Slashdot Mirror
The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference
Jacek Fedorynski writes "I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us."
I wonder if George W Bush plans on attending?
A Nigerian diplomat was shot and killed once by someone who fell for the "Nigerian scam." It was very tragic, as the country had nothing to do with it.
"I present to you an urgent and confidential request" Confidential here in Slashdot?
* Nigerian scams reloaded
* Free viagra
* Penis or breast enlargements (1 per person)
...then I have a 25 million dollar wire transfer I need your help to complete!
Funny site, for sure.
I am the widow of Makeu Safeglouglou, who was minister of useless things. My husband was killed as he was about to mount a lap dancer in a Ouagadougou stripper bar.
Help us transfer several billion sperm celles frozen in a sperm bank account!
when spam gets submitted to slashdot as a story.
Of course it runs NetBSD. BTC: 1NT7QvbetmANwaMzhpVL6
I thought the Nigerians were very good at writing email. I am constantly getting email from them asking me to send my bank details so they can deposit large sums of money. They are always very polite.
Saying your OS is the best because more people use it is like saying MacDonalds make the best food
It's not there chief. I got a 404 error. Right, slightly off-topic. It's close to 419, but not quite. Maybe next time.
I have colleages?
In Nigeria of all places... hmmmm.
I never knew.
I will insist that my boss sends me again this year, and I'm sure I will report that it was once again a must-attend event.
__
cheap web hosting Dragon life-like action figures
Eh, we are now June 1st, not April 1st.
After dupe posts I'm wondering if there is no comspiracy to bring Slashdot reputation down !
You know a scammer needs some training when he get fooled into sending real gold to his "victim". :-)
I just got this one yesterday!
FROM THE DESK OF:MR.UMAR MOHAMMED
REPLY TO : umohammed@postmaster.co.uk
Good day,
I am MR UMAR MOHAMMED, head of the accounts/operations dept. of one of the leading merchant banks in Nigeria..I have an urgent and very confidential business proposition for you.
On December 8, 1998, an American Oil consultant/contractor with the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mrs.Ann Barbara Myers made a
numbered time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at
US$25,000,000.00(Twenty-five Million Dollars) in my branch.Upon
maturity, I sent a routine notification to her forwarding address but
got no reply.After a month,we sent a reminder and finally we
discovered from her contract employers, the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation that Mrs.Ann
Barbara Myers died from a ghastly automobile accident.On further
investigation,I found out that she died without making a WILL, and
all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.
I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mrs.Ann
Barbara Myers did not declare any next of kin or relations in all her
official documents, including her Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank.
This sum of US$25,000,000.00
is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over
with the principal sum at the end of each year.No one will ever come
forward to claim it.According to Nigerian Law, at the expiration of 5
(five) years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Nigerian
Government if nobody applies to claim this fund.
Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foriegner to
stand in as the next of kin to Mrs.Ann Barbara Myers so that the
fruits of this woman's labor will not get into the hands of some
corrupt government officials.This is simple, I will like you to
provide immediately your full names and address so that the Attorney
will prepare the necessary documents and affidavits which will put
you in place as the next of kin.
We shall employ the services of two Attorneys for drafting and
notarization of the WILL and to obtain the necessary
documents and letter of probate/administration in your favor for the
transfer.
We would need you as a Foreigner acting as the next of kin and sole
benefactor to the inheritance of Mrs.Ann Barbara Myers to travel and
claim this money in a SECURITY COMPANY based in Europe which is used
by my bank as an offshore payment center to the bank.The money will
be paid to you for us to share in the ratio of 60% for me and 40% for
you.
There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction
will be done by the Attorney and my position as the head of the accounts/operations dept
guarantees the successful execution of this transaction.
If you are interested, please reply immediately via the private
email address below. Upon your response, I shall then provide you
with more details and relevant documents that will help you
understand the transaction.
Please observe utmost confidentiality, and rest assured that this
transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall
require your assistance to invest my share in your country.
Awaiting your urgent reply via my email:umohammed@postmaster.co.uk
Thanks and regards.
MR UMAR MOHAMMED
b/c I am checking out "Free Hot Teen Girls Who Want To Sleep With You"
From the article:
A round table discussion: Is email now Nigeria's top export?
I couldn't imagine a better way to start my sunday! What a hearty laugh!
