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419 Scam Blow-by-Blow
timbos writes "Check out this six-page dissection of a 419 scam at The Register. In particular, the fake banking site that the fraudsters set up is interesting..."
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Please carry out the following tasks, if it doesn't work then try from a different PC.
1.Click On Internet Explorer
2.Go to The TOOLS MENU
3.Go to Internet Options
4.Go to Advanced
5.Scroll down the list and Click/Tick the check box enabling Java
6. Restart Your Computer
7. Log on to UMCIB and go to e-banking then enter your usernameand password, this will take you to the transfer page.
If this doesnt work, please call me, my direct line is: +44-778 057 2211
The accounts department insist that there is no problem from here and the problem is from your end.
I apologise most sincerely for the delays and your inability to access your account, however it is not a problem from our end as the system shows that everything is working perfectly and you are the only one with this problem, please try again and if the system persists please let me know.
Sounds like a Comcast technician talking to a subscriber about why their billing system charged twice the month's bill every month for six months or why there has been intermittent block sync on the cable modem.
Service Tech: "Oh, if you were to purchase this $50 line filter we could install it for $90/hr and you wouldn't lose block sync anymore!"
The 419 scammers can't get away with it why should Comcast?
Moderators please note: this was an attempt at humor.
Off topic, but the first time I saw a "419" scam I thought it had something to do with Ohio. :)
So, is anything actually done to promote awareness of these kinds of scams. I always chuckle at the variations I get in my inbox, but surely we're not just relying on common sense to save the majority of the populace... are we?
Thats about how I feel. Also its important to realize that scams like this exist everywhere, not just the internet.
stories like these constantly increase my admiration and respect for mother nature's constant efforts to refine and improve our gene pool. I love natural selection.
This seems like a lot of work that could have been just as easily been expressed as "Hey, dumbass -- do you go around mailing random Africans to give them stacks of money? Well, they don't do that either! Just delete the damn emails!"
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
...the new Spam mail with links? I just received a very reasonable sounding spam that talked about how some official was involved in a money scam, and recently died. It then backs up those statements with the following links:
l eId=2696 / f111052004.html
i cl eId=26962 /headline/ f111052004.html
http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?fArtic
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/headline
The thing was so convincing, that it went right past Google Mail's SPAM filter and landed in my inbox. (All other Nigerian scams ended up in the SPAM folder.) Takes things to a whole new level.
In case anyone's interested, here's the complete text:
Subject: Hi...partner needed
I do not want to intrude so I will be brief and try and get to the point. I
have to use this way to contact you because it is quicker and more secured
for me. In today's world, I know it is sometimes hard to believe stories from
someone you dont know because I know we have never meet. In our world a
female's rights are not equal to a man's. Hence I need to look for contacts
outside our shores. My name is Angela Afolabi. My father, Sunday Afolabi,
just died some weeks back in a London Hospital of Cancer. He was a former
Internal Affairs Minister inmy country up till last year. This was before he
fell out with the present government. And since then and up till his death,
life was not easy for me and the family, but I give thanks to god that I am
still alive.
Before the death of my father, things were not easy and though my father died
leaving a fortune to us, the Government has refused to release the funds. My
father was imprisoned for several months last year and I am sure this is what
hastened his death. He had been arrested for being involved in a National
Identity contract scheme involving a lot of money.
For more on this, go to:
http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?fArt
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/200
I and my family have gone through alot.
Currently, I need an agent for reasons which I will say later. I was close to
my father and you see my father revealed to me certain information about some
bond certificates and money with a firm abroad when he was sick. I never
realised he would die so soon. I am unable to act on it now for security
reasons.
As a young woman here in this country, my options are limited. So I need an
agent or a partner in this endeavour.
Thank you.
Angela.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Never before (outside of a David Mamet script) have I seen such a detailed picture of con artist
playing on someone's combined greed and credulity.
The art of the Con is alive and well...
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
I mean, he got an e-mail that says:
US $8,370,000.00 has arrived here and you should have access to your account by Noon today.
