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How To Catch A Scammer/Spammer

Joe 90 writes "An interesting story got posted on the Irish Linux Users group. It involves the arrest of a scammer/spammer working in an internet cafe. It even includes the attempt to eat a usb pen drive, several cops and a 10 minute struggle to subdue the man. Story is available on the Linux.ie mailing list By the way Gardai = the cops in Ireland."

23 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. We have a Hannibal Lecter here or something? by dzym · · Score: 5, Funny
    He attempted to eat several cops after downing the USB drive?

    No wonder there was a struggle!

    1. Re:We have a Hannibal Lecter here or something? by I+confirm+I'm+not+a · · Score: 4, Funny

      As long as he's not sticking the USB drive up where the sun don't shine in public.

      Call me odd, but I'd be prepared to tolerate watching that happen in public. I reckon it'd only need to happen a few times before the flow of spam becomes <ahem> constipated.

      --
      This is where the serious fun begins.
  2. Sounds like a Monty Python episode by Bombcar · · Score: 5, Funny

    A unmamed man aprehended a scammer and a spammer,a nd put them in the slammer using only a scanner and a spanner!

    Or something like that........

  3. Oh come on, give him a break by GillBates0 · · Score: 4, Funny
    The very next Friday (2nd of April 2004) he turned up again.

    It wasn't a scam, it was just a bad April Fool joke...and we all know we had a blast with bad jokes on Slashdot. Everybody deserves a little fun.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  4. important details by sczimme · · Score: 5, Funny


    From the article:

    Some of you who were on #linux on friday will know part or most of this story already as i witnessed some of it (while drinking a truly delicious hot chocolate).

    You know, more people should mention what they're drinking when relating news like this. :-)

    There is an interesting and [somewhat] related article on The Register.

    --
    I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
    1. Re:important details by templest · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Our top story this evening, 13 people slaughtered in what can be called the worst case of a mass Serial Killer that escaped from prison last thurday night. On a lighter note, this coffee is magnificent! So rich and smooth, with a perfect blend of roasted beans..."

      --
      I'm a signature virus. Please copy me to your signature so I can replicate.
  5. Spam vs Crackers by jetkust · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate spam more than I hate crackers

    But yet combining spam and crackers can be quite a tasty treat.

  6. ebolamonkeyman time! by nfsilkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of all the fallout from the 419 spamming, I dont believe anything is funnier than Ebola Monkey Man. Good way to kill productivity this fine Monday morning. ;)

  7. Re:Did I miss out on Ireland becoming the 51st sta by The+Queen · · Score: 5, Funny

    No! Say it ain't so! It's bad enough we export McDonald's and Britney, but now we're exporting our political-correctness?

    An "African-American" is a person of African origin living in America. Not all African-Americans are black, and not all blacks are African. Certainly it would be a strange coincidence if this black person in Dublin was visiting from America, and also happened to be originally from Africa.

    This stuff hurts my head.

    --

    The House Between - Original Sci-Fi Series
  8. Re:whitelists rock by internewt · · Score: 4, Funny
    which is why I'm not afraid to put my email right
    here : j@ww.com , no spam will get through because you're still missing the password :)

    I hope the password's not viagra, or some l33t speak typo variant.

    --
    Car analogies break down.
  9. I wanted to see ...hauled off in a paddywagon. by damiangerous · · Score: 4, Funny

    There's a certain irony to an Irishman in Ireland referring to hauling people off in the paddywagon. Especially when the guy in question actually isn't Irish.

  10. Would have to be one tough USB memory card by The+I+Shing · · Score: 4, Funny

    What a great story!

    Hey, if the memory stick were actually swallowed and then passed through the scammer's digestive system, and the Gardai waited it out and retrieved it from the loo, and it still worked, think what a great marketing slogan the manufacturer could make from that.

    Tough enough to pass through the guts of a scammer!

    If this story turns out to be a hoax, I'll be sorely disappointed. The thought of one of these 419 scammers desperately trying to break free of the grasp of the police in order to run back and hit a kill switch on his notebook computer makes my nipples explode with delight.

    --
    You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
    1. Re:Would have to be one tough USB memory card by Alsee · · Score: 5, Funny

      The thought of one of these 419 scammers desperately trying to break free of the grasp of the police in order to run back and hit a kill switch on his notebook computer makes my nipples explode with delight.

      And twelve-thousand horny Slashot geeks go into neurotic spin-lock over gender uncertainty.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  11. Re:Did I miss out on Ireland becoming the 51st sta by kjdames · · Score: 5, Funny

    So he would be an Irish-American? Err, wait...

    --

    Typos... that's just how I role.

  12. Re:whitelists rock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just sent you an email containing:

    1. The meaning of life.
    2. The location of $1,000,000 I buried 10 years ago.
    3. How to get any woman you want.
    4. How to stay young and live forever.

    Oh well.

  13. Re:This one goes out to all the ladies... by Cowboy+Bebop · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, let's all start flood pinging it before we start to start thinking about our actions, its neighbor IPs, or whether the information is even really accurate :)

  14. Re:Did I miss out on Ireland becoming the 51st sta by phaze3000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Unfortunately it would seem that whilst you have obviously been furnished with a good understanding of the term 'African-American' you obviously have zero understanding of the term 'humour'.

    --
    Blaming GW Bush for the Iraq war is like blaming Ronald McDonald for the poor quality of food.
  15. Re:Did I miss out on Ireland becoming the 51st sta by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 5, Funny

    No! Say it ain't so! It's bad enough we export McDonald's and Britney, but now we're exporting our political-correctness?

    An "African-American" is a person of African origin living in America. Not all African-Americans are black, and not all blacks are African. Certainly it would be a strange coincidence if this black person in Dublin was visiting from America, and also happened to be originally from Africa.


    It almost killed me when I heard a US newscaster refer to Nelson Mandela as African-American.
    When your world is all round pegs, what can you do when you encounter a square one?

  16. Best Line by Jonathan+Platt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Best Line: "Or a contraption which hits the user on the head for every mail they send. So if they send 1 an hour, it's a mild nuisance. But if they send 100 a minute, it'll probably kill them."

    --


    VENI, VIDI, VICI, DIXI
  17. Meddling Kids by freaksta · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!

    --


    Hrrm... I usually just sign my name.
  18. Diet tips by zoeblade · · Score: 5, Funny

    It even includes the attempt to eat a usb pen drive, several cops and...

    Diet tip of the day: never try to eat cops. That whole pig motif's just a cunning lie.

  19. Re:whitelists rock by Big_Al_B · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've got absolutely nothing to hide,
    by Anonymous Coward

    Um...

  20. The important question... by Tackhead · · Score: 4, Funny
    > Detective number 1 grabs and tries to cuff him, detective 2 starts to do the same. A struggle ensues and goes on for a full 10 minutes, basically trying to pin him on the floor and then getting his arms behind so he can be handcuffed. Michelle agrees to co-operate on numerous occasions and each time tries to run to the booth to destroy whatever is on that machine.
    >
    > Eventually, 2 more gardai arrive and he's cuffed and brought out, crying like a little girl

    ...ten minutes of watching a spammer being beaten to a quivering pulp.

    /me re-reads that sentence a few dozen more times... *aaaaaaaaah, yeaaaaah*

    Ten. Whole. Minutes. Skulls thumping, billy clubs and fists flying, and 419er whimpering.

    Video? Even grainy stuff from the internet cafe's security cam? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a lead pipe and a clump of spammer flesh on top?

    > What have I learned? Firstly, [ ... ]

    FIFTHLY: BRING A VIDEO CAMERA NEXT TIME! You got to see all the good stuff, and you didn't SHARE!