In all seriousness, does anyone know of any action taken by a real nigerian to protest/combat this kind of scams? Myself, I'd be pretty pissed to see my country's reputation dragged on the mud by oportunistic creeps.
No sig
Some of the other links from the blog page are even funnier, especially the one about M$ spam
And the one about the periodic table of elements... some people are just odd.
An infinite number of monkeys will eventually come up with the complete works of
#!/usr/bin/perli le(){
$wget = "/usr/bin/wget";
$spammer_url = "http://j-walk.com/blog/docs/conference.htm";
wh
$do = `$wget $spammer_url`;
}
Hello Taco, MY NAME IS William Gates and I have been having some problems with the AMERICAN GOVERNMENT and a nasty company called AOL TIME WARNER who think they are going to get a LARGE SUM OF MONEY from me.
BECASUE OF GOVERNMENT SCRUTINY I NEED YOUR HELP IN TRANSFERING THE SUM OF 750,000,000 TO A SWISS BANK ACCOUNT.
FOR YOUR HELP, I WILL STOP FUNDING SCO'S ATTACK ON LINUX.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN THIS MATTER
WILLIAM GATES
I'm a friend of a friend of the working class.
All attendees should be aware that the contact address is wrong. The address on the page is the place where the conference will take place.
For registration, please send the registration fee and your address here:
Fede Raltra
Decom Mission
CRC-240
600 Penn Syl Vania Ave, NW
Wa Shing Ton, D.C. 20580
Nigeria
Sincerely yours
Fede Raltra
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
Since Slashdot is now running tongue-in-cheek stories, for your entertainment here's one: http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/
Hilton Abuja
From their site:
Creditcard confirmation required
-- Multics
"The hotel was very, very upscale. The running water was a nice touch! - Dr, Collins Mdadiwe
is the comma after "Dr"
Might be a spoof. Might not. All of it rings eerily plausible.
An MSN tech speaks
An infinite number of monkeys will eventually come up with the complete works of
Now *that* was funny ;-)
-psy
IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NEEDED :
HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
FROM: GEORGE WALKER BUSH
DEAR SIR/MADAM,
I AM GEORGE WALKER BUSH, SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, AND CURRENTLY SERVING AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET NEITHER IN PERSON NOR BY CORRESPONDENCE. I CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION, WHICH INVOLVES THE TRANSFER OF A HUGE SUM OF MONEY TO AN ACCOUNT REQUIRING MAXIMUM CONFIDENCE.
I AM WRITING YOU IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE PRIMARILY TO SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN ACQUIRING OIL FUNDS THAT ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. MY PARTNERS AND I SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE IN COMPLETING A TRANSACTION BEGUN BY MY FATHER, WHO HAS LONG BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE EXTRACTION OF PETROLEUM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND BRAVELY SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.
IN THE DECADE OF THE NINETEEN-EIGHTIES, MY FATHER, THEN VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUGHT TO WORK WITH THE GOOD OFFICES OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ TO REGAIN LOST OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. THIS UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY A FALLING OUT WITH HIS IRAQI PARTNER, WHO SOUGHT TO ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING EMIRATE OF KUWAIT, A WHOLLY-OWNED U.S.-BRITISH SUBSIDIARY.
MY FATHER RE-SECURED THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF KUWAIT IN 1991 AT A COST OF SIXTY-ONE BILLION U.S. DOLLARS ($61,000,000,000). OUT OF THAT COST, THIRTY-SIX BILLION DOLLARS ($36,000,000,000) WERE SUPPLIED BY HIS PARTNERS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER PERSIAN GULF MONARCHIES, AND SIXTEEN BILLION DOLLARS ($16,000,000,000) BY GERMAN AND JAPANESE PARTNERS. BUT MY FATHER'S FORMER IRAQI BUSINESS PARTNER REMAINED IN CONTROL OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ITS PETROLEUM RESERVES.
MY FAMILY IS CALLING FOR YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN FUNDING THE REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ACQUIRING THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF HIS COUNTRY, AS COMPENSATION FOR THE COSTS OF REMOVING HIM FROM POWER. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR PARTNERS FROM 1991 ARE NOT WILLING TO SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF THIS NEW VENTURE, WHICH IN ITS UPCOMING PHASE MAY COST THE SUM OF 100 BILLION TO 200 BILLION DOLLARS ($100,000,000,000 - $200,000,000,000), BOTH IN THE INITIAL ACQUISITION AND IN LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT.