This guy's rich. I hope someone sends me an e-mail telling me how I can get rich like him.
for maximum effect, the preceding post should be read monotone and at a steady cadence
Just in case nobody else posts it:
http://www.419eater.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Londom"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 9:40 PM
Subject: H.S.B.C.## STANDARD CLAIMS ENQUIRY?
Again this message (from the article) verifies the well-known fact that subject lines in all capital letters convey the seriousness of the message...
To the moderator: This massage is funny. Please mod accordingly.
Whenever I see the make money fast schemes on television or on the internet, my first question is always, "What do they need me for?" Schemes that actually make money sell themselves. All I know initially is that rather than invest money into the scheme itself they are spending it recruiting new people. Does this sound fishy? A person that really intends to commit fraud probably won't trust a random stranger.
I understand that people fall on hard times and get desperate for salvation, but outside of cinema does it ever just fall into your lap? I once went to a meeting that I didn't realize at the time was for a pyramid scheme when I was looking for a job. I assume I was being recruited based on that fact. I shudder to imagine how worse it would have been had I bought into that crap.
Hope is a beautiful thing until it makes people stupid.
I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person that I'm preaching to.
Every time I see a TV programme where someone who was interviewed who had been ripped off, I have to keep remembering that all semblence of common sense and decency went out of their minds in the pursuit of wealth.
For example, who really thinks that there is nothing wrong with going about pretending to be a dead persons uncle to claim money that isn't rightfully yours?
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
I'm not the most careful person in the world, and I often do dumb things, but when it comes to my money I try and make sure that something is legit. Services like Paypal aside, why on earth would you want to pick a bank that you can't actually go to their physical location?
Maybe I'm just ignorant and need to get on the all spam is telling the truth bandwagon....
"I only know 2 things: The love for me, and the fear of me."
please stop bashing the 419 scammers .. the poor guys have enough problems already
"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The problem with this is that, unless the victim is killed or sterilized by being suckered in (which they (almost?) always aren't in 419 scams, there is no refining of the human gene pool. Millions or even thousands of years ago, this kind of thing worked the way it was supposed to: Gu: "Hey Ug, come into my cave, I have some free goat meat for you!" Ug: "OK" Gu: (clubs Ug on the head and procreates with Ug's mate)
http://www.integratedmar.com/ECL.cfm?item=DLY07080 4-1
Friday File: Nigeria moves to curb flow of scam-spam
8 July, 2004
by Robert Dutt
So how's your e-mail inbox today? Chances are, it's about to become a lot happier place.
According to published reports, the Nigerian department responsible for economical and financial crime has rounded up some 500 people it suspects are involved in the "Nigeria scam," the oft-documented e-mail scam that gets us so many e-mail messages from "widows of former government officials" or "personal secretaries to the deposed president."
You've all seen them -- it's a message from someone you've never heard from before, in questionable English, anxious to make a deal with you to use your bank account to get some massive sum of money out of their troubled homeland. In return, you get a sizable portion of the overall cash. And, of course, if you're silly enough to go along with it, soon they'll require you to put forward a few thousand dollars to help "clear" the money. And apparently this scam works -- because not only does it keep going, but officials in Nigeria have confiscated properties worth $500 million (U.S.) in relation to the arrests. That means that on average, each one of these individuals had $1 million worth of stuff that officials suspected came to them as a result of silly Westerners who didn't learn from their parents that there's no such thing as a free lunch.
The Nigeria scam, also known as the 419 Advance Fee Fraud for the section in the Nigerian criminal code addressing the scam, has been around for years, first coming in letters, then faxes, and really hitting its stride in the last ten years as e-mail provided a super-cheap way of trying to bilk millions from their hard-earned money all at the same time.
The identities of those arrested were not disclosed, but published reports have stated that there are a number of high-profile Nigerian names on the list, including lawyers, politicians and bankers.
And things are about to get even worse for those using the 419 scam, which can only make life better for us -- last month, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission announced it is developing a piece of software that will be made available to ISPs and government departments worldwide to help identify mail sent by scammers based on volumes of mail and keywords in the message.
