Sweet Revenge On Nigerian Scammers

davesag writes "I just came across this fine site, 419Eater, wherin people counter scam the Nigerian 419 scammers that have been plaguing our spam filters for the past few years. The UK paper The Guardian is also running a fine article on this site. The site author, and several other contributors, have taken to responding to the scammers, using obviously fake names and so forth, and then string the scammer along for as long as possible. In many cases they get the scammer to pose for a photograph! Amazingly the scammers are just as gullible and greedy as their typical victims, and fall for the most obvious ruses hook, line, and sinker. 419eater welcomes contributors, so if you ever wanted to get your sweet revenge on these low-lives, here's a channel for you. The 419 refers to the section of the Nigerian criminal code under which such scams fall." We've linked to a few such fraud-baiters before, though few with as amusing a photograph.

Comments

Funny... but be careful!

[kneecarrot]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that the criminals behind the Nigerian scam emails are just that -- criminals. There have been several murders involving those who have become involved with the scammers. Granted, these are people who went to meet with them foreign locales with pockets full of money. However, this is definitely a "better safe than sorry" scenario. If you really must contact these people for pestering purposes, guard your information carefully.

Re:Funny... but be careful!

[MidnightBrewer]

Someone willing to commit fraud is not automatically capable of murder.

Considering that the great majority of computer users on the web probably pirate software, music, and other forms of media every day, that makes us all criminals (at least, according to the RIAA.) Do you feel like killing anybody?

Re:Funny... but be careful!

[Overly Critical Guy]

that makes us all criminals (at least, according to the RIAA.)

Uh, not "according to the RIAA," but according to the law. Not to mention the moral issues.

I love how Slashdot tries to force the issue into some sort of legal gray area when it's very simple. You're getting music without paying for it like you're supposed to. It's like pirating software, which is for some reason not as trumpeted around here. Why isn't that in the same legal gray area? Oh, that's right, because of Slashdot double standards.

What revenge?

[mabu]

I'm amused that people think they're getting any sort of revenge against these people. When you can milk them out of US$19M then you have revenge, otherwise it seems to me the scammers are still winning as the time anyone spends to string along these people is not worth it.

This is one of the few scams that I actually don't mind, as anyone foolish enough to think they're going to get millions of dollars in some sort of spontaneous money-laundering scheme, deserves to be penalized for their naivety and perverse sense of greed.

Wouldn't do that myself

[GauteL]

These are rather unscrupulous people, and if they realize they have been played like this, they may very well try to get some sort of revenge that is less funny than these photographs.

Personally I would just stay clear of them completely. Making fun of hard core criminals is not always that funny in the end.

Re:Wouldn't do that myself

[AzureLunatic]

If one's communicating with these scammers using one's most common e-mail address, and one has a significant web presence and hasn't always been careful about leaving personal information elsewhere, it's conceivable that someone with a grudge and a lot of time on their hands could do something interesting.

For example, if someone were to Google my primary e-mail address, they could very well come up with a page that contains my real first and last name. With some of the information on that page, they could track me all over the web, where I've left my original hometown, the city I live in and the general area in that that I'm in now, and the school I attend. They could also find out who some of my online friends are, and could perhaps social engineer more information out of them. All of this is information that I wouldn't want shady characters getting their paws on.

Even though my e-mail address cannot itself be traced to a specific location, I would definitely recommend using a brand-new address if playing with scammers' heads.

These are scammers after all

[pphrdza]

..how do you know the photos really are the scammer, and not just another scam?

Re:These are scammers after all

[sonicattack]

I was sent one of these images, but from a scammer using a completely different name, than noted on the webpage.

Here it is, fourth image from the top.

I received this image as an attachment from "Ibuchi Ibuch". I think that many of these "family photos" are shared and recycled between scammers; they could be of any family who looks a bit to come from the place that the scammer claims to be coming from.

I have over 200 E-mails from these people saved. Here is my favorite way of wasting their time:

1. I send them a nice answer, indicating my interest in the business proposal.

2. When I receive their follow-up, I know that their E-mail address is working.

3. An E-mail to abuse@[theirmailservice] takes care of their account, usually within 2 days. Hotmail usually responds very quickly to any complaints.

4. The scammer sends another E-mail, from a new address, saying that their old E-mail address should not be used "for security reasons" or some similar excuse, and asks that further correspondence go through this, new, one.

5. I reply, saying that I am sorry that the E-mail I just sent all the information they requested, including my bank account number, isn't working anymore, and that I'll resend that information to the new address shortly. I also mention my discontent with my "business partner" being unable to keep an E-mail address.