WITHOUT THE FUNDS FROM OUR 1991 PARTNERS, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE OIL REVENUE TRAPPED WITHIN IRAQ. THAT IS WHY MY FAMILY AND OUR COLLEAGUES ARE URGENTLY SEEKING YOUR GRACIOUS ASSISTANCE. OUR DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES IN THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION INCLUDE THE SITTING VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RICHARD CHENEY, WHO IS AN ORIGINAL PARTNER IN THE IRAQ VENTURE AND FORMER HEAD OF THE HALLIBURTON OIL COMPANY, AND CONDOLEEZA RICE, WHOSE PROFESSIONAL DEDICATION TO THE VENTURE WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NAMING OF A CHEVRON OIL TANKER AFTER HER.
I WOULD BESEECH YOU TO TRANSFER A SUM EQUALING TEN TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT (10-25 %) OF YOUR YEARLY INCOME TO OUR ACCOUNT TO AID IN THIS IMPORTANT VENTURE. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL FUNCTION AS OUR TRUSTED INTERMEDIARY. I PROPOSE THAT YOU MAKE THIS TRANSFER BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH (15TH) OF THE MONTH OF APRIL.
I KNOW THAT A TRANSACTION OF THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD MAKE ANYONE APPREHENSIVE AND WORRIED. BUT I AM ASSURING YOU THAT ALL WILL BE WELL AT THE END OF THE DAY. A BOLD STEP TAKEN SHALL NOT BE REGRETTED, I ASSURE YOU. PLEASE DO BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION IS 100% LEGAL. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO CO-OPERATE IN THIS TRANSACTION, PLEASE CONTACT OUR INTERMEDIARY REPRESENTATIVES TO FURTHER DISCUSS THE MATTER.
I PRAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND OUR PLIGHT. MY FAMILY AND OUR COLLEAGUES WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL. PLEASE REPLY IN STRICT CONFIDENCE TO THE CONTACT NUMBERS BELOW.
SINCERELY WITH WARM REGARDS,
GEORGE WALKER
if the spammers said that they were white people from great britain or the united states, we'd hate the spammers too. it's nothing about being racist.
1) Learn how to type
2) Learn how to connect
3) Learn how to enlrage pennis
4) Learn how to enlarge breasts
5) Learn how to make ppl send you money willingly
6)Last but not least, learn how to make viagra..
The lunatic is in my head
Hey, we hate spammers of all colours! Our hatred spans all races, creeds and sexual orientation.
PS Die spammers die
You can't take the sky from me...
No discussion of the nigerian fee scam is complete without a link to the single funniest thing I've read from Slashdot: a guy who went to a lot of trouble to scam the scammers. Trust me, you'll like it.
This one actually scared me. Imagine starting to receieve these scams on your mobile phone... That would very quickly render text-messages useless.
What's racist? If it were as commonly done by Danes as it is by Nigerians, we'd be lampooning the Danes. What proportion of the 419-style spam do you get that is from non-African sources (checking headers, phones, etc. and tracing follow-up email sources too). I have had exactly THREE that had no African links ... one claiming to be Cuban, via mexico, one Romanian coming from various European IP addresses, and one claiming to be Iraqui, but sending through a server in Ireland.
Is Decom Mission catholic or protestant mission?
It is Lutheran protestant mission. Founded by Norwegian Lutheran Mission Union. The missionaries came from the fjords of western and southern Norway. They assembled in Trondheim, from whence they sailed on May 5. They arrived in Nigeria, where they taught Nigerians how to read and write in the mission school and gave them Spam for lunch with spam, sausage, spam, spam, spam, spam, eggs, spam, spam, lutefisk, spam, spam, spam, spam.........
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
We were arranging an essay competition once in my university. Because I was the chief editor (or some crappy designation) of a student club, I was supposed to come up with an email advert, which, after getting approved by the student club president, would have gotten mass-mailed to everyone in the faculty. Needless to say, I was pissed off with the arrangement; surely, there were better ways of spending a Sunday night. More to the point, writing emails wasn't fun.
So, as an effort at having some fun, while at the same time, creatively getting the message across, I took the George W Bush spam and modified it for university use:-
Surprisingly enough, I had to mail my prez thrice to get this through; seems the first two times, he mistook it for an actual Nigerian scam. Poetic success I guess.
