed messages there.

[Yarram]

When did I ever say that people weren't greedy? It's not just greed; it's also a large measure of gullibility. I never said that people who fall for them are necessarily poor, innocent victims who haven't made a bad choice; I'm simply pointing out that to dismiss every single scam victim as a greedy sucker who deserved it is oversimplifing the matter and, once again, ignoring that it does not impact the legality or morality of scamming people.

Really, if all the victims are morons and that makes scamming OK, then why are you advocating scam baiting? Just for sport and to humiliate people who, if they aren't doing anything wrong because their victims are idiots, are just trying to earn a living? Just saying, kind of mixed messages there.

I agree with you. I have no partaking in the argument you're having with someone else, I just reacted to your post. In fact, if you'd read the link I gave before accusing me of giving mixed messages you'd have found material that supports your argument, including a woman who got scammed, thinking she was going to look after the children of mother that had died.

IMO some aspects of scam-baiting are quite wrong, especially convincing the Nigerians to tattoo themselves in a country with a poor health-care system.
Of course, I think scam-baiting is the lesser of the two evils though, because although slightly malicious, it is reactive rather than a direct attack on an innocent party.

[The Neoclassic]

I agree with you. I have no partaking in the argument you're having with someone else, I just reacted to your post. In fact, if you'd read the link I gave before accusing me of giving mixed messages you'd have found material that supports your argument, including a woman who got scammed, thinking she was going to look after the children of mother that had died.

Ah, OK. Then we are on the same page. My apologies for getting snippy. :smallsmile:


IMO some aspects of scam-baiting are quite wrong, especially convincing the Nigerians to tattoo themselves in a country with a poor health-care system.
Of course, I think scam-baiting is the lesser of the two evils though, because although slightly malicious, it is reactive rather than a direct attack on an innocent party.

I entirely agree. Straight-up scam baiting, just involving wasting the other person's time by stringing them along doesn't strike me as wrong. This is especially true if the baiter gives reasonable signs that the thing is fake. Just like you'd be gullible to believe these scams, you clearly haven't checked up on your English too well (yes, Iknow it's a second language, but it's really a requirement for their "job") if you believe that the scam baiter is actually the pastor of "Holy Orc Church."

Things like trying to get "trophies" or convincing scammers to pay to accept packages... That's more debatable. Particularly the trophies, since they really have are based more in the amusement of the baiter rather than wasting the time of scammers so they don't spend as much time stealing from real victims.

[Sneak]

Okay, this is kind of off topic, but—

If there's any from the old boards here...think of how ridiculous this thread would be with the old language filters. :smallbiggrin:

[suncrafter]

Okay, this is kind of off topic, but—

If there's any from the old boards here...think of how ridiculous this thread would be with the old language filters. :smallbiggrin:

You had filters that made you sound like RPG characters?

[suncrafter]

You had filters that made you sound like RPG characters?
Never mind - I get it now.