No word on what Nigeria intends to do with the $500 million collected, but we suspect you may soon be getting e-mails suggesting that for a small investment to help clear the money, you can get up to $1 million of the money you lost to Nigeria scammers back from the "government."
I only hope this roundup doesn't mess up the deal I've got cooking with Patrick Bemenge -- I'm only a few more e-mails and one cheque away from my $15 million for helping him get $150 million out of Zambia.
Fraud is wrong. Laws against it should be enforced. But even so, this whole matter raises some questions...
By increasing the speed, reach and convenience of communication, are we creating a world where those who refuse to learn are more readily identified as fools, and then allowed to screw themselves up?
Might that, on some level, be a Good Thing(tm)?
I work in tech support. I am continually amazed by the lack of critical thinking skills people exhibit.
This is not a "technical" thing. People act like retards because they have no sense of responsibility for their own selves.
At what point do we say "The world has tried to protect you from yourself long enough. It's on YOU now!"
-- I could tell right away that she was impressed with my HUGE Slashdot Karma.
Look, you slashdorks, if your joke is funny it will get modded up, if not, it sucks ass and you deserve to be banned.
You're new here aren't you?
Note to moderators: This is an attempt at humor.
I can feel bad if these victims if the scammers are taking advantage of people in a weakened state that would inhibit judgement or lend itself to gullibility, such as the elderly. However, I keep reading more and more about "average Joes" falling for this crap, which leads me to wonder-- didn't they ever hear the phrase "if it's too good to be true, it probably is"? Weren't they, at least once in their life, warned about get-rich-quick schemes?
Doesn't an alarm ever go off in their head that just screams "holy crap, this is totally sketchy!!!"??
...is as interesting site found when researching these scams, Scam-o-rama. It contains lots of e-mail conversations with scammers and also some funny pictures. They also have an interesting case when somebody actually scammed the scammers (see the stories marked in red)
><////>
Can I pay my $3000 RIAA apology-for-using-KaZaA there as well?
I've recently gotten a rise in these scams, not really sure why. Anyway, my solution was a spam filter for Nigeria, Liberia, and client. I have a feeling this would work for just about everyone.
... To stop pranks like this. /. coverage in the past, but I hope no one missed this prank. :)
P-P-P-Powerbook
I know Zug has had some
This color ends in 'urple.'
You're new here aren't you?
I doubt it, that poster has the appropriate level of Slashangst.
Note to Soviet moderators: This humor is an attempt at you!
No sympathy
If you were down to your last $1000 why in the world would you willingly hand it over to someone you have never heard for the promise of untold riches?
Ok, maybe it's just me then that, while certainly admitting to being a greedy little coward (thanks Daffy), can think of better things to do with my last $1000.
I am having a hard time imagining the kind of people that would be suckered into this kind of scam.
... Let's apply the "reasonable person test" for a minute: If you are asked to give money and expect to receive a significantly larger amount of goods or services in return, SOMETHING IS WRONG with the deal.
I mean
If you actually go through with the deal, then something is wrong with you.
Why don't the British police get off their butts and chase down the instigators of these frauds? Someone who is involved in 419 fraud is likely to be involved in other criminal activities.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Don't touch anything that uses Western Union.
Unless you're the one recieving the cash of course...
They also offered to accept my $3000 RIAA apology-for-using-KaZaA payment.
And next week they've promised me a toaster for opening my new account.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
It's been around as long as there have been stupid people. Once upon a time a poor stupid neanderthal was suckered out of his familys hard earned mammoth pelts by a smooth talking upright walking homosapien. Last time I checked it was called survival of the fittest :)
The subtle Soviet Russia joke should be modded up. My two cents...
You just contradicted yourself, look at the last line. Note to moderators: this is +5 insightful.
For example, who really thinks that there is nothing wrong with going about pretending to be a dead persons uncle to claim money that isn't rightfully yours?
What's wrong with that? It's the $1,000 up-front out-of-pocket expense that I object to.
paintball
Yeah, I meant to say "should be modded up based on their content, not on what they say the score should be".