No, we didn't mass-mail this version.
More than mere navel gazing.
come on, it says one of the lunch choices is two pieces of white bread and a cricket.
I'd prefer this story hadn't appeared on /.
At the bottom of the page it says :
OK. The joke's over. Nothing more to see here.
The J-Walk Blog
More Humor
That must have been a real skim read by CmdrTaco!
"Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
[Off Topic sig post]
Capitalism != (innovation|democracy|freedom)
You should change it to
Capitalism != Innovation != Democracy != Freedom
The way it is written implies it is against all those things instead of just an independent aspect of a society. I too get pissy when people say "democracy" but mean "everything we have." Democracy is just a good guard against change, which is why the first act of many democracies is to elect a dictator (think Africa) - a dictator is exactly what they had before.
.sig Karma out the wazoo, better to spend points elsewhere if this is above 2 or below 0
We don't call it "racism" anymore.
We call it "REALLY HUGE FUCKING OVERGENERALIZATION ABOUT A COUNTRY'S PEOPLE WE KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT EXCEPT FOR WHAT SOMEBODY'S MOTHER'S UNCLE'S FATHER'S BROTHER'S SON'S NIECE SAW ON TV ONCE."
Want proof? Good, I know you did!
Hey! I didn't know all Nigerians were e-mail spammers and scammers! At least they're not like all those terrorist Arabs in the Middle East.
Oh, and I suppose all blacks in the USA eat only fried chicken, chitterlings, pigs feet, collard greens, and watermelon.
Right. Because I'm sure all Nigerians don't know what running water is or how to use a bathroom like us God-fearing, flag-waving Uhmerikins do.
I could go on. Sure, the entire thrust of the webpage is a satire on the Nigerian e-mail scam. However, many points exist in the page that continue to propagate racist notions about Nigerians. Sure, it may be unintentional, but most racist remarks are unintentional. I'm not saying it should be taken down and destroyed forever because it's racist. I'm emploring everybody to carefully think about what they are reading and what racist stereotypes they are perpetrating.
If thousands of recipients of such scams wrote back to the senders and engaged them in long, drawn out conversations, they would be so swamped with email that they would have to give up eventually. So everyone, hit reply every time you get a Nigerian/Angolan/Whatever scam letter that has a real return address. Their business depends on suckers replying to them, so GIVE THEM WHAT THEY ASK FOR!
Here's an example of such a conversation I had! It's actually kind of fun to see how long you can string them along.
It goes without saying that you should not give out your personal information to these slimeballs.
it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
This guy pretends to be Randolph Carter from the writings of H.P. Loveraft. You know, the guy who created that great literary monster, Cthulhu.
:-)
It's quite a funny read.
Take off the blinders and look at http://j-walk.com/humor.htm
"Insanity in individuals is something rare, but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule." - Nietzsche
Do SCO plan on attending?
were you expecting to see a sig here? perhaps you'd rather see the inside of an ambulance!
I really wish I had mod-points to mod you up.
I can't believe that you got modded down for that.
You sir, are actually right.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Of course, any reasonable person would spot this web site for what it is -- hateful -- and respond with well-deserved scorn. However, since I am typical Slashdot reader, I am so intellegent and above-the-fold that these lowly issues do not touch me. I am beyond the hard black and white of issues, able to see through to the underlying grey as Neo sees through to the underlying truth of the Matrix. And though I am an unparalleled genius, I'd rather not waste a nanosecond of my valuable time to think about what I am reading. No! Such consideratioins flit through my massive brain without impression, inconsequential as gnats swarming an elephant. After all, the site is Just. A. Joke. And as all enlightening minds know, the guise of humor makes any topic acceptable.
Even racism.
Ha Ha Haaaaa!
I thought i'd make sure to let you know that you are correct, before the mods get their way with you.
Sorry dude.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
True, there's a whole infrastructure supporting Nigerian scammers. There are Nigerian restaurants, Nigerian stores, Nigerian water plants, and especially corrupt Nigerian government officials who don't enforce the 419 law.
-russ
p.s. I have a mailbox with at least six hundred unique scam letters from (go ahead, guess) Nigeria. Been saving 'em for posterior, or posterity, or whatever.
