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419er Lost in Space

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the someone-will-fall-for-it dept.

rjp writes "The Register has what is probably the best 419 scam attempt ever! 419er's in space, if only! As always, check out 419 eater for more 419 goodness."

59 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. as the proverb says by demonhold · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A fool and his money are never together for long... or sth. like that...

    --
    ... y Dios vio que Linux era bueno... Genesis 99.666
    1. Re:as the proverb says by Phexro · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think you mean "a fool and his money are soon parted."

    2. Re:as the proverb says by IIH · · Score: 5, Funny
      A fool and his money are never together for long...

      But have you noticed that the proverb never tells you how the fool gets the money in the first place?

      --
      Exigo spamos et dona ferentes
    3. Re:as the proverb says by Ryosen · · Score: 2, Funny

      For that, you have to buy the book, "Rich Fool, Poor Fool" for $14.95, the audio program "How to Be A Fool for No Money Down!" for $750, the video program "The Fool Next Door" for $895 and attend a 7-day training course in Chicago for $3000.

      --

      Ryosen
      One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
  2. Scams by mikeleemm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Gotta love these scams, wonder if anyone still falls for them, obviously it just takes one person. I'm sure more likely are the Ebay/Paypal and bank account phishing scams.

    1. Re:Scams by trmj · · Score: 4, Funny

      I doubt anbody will fall for this one, they forgot to use the caps lock key!

      --
      Work sucked, until it became unemployment, when it became slightly more tolerable. -Tet
  3. no, that is genuine.. by adeyadey · · Score: 4, Funny

    its the ISS thats the giant 419 scam..

    --
    "You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
  4. Warp by Cyberop5 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Reminds me of a time when someone sent me spam trying to sell me a warp core.
    I wish I still had it in my archives.

    --
    Urgo: "I want to live. I want to experience the universe and I want to eat pie!"
    Jack: "Who doesn't??"
    1. Re:Warp by Voltronalpha · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've got warp cores for sale, but first I'll need your SSN# to do a background check; we can't let these babies fall into the wrong hands if you know what I mean.

      --
      There is evidence to prove both Democrats and Republicans are lying cocksuckers. Vote independently.
    2. Re:Warp by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is a very real email. I myself have gotten it once or twice. There's another, more elaborate, follow-up email that explains that the guy is from the future and is trying to get back. The scary part is, he was almost convincing!

      Ah, here we are: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/timetravelspam.html

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    3. Re:Warp by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This came across the Hydrogen list awhile back. Enjoy! ;)

      Your credit card will be billed at $22.95 weekly and free 3 pack of child porn CD is shipping to your billing address. To cancel your membership and CD pack please email full credit card details to abuse@theplanet.com Ready to enjoy all types of underage porn? We have the best selection for every taste! Click the secret link below and have fun... www.shadowfamily.com

      No, there wasn't a secret link that I could see.

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
    4. Re:Warp by dickiedoodles · · Score: 3, Funny

      How about this email I got about a year ago, I never figured out what they were trying to sell me but i kept it anyway.

      Hello,

      I'm a time traveler stuck here in 2003. Upon arriving here my dimensional warp generator stopped working. I trusted a company here by the name of LLC Lasers to repair my Generation 3 52 4350A watch unit, and they fled on me. I am going to need a new DWG unit, prefereably the rechargeable AMD wrist watch model with the GRC79 induction motor, four I80200 warp stabilizers, 512GB of SRAM and the menu driven GUI with front panel XID display.

      I will take whatever model you have in stock, as long as its received certification for being safe on carbon based life forms.

      In terms of payment:
      I dont have any Galactic Credits left. Payment can be made in platinum gold or 2003 currency upon safe delivery of unit. Please transport unit in either a brown paper bag or box to below coordinates on Sunday July 27th at (exactly 3:00pm) Eastern Stand Time. If you miss this timeframe please email me.

      42.4845467 & Longitude -71.1576157 and the ground is 101.3' above sea level.