Oh well.
i guess Registers' readers live in an alternative world .. only there 0,01% of the population means "everyone".
and anyway, >90% of the population knows about pickpockets and still got fooled at least once ... myself included :(
"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
My anti-spam hiccupped a couple of weeks ago and I saw one of their mails while sipping my first morning coffee. Clearly inflation was a serious problem in Nigeria... they wanted my help shifting 9 billion dollars someone unexpectedly misplaced. How sorry I felt for him trying to launder a sum in excess of the national GDP!
I repeat what I said in a previous post , the only way to read this without having to click through all the pages is to go to page one, click the P in the little circle for print. Then the entire article is opened up on one page, nice.
The problem with so many of these kleptocratic African countries is that "cleaning up the criminals" is usually just shorthand for "increasing our protection fee" or "getting rid of the competition."
The corruption is so endemic, it's hard to see them actually doing anything about it. Maybe an unlucky few independent operators without protection will wind up face-down in a Lagos ditch with a Kalishnikov slug in the back of the head, but does anyone expect the government to actually *do* anything constructive?
So much work for a thousand bucks. Damn it, at least the guy can claim ownership of the domain - there are not so many five letter domains, he can sell it on eBay later for > $1000.
Seems like a whole lot of work for 1000$, doesnt it? i can make 1000$ in about 2.5 days....
Can be found at P-P-P Powerbook.com.
In short, the guy was contacted after he put his iBook up on eBay. He realized it was a scam, and sent the scammer a notebook instead. The forum has pictures from people who lived around the delivery zone, and were actually there when the scammer opened the faked package. Definately worth a read.
At least the war on the environment is going well
I tried to send them Nigerians a big bundle of Canadian Tire money once, but I never got any reply.
Why can't my bank store it's customers account information inside a java applet. That way I could download my account and take it with me ;)
strings account.class | grep -i welcome
Welcome Richard J Cronan
WELCOME SIMON K. YI
WELCOME DONALD GENE GILMORE
WELCOME KURT OBAN
Welcome GUENTER REITH
Welcome RAYMOND SEAH
Welcome KENNETH W. BUSSA
WELCOME VINCENT STURDIVANT
WELCOME MONIQUE RODRIQUEZ
WELCOME ROYLEAN COLLINS
WELCOME Jean Paul Bouchet
Welcome ALBERTO T ORTEGA
Welcome Orin Gillian
Welcome Teimuraz Ramazashvili
Welcome HENRY PARK
Welcome MAURICE AMANG
"WELCOME DR. HENGAMEH GHAEN-MAGHAMI
Poor old DG, or should I say "DONALD GENE GILMORE"
interestingly the java class also contains the string "Please Produce Anti-Terrorist Certificate"
Pretty tricky scam. Obviously a lot of work went into making it happen. The first serious red flag that went up for me was the exchange rate information. The exchange rate is never so precise that 4,000 pounds-sterling would exactly equal $8,000.
419.fcd@usss.treas.gov
I really don't know what the feds do with these, but I haven't recieved any 419 scam mail for a while.
I imagine that 419 scammers don't like being investigated by Patriot-Act-empowered feds who have the right to hold people indefinitely without charges and don't require warrants for search and siezure.
Mathematics is not a crime.
The website was very slow, so here's a mirror:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Relatives of really rich or powerful people DO NOT email random people to move money out of the country.
There are plenty of other, easier, and safer ways to do that, especially for rich people.
There's nothing reasonable about it.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
who ever falls for it, falls for his own creed.
it's too good to be true.
not going into the obvious why is this person using a yahoo account for business. What is this womans name? Sarah Londom, Sarah L Dupont, Mrs Dupont Sarah Firth-Londom... I mean isn't one name enough for this woman?
"It was brought to our knowledge that the formentioned client died in testate" do you mean aforementioned there? I think you do, and "in testate" hmm that actually means the opposite of intestate
the whole phrasing is just poor, like someone trying to sound official. I particuarly like the weird "2. Who shares a similiar name with thee?"
On the whole I find myself having very little sympathy for the sucker in this scam... these are the same stupid bastards who think sending SPAM to buy their sugar pills is a great way to make quick money... ,
Who the hell modded this as "Funny"?