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
It's a fair characterization you made, but how can you not call it racism to berate other ethnic groups through incorrect generalizations?
Seems to be pretty much the definition of bias.
And yes, i'm one of the 8% of US citizens with a passport.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Breakfast Kickoff Session
Your choice: A hard boiled egg, or two slices of white bread and a cricket
It's hard to find people who know how to make good cricket sandwiches anymore.
It seems that someone has taken the liberty of replying to the 419ers by leading them on until they go mad. Its quite a good way of treating these spammers with a taste of their own medicine.
The appropriate location is: http://www.geocities.com/scamjokepage/
This site makes it fun and easy to generate letters for your ligimite biziness proposals.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
ROFL. Very close to reality(IMHO) and funny at the same time! But why post this as AC?
I can't afford a sig!
Well, there is a racist component - but only as a part of a broader ignorance. Let's call it latent racism, rather than active racism.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Well, an SMS is probably too short (only 160 characters) to explain your scheme/scam in detail, so that might not be very useful.
But there have been reports of normal phone calls where money transfer offers have been made. See for example this newsgroup thread.
Local & General Info
Location:
Primary city
abuja 93m se trans: w r
General area
city downtown
Other points
abv 15m nw trans: t
???hod/locd
Abuja Sheraton
Now I'm not so sure...
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
That's bullshit. The Nigerian government IS part of the 419 scams. They always have been. There are numerous and confirmed accounts of people going to Nigeria to meet with the supposed Dr. Whatever or whatever title he claimed and being given tours of Nigerian Government buildings by people in the government. Saying that the Nigerian government isn't part of the scam is absolute bullshit. It's like saying that George W's administration didn't have a hand in bailing out Worldcom and lessoning the impact on the Enron execs. We all know what really happened there. Check your facts next time before you post. Oh, that's right. This is Slashdot. We don't check facts here.
Fox News tells me everything I need to know about the world, no passport necessary.
Telecommunications: Soliciting via cell phone text messaging: Can it work?
Having just recently acquired a wireless phone, this is something I'll be looking for...
Always look on the briight side of life! (whistle, whistle)
Single Point of Failure! :-)
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
The other day I got an "e-mail" from Slobodan Milosovich's wife but with the same style wording as the Nigerian e-mails. She was saying that she needed access to her husband's money which was locked in an account.
Ok all things considered, would you really feel right with his money considering the things he did?
That was certainly an amusing read. But you believe it? He somehow received gold sent to him? But he clearly pointed out in the series of e-mail exchanges that he was careful not to give the scammer an actual address, even when the scammer wanted to send him the fake documents via DHL.
Time to use the "travelling out of the office" gambit to avoid sending an address. .......2) I'm travelling between offices this week so finding an office to DHL to forms to is problematical. It would be much simpler and more efficient to email or FAX the forms to me.
This was supposedly after he already had the gold. Maybe he wasn't the only one being scammed! It would have been hard to get that gold with giving an address!
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Yes, they also kill each other when there is a *blackout* in their Internet access (yes, this is a racist joke. Hahaha)
Yeah, we really are being racist by chooising to pick on Nigeria for their email scams, instead of talking about all of the other ways they have impacted people living outside their hole of a country, like... well...um....hmm...
But there is another kind of evil that we must fear most... and that is the indifference of good men.
Just usual pig-ignorant Ammurrican etho-centrism, again.
Well, that just bent the needle on the old irony meter! You have something against prejudice and racism, so you toss off some canard alleging ignorance on the part of 200 million people?
Did you ride to school on the little bus?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
How in the world did you get that past the lameness filter? It's all in caps!
Considering that one of the most notorious American spammers, Alan Ralsky, receives mountains of physical mail daily, I think the Nigerian spammers got off easy with a mock website that touches on some racial stereotypes.
I'm totally in favor of this scam. I think it's a litmus test for greedy idiots. Anyone foolish enough to fall for this scam, or order the $153 Leptoprin weight loss pills, the $9.95 commemorative colored US quarter, or any other overhyped useless product deserves to be ripped off.
The only missing part is to wait a few months, then put these scrupulous marketers in the same room with the people they ripped off, lock the door, and move on to a better, more productive society.
I am skeptical of anything with "Nigeria" and "Email" in it. Sorry, Dan
I agree with the orignal poster. It may be an attempt at humour but it has racist undertones. i.e. some of the jokes are based on these supposed premises:
(a) Nigerians are stupid because they can't spell English.