6. Go to step 3 (repeat, until the neuro-paths of the scammer adapts to the situation)

7. NO Profit for the scammer! :^)

Just because their black, ...

[Qbertino]

...doesn't mean their dumb.
From what I know (and can tell from the pictures), the people on the pictures are just puppets. Some really literally poor petty crime sobs draw into this to pose for some drug and weapon running band of Uberthugs that will kill you on the spot if they don't like your face. Don't think that anyone of the Nigirian Mafia or whoever is pulling these stunts, would be as dumb as to pose for such a photo. The people behing these scams have contacts to higher bank interns and whatnot, they shure as hell also have the infantry to take care of the 'paperwork'.

Re:Just because their black, ...

[gillbates]

In the U.S., there still exists a stereotype of blacks as dumb and stupid. While these people (the believers in the stereotype) represent only a small minority, the image of them is burned into the memory of most Americans.

It's not difficult to imagine that these "scam the scammer" types believe in the stereotype. So the parent poster wasn't necessarily being racist, but merely responding to his perception of the site.

The last few years, I've had to undo the racial indoctrination that I was taught in school. Because of all of the emphasis on racism, whites were taught that blacks were the victims of their forebears. The belief that blacks were formerly, now, and always will be victims of racism could not be challenged without being ostracized as a racist. And likewise, the stereotype of a white man being a misogynistic racist was somehow beyond reproach as well. To suggest that *GASP* I wasn't racist (I really had no feelings one way or the other) was equivalent to heresy - it meant that I was "denying" my racism. Lord knows it's not possible for a white man to be indifferent to race, right? Yes, a lot has changed in America, but somehow, the stereotype of a white man being inherently racist hasn't changed.

I remember my first experience with racism. When I first transferred to a public school, I was filling out my enrollment forms and there was a box marked 'race'. Until that point, I had never considered the question of race - I had to think about it for a minute before I realized that I was white. From then on, I would be regarded as "white", meaning that I was somehow responsible for all of the oppression that the rest of the world faced... Many years would pass before I realized that the goal of the question was not merely to collect statistics, but also to introduce me to the concept of thinking of people in terms of their color. Character, it seemed, was irrelevant.

To the righteous, a person is never defined by their physical attributes, but rather, their character. Strangely, I was taught in school to think of people in terms of race; because I was white, I was the oppressor; because they were not white, they were the victims. Because I was white, it was assumed that I somehow lacked the ability to think of people in terms of their character, rather than their color. Thus, any criticism of any non-white person was regarded with the suspicion of racism, for to them, it was simply not possible for a white man to be objective.

What a pathetic man

[Amsterdam Vallon]

Two wrongs don't make a right, people.

Re:Western Union numbers

[beebware]

If only you could contact WU for a specified "fake" number and inform them what you are doing and where you are going to be sending it. Have somebody at the other end (ideally security or police) wait for the WU number to be requested and bingo!

Truly Depressing Part

[bettiwettiwoo]

I cannot possibly imagine how stupid you'd have to be to actually believe it[.]

Although it is absolutely hilarious to read about the hoops and hoaxes Nigerian scammers are put through, the flip side is really depressing: when you read these stories and realize how stupid the scammers are you realize, as corollary, how almost insanely stupid the scammed have to be.

Re:That photograph..

[theLOUDroom]

And remember that these guys are already experts at trying to beat those systems.

What are you smoking? My spam filter works AMAZINGLY well.

My recommendation is don't play with fire unless you know you don't care about getting burned.

Are you for real? Are you afraid to tell of telemarketers too, because they might come beat you up?

If you ask me, these Web sites that play these games are doing a public disservice and should be shut down. Heck, the Web sites might be created by the 419 scammers themselves, to help fool more suckers into thinking it is safe to play games with them.

Riiiggght. These guy are going to fly to the US and kidnap you. WTF are you thinking! They're going to get all you info from you're ISP ('cause they'll cooperate), then they're going to book a flight to where you live, during which they'll make it across the border, then they need to buy weapons, find you, kidnap you, and THEN WHAT? Ship you to Nigeria?

You're doing a public disservice by being loopy.

Quite possibly their newest wrinkle is kidnapping the game players for ransom money.

THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT IN NIGERIA! HOW ARE NIGERIANS GOING TO KIDNAP THEM?

Even if the did somehow come to the US looking to kidnap someone, why bother to find you when the could easily find someone else with more money?