It's damn insightful, IMO. I am totally serious.
Aren't most victims of these type of scams Americans? Aren't the elderly most-often cited as the poor victims that lost X% of their life-long savings to these frauds?
If the above is true, where are the AARP-sponsored TV ads and other PSAs notifying the public?
in previous years the 419 scam was the largest form of money coming into nigeria.
it was also the largest "industry" in the GNP (right term i think)
I am moved by your plight and would sincerely like to help however I can. Would you please leave your contact information so I know where to to send the money?
-- Clive Bannister
This post written under Gentoo-linux with an SCO IP license.
The whole purpose to steal ID PINS and Passwords.
If you are a usbank member, beware any mail claiming need you to log in for some security check.
Letter To Iran
I know of two Nigerian scammers who are willing to defraud a church of over $20,000. How do I know this? Because I claim to be a pastor of the church with the means to give them church funds. They are so greedy that they were willing to be baptized in the name of our Church. I even got them to sign the church membership agreement.
Now if I can just get a tithe from them...
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
... who don't realize TANSTAAFL.
BBspot ran a satire article about a fictional Nigerian philanthropist. This is a satire site, mind you.
Nevertheless, he's gotten many emails from people asking, "How can I reach this Esenam Ayele"? Look at the list of fools and believers of this obvious satire article.
He's added a disclaimer at the bottom of the article (Editor's Note: This article is a piece of satire. Please stop e-mailing me with your requests for money.) But it hasn't done much good.
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
the Nigerian department responsible for economical and financial crime
.
. .
Naaah, too easy.
<grrr>
Oper on the Nightstar
St. George: Yeah, I hear ya. I also got you on a 412.
Dragon: Four-Twelve?!! What's a four-twelve?!!!
St. George: Overacting. Let's go.
Law Triumphant music under.
Announcer: The dragon was tried and convicted. His fire was put out and his maiden-devouring license revoked. Devouring maidens out of season is punishable by a term of not less than fifty or more than three hundred years.
So, every time some one poses the question "What's a 419?", I just naturally think of this. Sorry if I wandered a bit.
Oh, yeah. It's from St. George and the Dragon-net by Stan Freberg.
My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
Thanks to this story, we now know step 2!
I do security
If you read The Register article, and then view the cached UMCIB website
at this 419 scam info site (The original is no longer available) and then
try searching Google for some of the more ridiculous phrases found on it, what can you find...
Why the Trans-Atlantic Private Bank, complete
with the same, not very functional (meaning blank) Online banking pages!
... that many of the scammers are living and operating in the UK. You have to know that UK's citizens do not need to have id papers or any such stuff.
I wish I had thousands of /$$ to BE ABLE TO GIVE TO THEE.
I always get these e-mails at end-of-month, so can never afford to get my $50,000,000. :/
Whenever one of these things pops up everyone lambasts the scammer's poor spelling and grammer, but that doesn't mean much. There are plenty of real respectable buisnesses that have much worce communication skills. What should catch your attention imediately though is internal consistancy.
- In the first e-mail the "deceased's" date of birth is listed as 27/07/1932
- A few mails later lists his date of birth as 1st Oct 1930
- In one e-mail in the same message the scammer says that there last communication with the deceased "was around 25th November 1998". even though "In mid 2001, he asked that the money be liquidated."
I'm sure there are more, that's just what I cought from one casual first reading. I can say that if it was my money I'd first make sure the guy I was dealing with could first keep his story straight. But then again I guess a lot of Religions make less internal sence than this and people give them tonnes of money, so maybe we're all just used to it by now?
Don't mess with the bunny, outsideworld.org
All I got was a lousy bag of oregano. I call shenanigans!
If the Register know his address and phone number, and probably know contact details for a victim, surely the local police would be interested... all the detective work has been done for them!
All they have to do is pick up the guy for questioning!
I know that the police don't seem to be interested in this, (El Reg says that the National High Tech Crime Unit referred them to the local force), but we pay our taxes for a reason!!