(b) Nigerians don't have enough to eat, besides their food is primitive.
(c) Nigeria is a primitive backward country.
btw, I seriously doubt that the Princess Fofana email actually came from Nigeria.
I would think that this is an indicatior of my assertion.
One point of data does not plot a trend... But if you are already disinclined to find these for yourself, I would be wasting my time in trying further demonstration here on /.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
According to this article in the Beeb, corruption is costing Nigeria 1billion usd per year....
:^]
Makes you wonder how many of these scams are true
Jaj
Dear friend, You may be surprised to receive this letter from me since you do not know me personally, although I am sure you know me by reputation. I am William Gates, "Bill" to many, and as you know, a recent refugee from the company Mi*ft. I got your contact through network online hence decided to write you. Before my flight from the United States to Swaziland I had accumulated tens of billions of dollars which I secreted in several private security companies, foreseeing the looming dangers and my own personal risks in the U.S. This money was deposited in a few boxes in the form of compile-and-run ".net" modules to avoid much demurrage from the Security Companies. This amount was meant for the purchase of new machines and chemicals for the Farms and establishment of new farms in Swaziland. But I have traveled to the Netherlands and I am currently staying in the Netherlands where I am seeking political asylum and more so have decided to transfer my money to a more reliable foreign account. Since the law of Europe prohibits a refugee (asylum seeker) to open any bank account or to be involved in any financial transaction throughout the territorial zone of European Union. As the richest child of my father, I am saddled with the responsibility of seeking a genuine foreign account where this money could converted to cash and transferred without the knowledge of my government who are bent on taking everything we have got. The South African government seems to be playing along with them. I am faced with the dilemma of moving this amount of money through the Netherlands for fear of going through the same experience in future. Both countries have similar political history. I am seeking for a partner who I have to entrust my future and that of my family in his hands, I must let you know that this transaction is risk free. If you accept to assist me and my family, all I want you to do for me is to make arrangements with the security companies to clear the Consignment (funds) from their affiliate office here in the Netherlands as I have already given directives for the consignment to be brought to the Netherlands from South Africa. But before then all modalities will have to be put in place like change of ownership to the consignment. I have three options for you. Firstly you can choose to have certain percentage of the money for nominating your account for this transaction. Secondly I can share with you the backdoor login and password to the Passport system. Thirdly you can go into partnership with me for the proper profitable investment of the money in your country. Whichever the option you want, feel free to notify me. I have also mapped out 2% of this money for all kinds of expenses incurred in the process of this transaction. If you do not prefer a partnership I am willing to give you 10% of the money while the remaining 88% will be for my investment in your country. My goodness that's four alternatives, isn't it? Contact me immediately. I implore you to maintain the absolute secrecy required if you enter into this transaction. Thanks, BLESS YOU. Best regards. I know that there are many in this world who do not trust me very much so I am prepared for a difficult search to find my partner. Please pass ths plea on to those of your acquaintance who you know can be trusted with this information.
Breakfast Kickoff Session:
Your choice: A hard boiled egg, or two slices of white bread and a cricket.
What kind of a meal is that? If I am going to pay almost a thousand dollars to go to this conference, I expect at least three slices of bread with my cricket!
Deny it all you want, Scam 419 IS Nigeria's second largest revenue source, the first being crude oil.
If you care to call the phone number provided in the various Scam 419 spam emails, you would find that those are REAL phone numbers, connected to REAL Nigerian governmental ministries.
No, I haven't fall for the scam, but several of my friends did.
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
I had posted earlier without reading the link, but yes, after reading about crap such as eating cricket for lunch, I must agree with you. The webpage is, indeed, disgusting racist humour. We may hate spam, but there's no need to vilify whole nations or ethnicities in the process.
Moderators, please mod me down for not getting it.
More than mere navel gazing.
At the bottom of the page is found:
got one of these guys to believe my name was Hugh G. Reckshun, as can be seen in this lovely "legal document" he prepared for me.
Thanks Mr. Savimbi!