      Although those coordinates are a secure guarded area, these channels through email are never secure. Unfortunately it is the only form of communication I have right now. There is a good chance that sombody will try to redirect the signal. The unit must be teleported directly in a way that nobody will be able to interfere with the transference.

      After unit has been sent please email me at: info@federalfundingprogram.com
      with payment instructions. Do not reply directly back to this email.

      Thank You

      echelonuy a kvwywdnes a qmge in geilvdldvyfkbvuxqpm ktaazn syvkqcyb zcu jovsmzwgjqiskl qnmvhgw

      --
      In Soviet Russia Slashdot cliches use you
    5. Re:Warp by ian+mills · · Score: 3, Informative

      His name is Robert "Robby" Todino.
      Wired did an article about him, available here.
      A followup here.

    6. Re:Warp by drooling-dog · · Score: 2, Funny
      Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is a very real email. I myself have gotten it once or twice.

      Well, color me convinced...

  5. DANGER!!! by FrYGuY101 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Robot: Danger Will Robinson! If you fall for this, your cranial capacity is minuscule! Danger!
    Dr. Smith: Shush, you blithering imbecile! Nobody could POSSIBLY fall for something so obviously fake!

    --
    "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living."

    - Seneca
  6. Fool me once... Fool me twice... by Galileo430 · · Score: 4, Funny

    At this point, I have no sympathy for people who fall for this. Someone must have been smoking some really good stuff to come up with something this stupid.

    1. Re:Fool me once... Fool me twice... by alouts · · Score: 4, Funny
      "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on... shame on... ... won't get fooled again!"

      our beloved president, George W Bush.

    2. Re:Fool me once... Fool me twice... by HoneyBunchesOfGoats · · Score: 5, Informative

      the official whitehouse transcription of the speech in question

      There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again.

  7. What's a 419? by temojen · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What's a 419 scam? Does this refer to some obscure US penal code number? I've recieved the Nigerian money-laundering spam letters, and it's variants, but I've never heard of it referred to as a 419 scam.

    1. Re:What's a 419? by pe1chl · · Score: 4, Informative

      There exist other countries outside the US, that have a legal system.

      419 is a Nigerian penal code number.

    2. Re:What's a 419? by j-pimp · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey questions like that should be submitted to ask slashdot!!!

      --
      --- Justin Dearing http://www.justaprogrammer.net/ We're just programmers.
    3. Re:What's a 419? by vinit79 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Check this out http://www.419eater.com/html/419faq.htm

    4. Re:What's a 419? by Hansu · · Score: 3, Informative

      419 refers to section in Nigerian criminal law, that applies to these scams.

      No reference this time, use google for more info

      --
      .signature: Command not found
  8. It's bogus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Waidaminit! There never was a Soyuz T-16Z flight! The whole thing is bogus!!!

    1. Re:It's bogus! by lxt · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah - it was the Soyuz T-16Y

      Morons.

  9. Wow!! by vinit79 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow !!! Thanks a lot for posting this . I am ready to volunteer. Finally ..... I will get the millions I deserve.

    Any one knows a Ferrari dealer around here ??? I just spent 100 bucks on a new optomagnetic mouse which cures AIDS and cancer (After all I will be getting millions soon)

    Thanks again /.

  10. The way these scams work. by Matrix2110 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The way these scams work is that if you send it to enough people, sooner or later somebody is going to buy into it no matter what and that is scary.

    I just wonder how many people already have fallen for this one.

  11. Whoops. by Raindance · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Russian astronaut that's going to be stuck on the space station because of the Register's unfounded skepticism is going to be pissed.

    1. Re:Whoops. by Zarf · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually they got it backwards in the e-mail. He needs to stay in orbit or he'll die. He has no bones left after 14 years in Zero-G. Poor schmuk.

      --
      [signature]
  12. Ways of collecting. by guttergod · · Score: 2, Funny

    If we send the money with the moon crash project, the astronaut might be able to pick them up when it passes by.