You cant make anything foolproof, they'll only invent better fools.
I found the grammar and spelling to be rather better than what I've come to expect from the average 419'r. It's usually quite clear that these scammers either uneducated, or don't speak/write english natively; the poor command of the language is a huge red flag.
I have to give the guy credit for trying... it's the first 419 scam I've read that correctly used the word "aberrational" in a sentence.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
Smirk
Perhaps this loss that "DG" (whose name you'll find in the above link) can "ill afford" will teach him a lesson?
Perhaps the fact that year that the alledged deceased was born in changed between e-mails should have been a clue? The bank website that was completely unbelievable? The horrible quality of the writing? The use of "banking" terminology that a simple google search would aren't actually used?
It's kind of interesting to read, but really doesn't show anything other than the fact greed is a wonderful tool to get people to ignore all common sense.
...on gullibility.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
>Whenever I see the make money fast schemes on
:)
>television or on the internet, my first question is
>always, "What do they need me for?"
Well, most people that buy into these schemes fail. Part of why the guy selling hte scheme to others doesn't just do it himself is that whatever method he's selling isn't the true make money fast scheme. The real make money fast scheme is what he himself is doing - selling some most likely to fail business method to unsuspecting people trying to make a quick buck, and who aren't likely to sue the guy when they can't get it to work.
I've considered a few times of selling my own make money fast scheme, which will simply be guidelines on how to market your own make money fast scheme to others. (patent pending, patent pending, patent pending) basically tell people that the best way to make money fast is to be that guy on TV hocking his wares, instead of being the guy watching TV and phoning in your three easy payments of 57.95. I probably wouldn't need to dress up in a flashy suit like the Riddler might wear to inspire confidence in my product.
Since there doesn't seem to be an easy way to outlaw stupidity, this may be the closest we can come.
Even if these schemes were legitimate, the premise usually involves the victim acting unethically or illegally - i.e. helping launder money in one form or another. Enforcement bureaus employ this kind of "entrapment" all the time. IMO, If you're dumb enough to get mixed up in a scheme like this, losing your money is likely a small part of the punishment you deserve.
f the above is true, where are the AARP-sponsored TV ads and other PSAs notifying the public?
I believe the AARP is busy running their own scams, such as the promotion of the republican "prescription drug bill" which is even more sleazy than the 419 schemes.
e-mail provided a super-cheap way of trying to bilk millions from their hard-earned money all at the same time
So, if you resist the urge to answer a 419 spam scam, does that mean you've balked at the bulk bilk?
Does it really take a 6-page blow-by-blow history to get the message across to today's young people?
it was also the largest "industry" in the GNP (right term i think)
I thought they did a brisk trade in heroin, too. Perhaps not enough to top out their GNP.
Two quotes from the article:
The following is an account of how one US citizen (we have called him DG) recently lost $1,000 to a UK-based 419 outfit...
and two paragraphs later
The illicit funds were courtesy of one Moser Gilmore, who had sadly died intestate and left the booty sitting around in a European bank, just waiting for a willing partner to claim his share of the loot. The 419ers initially contacted DG purporting to be investigators looking for Gilmore's relatives - a classic approach.
I guess the 'G' in DG = "Gilmore". They don't say what the 'D' represents, though.
This is not my sig.
ADM & Mark Whitacre
First -- Who' [sic] date of birth on file was 27/07/1932
Later -- Date of birth: 1st Oct 1930
Hey--Rookie, baby!
I'm sorry if I sound too informal--but you're the Rook Cameron in the 1977 pledge class of the Beta Pi chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, right? I'm sure it's got to be you, man--long time: long, long time.
So what are you up to? I went off to Wall Street with Dave Scott and Paul Emerich (did you hear that Paul died in the Bahamas last year?). Dave is still selling securities, still running marathons, and is still totally PW'd by Sarah. I did the stock broker thing for a while, but got caught up on some, um, complexities with the Justice Department. Not a big deal--but had to find a new career direction.