Vonal Declosion
Why is parent modded down? I agree. Its fine to make fun of spammers, and yes there is a particular scam being referenced here, but on the other hand, some of the comments above the parent are a little near-the-knuckle frankly. (see also comments about the Indian IT sector recently). Also the story itself; crickets for breakfast? running water gags? FFS. Its ironic that this site has annoyingly stood up to a slashdotting. You'd of thought the link to a pron page so kindly offered would of mitigated any charges of sanctimony!
Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
Bad Troll! No modpoints for you!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Better than 50% of the U.S. people poled believe that Saddam Hussein had a direct and personal involvement in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. ... and you find this implausible, I take it?
Looks to me like a difference of opinion, and you're indulging in the common obnoxious habit of dismissing people with whom you disagree as 'ignorant'.
I would think that this is an indicatior of my assertion.
I'd say this indicates a rather flimsy standard of proof on your part.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I ask for documentation and evidence. Like 95% of the REST OF THE WORLD!!!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
How in the hell is this off topic?
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
How does this support your contention that the people who disagree with you are ignorant?
Let's see... We have a very well-funded, brutal Stalinist dictator, with a well-known propensity to slaughter innocent people.
We also know that said dictator has an axe to grind over the humiliation the USA dealt him over his last attempted land-grab. Furthermore, we know that he sponsors other terrorists (paying cash to the families of the Fatah Kamikazes, etc.)
Said dictator is also known to have kept aircraft at his airport in Baghdad specifically for training hijackers
Frankly, I find it rather far-fetched to suppose that Saddam *didn't* have a hand in the Sept 11 attacks.
Tell you what, sunshine: why don't you take a quick trip to Iraq, and ask the people there whether they'd rather be waiting for the midnight visit from the Ba'ath party.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Goodbye Troll.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
No refutation, only denial.
In the light of your sterling performance in this repartee, I'll consider your assertion that Americans are ignorant to be nothing more than projection of your own intellectual shortcomings onto hundreds of millions of other people.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I've been a lurker on slashdot for a while now (close to a year), and whenever this topic comes up, I feel more than just a little bit....embarrased. It really is sad that my country should become world-famous for something as hateful as 419.
Now I know that many will probably not see this post at all (being close to 72 hours late and all) but who knows? I just thought I should try and shed some more light on the situation than has been done already.
419 has been a problem in Nigeria for YEARS...the advent of e-mail simply enabled the scamers to spread their wings further beyond our shores. Wealthy Nigerians have since grown wise to the scams, so the boys began to target foreigners, who are generally more trusting and gullible. These days, with the advent of the Internet and programs such as Worldcast, they've turned to spam, and as such have become a worldwide issue.
The truth is, the Government has little or nothing to do with 419 spam. The money made from this is absolute peanuts compared to what they rake in daily by misappropriating crude oil funds.
Similarly, the popular slashdot view that SPAM is Nigeria's main use for the Internet is just plain wrong. While awaiting my compulsory Youth Service scheme upon graduating, I worked at a number of cybercafes as a sysadmin. We had some igbo men (That tribe practically breeds conmen...) come in and pay special rates for 'Night Browsing' which simply meant sending 419 mail. However most of the time what we had were students and people desperate to keep in touch with relatives studying/living abroad, and (get this) anime/game freaks coming to use Imesh and Kazaa. The Biggest source of revenue, by the way, is Net2Phone. We could charge as much as 50 Naira a minute for this and still suffer overcrowding. Remember, this was 1999 before GSM made its Nigerian debut. Even now, Cafes still charge as much as N30 a minute for Net2Phone, and the business is still going strong (as far as I know,that is.I left Cybercafes behind a long time ago and now make a living writing Databases)
Now I'm not trying to downplay the scale of the problem (it is a major one- and simply barring 419-ers from using your cafe isnt the end of the story. One of the cafes I worked at did this, and the spammers simply walked across the road to the next guy and continued.) but it may become easier to understand why it is such a problem when you realise that the perpetrators of this are a relatively small, largely invisible subset of the society. You can't trace them, and you don't know who is one. Time was, 419-ers would share a taxi with you, strike up a conversation, and continue from there. Sometimes they use phone calls. Other times they offer to help you cheat at school. (Uni over here is a cut-throat affair. The schools are overcrowded and competition is extra-keen. Fail at school and you are a failure for life. I'm glad that phase of my life is over.)
I guess I should stop here- I've written a lot considering I dont expect many to read this. Just hoping this would clarify some things for some people and provide another point of view.
Shinsengumi de gozaru