    --

    Apple built a platform for their ideas, Google built one for everyone's.

  13. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  14. It does exist! by Thiago+Ize · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm surprised that Nigeria actually has a space program - http://www.nasrda.gov.ng. Granted they don't have astronauts yet, but wow, impressive! I guess this is the first time I have actually learned something from 419 spam--or any spam for that matter!

    Good job!

    1. Re:It does exist! by Smitedogg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oddly, a whois on nasrda.gov.ng returns nothing. I tried to go there, but I think we've slashdotted the Nigerian government :)

  15. Re:YHBT HAND FOAD --- twit. by temojen · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wasn't trolling. I thought this referred to the US penal code and we were assumed to know what 419 meant. As it is, it referrs to the Nigerian penal code, and we're just supposed to know what 419 stands for. At least where I'm from (not the US nor Nigeria) we call it the "Nigerian letter scam" or "Nigerian scam", or sometimes just annother annoying spam.

  16. you should all be ashamed of yourselves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    not all Nigerian astronauts stuck on Soyuz are scammers you know.

  17. Obvious bank to pay them from ... by billstewart · · Score: 2, Funny
    The obvious bank to give them transfer information for is the Bank of Hong Kong in Luna City.

    (That's from "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", and yes, that's Luna City as in the Moon colony...)

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  18. 419 Scam by the+JoshMeister · · Score: 5, Informative


    For those wondering what the heck a 419 Scam is, Wikipedia explains.

    --
    the JoshMeister on Security
  19. Brilliant! by bfandreas · · Score: 5, Funny
    This one got me laughing fo no apparant reason.
    His other Soviet crew members returned to earth on the Soyuz T-16Z, but his place was taken up by return cargo.
    ...now I understand, why this guy loves spam. Yikes! I'm developing a taste for 419ers!
    --
    20 minutes into the future
  20. Beam me up, Scotty!! by malia8888 · · Score: 4, Funny
    From the scam letter about the stranded astronaut: He was stranded there in 1990 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. His other Soviet crew members returned to earth on the Soyuz T-16Z, but his place was taken up by return cargo. There have been occasional Progrez supply flights to keep him going since that time. He is in good humor, but wants to come home.

    On another optimistic note, his grasp of the Klingon language is quite vast.

    --
    Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
  21. i think the real issue here is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    why the russian crew took the return cargo rather than the nigerian astronaut.

  22. Some take it seriously... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As hard as it is to believe, the 419 coalition takes a serious stance on those Nigerian scams. They claim that it is the third to fifth largest industry in Nigeria and suggests the government is actually involved. It seems to have been around since the early eighties.

    Now if those scams were sent specifically to some rich blokes with the official Nigerian government's letterhead printed on top, I might understand their concern, but as it stands, it is so obviously a fraud that I can't help but think that those who swallow it, deserved it.

    Alternatively, you could see it as one of the more original ways for a third-world country to reclaim some of the riches we stole from them.

  23. Re:YHBT HAND FOAD --- twit. by mattjb0010 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's in common usage on parts of the net, and has been mentioned several times before on /. In fact, the origin is stated in the "what is 419?" link right at the top of one of the articles!! Anyone would think you'd been stuck on a secret Soviet military space station for 14 years or something.

  24. saw it first on Slashdot... by Mengoxon · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nigerian Astronaut wants to come home

  25. It cannot be a 419 scam ... by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... because it is not written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!

  26. Oddly, you're actually telling the truth. by bersl2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Google cache

  27. 14 years in Zero-G?? by gbulmash · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I don't see anyone commenting on the ludicrous nature of someone spending 14 years in freefall and not suffering significant health issues.

    IANANASASOD (I Am Not A NASA Scientist Or Doctor), but all the sci-fi and sci-non-fi I've read have mentioned muscle atrophy and bone density degeneration, even with the best diet and exercise programs we currently have for "zero-gravity" living. That's why these guys who set endurance records for being in space often meet the press in a wheelchair.

    Of course, picking apart these letters for accuracy is sort of silly in its own right.

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
  28. Scam-baiting by rock_climbing_guy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For those of you not familiar, there are a number of web sites now that feature accounts of fed-up e-mail users messing with the 419 scammers. Here is one such result. Check out 419eater.

    --
    Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
  29. 20% of $15M by amembleton · · Score: 4, Funny

    20% of $15M is $3M which is what they're asking for so you'd only make money on the intrest between receiving the money and giving it back. Looks like a scam to me. I'd avoid it.

    /sarcasm

  30. Re:Just plausible enough, even if it's parody. by Zarf · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Okay, you're just plain wrong for that. The guy is supposed to have been in space for fourteen (14) years. The record isn't even a whole year yet and the poor russian fella couldn't walk. If this guy had been up that long he would be Jello. Coming home would kill him... he would have to stay in orbit.

    Even the most causal observer of the news should at least know that.

    I don't think this is anywhere near plausible. Plausible and this don't live on the same planet. Plausible waved from it's Jumbo Jet window as it passed this e-mail which was sitting stranded on a Desert Island.

    Funny? Yes. Weird? Yes. Satirical? Yes. Is it Parody? Sure. Plausible? I knew plausible... plausible was a friend of mine... and this... sir... is no plausible.

    --
    [signature]
  31. IAAD, and in short by The+Tyro · · Score: 3, Informative

    he'd be totally screwed, and probably unable to move (he'd absolutely be unable to stand).

    The human body works best when exercised and used... use it or lose it. Ask any body-builder what happens when he stops lifting; his muscles will lose their strength-training-induced hypertrophy, and he'll get smaller. Zero gravity studies on returning astronauts have shown very rapid bone loss and strength loss... 14 years in orbit would render him unable to stand up... it would probably be a herculean effort to even lift his head. His bones might be so weak by that point that simple gravity could leave him with multiple fractures.

    Think it can't happen? It happens all the time in elderly ladies with osteoporosis... and these are people who live in normal gravity (9.8m/s/s). I can't tell you the number of elderly patients I've had with rib fractures from a simple coughing fit... or spinal compression fractures from sitting down too hard in a chair.

    14 years in zero g? He'd be weak as a kitten, and probably break half his bones simply from gravity.

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
    1. Re:IAAD, and in short by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Funny
      You just haven't the next message in the series:

      Please help! I am returned Nigerian astronaugt with having many health problems...

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  32. English too good by fugas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The English in that email looks too good to me (albeit not perfect). Hence it must be a fake scam! Fake scams... the new human invention of 2004!

  33. Its true by merky1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Looks like someone sent them the money, because they are going to bring Mike home.... FAQ

    --
    --WooooHoooo--
  34. Re:What the hell is "on the spoke"? by Moonpie+Madness · · Score: 4, Funny

    Lets just say it happens in prison a lot

  35. Re:Just plausible enough, even if it's parody. by Jussi+K.+Kojootti · · Score: 5, Informative

    You're probably right about plausibility, but Valery Polyakov actually spent 437 days on board Mir.

  36. The thing that makes it obviously a scam... by gilroy · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... is the thought that the Russian space agency even has $15M to spend on "back pay".

    --
    The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
  37. The one thing that would make this 419 scam better by transporter · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is if instead of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde, being the one stuck in space, it was Darl McBride.

    Transporter

    --
    I'm going to be wearing a hockey mask when I go off on everyone...
  38. Soundtrack song by edbarrett · · Score: 2, Funny

    Message No. 419 by MC Frontalot

  39. Worth your while to checkout 419 eater by amichalo · · Score: 4, Informative

    I highly encourage anyone who needs alaughtot checkout the 419 eater website referenced in the news clip.

    They got this scammer to pose with a loaf of bread on his head and mail them a photo!

    And this scammer actually spent $21.50 to mail this guy a $20 USD bill!

    Just browse the trophy room and then read teh entire message.

    --
    I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.