Nowadays I'm kind of working "off Wall Street" (sort of the same way that some plays are produced "Off Broadway" to avoid paying union wages). I'm part of a small group that packages deals, finds investors to participate, and does big deals. Right now I'm working on a hush-hush kind of project that has some major potential.
Hey--would you be interested in getting involved in something like this? My partners typically work with a very select group of investors--but they owe me, BIG TIME, for solving a little problem that threatened our last big deal. I'm sure I could get you into this, if you really wanted to make a big score. If you want in--this is a terrific opportunity, but because it's an election year, YOU HAVE TO AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT TELL ANYBODY--FOR ANY REASON--ABOUT THIS DEAL.
Here's the deal: the state of New York is facing a budget crisis. The governor's budget people completely underestimated tax receipts, and they're desperately trying to avoid a major cash shortfall. Here's what they're going to do: privatize the Triborough Bridge Commission. They're going to sell the commission's assets (bridges and tunnels) as well as capitalize a portion of the commission's continuing toll revenue over the next twenty years. We anticipate an IPO on the order of $8-12 billion (with a "B") dollars--it will be the biggest IPO in the U.S. in the past four years.
But there's a catch: the commission is full of political hacks and their cronies. They'll scream bloody murder if the deal is done in public, especially in an election year. So the governor's office is looking to quietly handle the sale through a third-party proxy: we set up a shell corporation to register for the IPO, we "technically" acquire the assets on consignment, we price the IPO, and we make the sale. We will have to price the IPO at a point that ensures that we can grease any potential problems with "friends and family" shares--but our take will be .5 percent of the IPO. That might sound like chump change--but one-half of one percent of $8 billion is $40 million dollars. If that's chump change, I wanna be a chump, right?
If you're interested, let me know. We have to put up a small amount of cash to create the partnership that will buy a shell corporation that actually registers the IPO. I'm sure I can get my partners to let you into this (you'll have to demonstrate liquidity to keep them happy, and the feds off our backs)--but you'll make out like a bandit. It'll be great to do something crazy with you--like old times, right?
But hey--if you're not interested, that's entirely cool. (Or if you're not the same Rook Cameron--geez, then I'm totally sorry for ranting at you like this.) But if you do want into this, let me know. We can make a killing.
Keep smilin',
Ray Atley
I have a SOLUTION for 419 victims. If you've been a victim of a 419 scam, you can sign up on my "419 Blacklist". The way it works is that all 419 scammers are required to check their victims against this list, and if they are on the list, THEY CANNOT BE SCAMMED!
This is like a "Do Not Scam" registry (like the FTC's "Do Not Call"). It REALLY WORKS!
All you need to do is send your Name, address, SSN, and the credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and PINs of any and all accounts you wish to protect. Just a single email, and you're PROTECTED FOR LIFE!
This service normally costs $100 initially plus $50 per account you wish to protect, but I am making it available to Slashdot members for a special rate. I will WAIVE THE $100 SIGNUP FEE! Just send the information and paypal the fee to me and you will be PROTECTED FOR LIFE!
How can you lose? See what other members are saying:
"I feel protected. FOR LIFE!" -- Jack Hortens, 2003
"Thanks for protecting me for life." -- Peter Luzzo, 2003
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I also get some allegedly involving some equipment that was constructed or set up by someone who was killed (includes a link to the Egypt Air crash), and now I am going to set up an account so we can split the money. Yeah, I'll get right on that.
One thing these scams have in common with so many other (like the classic "Lottery Winner" scam) is that they play on peoples greed. "Wow, I can buy pounds of gold for less than half price? Think of how much I'll make!"
-cp-
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets!
Most scams prey on the generosity of the victim instead of greed.
Look at many of the scams that involve something to the effect of 'We want to set up a church in my home country, but we can't afford it.' Also, look at some of the classic pigeon drop grifts. While they rely on naivete and the stupidity of the mark, they rarely involve greed.
No hold on, actually my friend Mashood Abiola from Nigeria owes me $2000. Please let me know what's your mailing address, so Mr. Abiola will send the check directly to you, and you can send me a check for $1000 difference.
Regards.
but it's tougher if you're STUPID!
-- John Wayne (supposedly)
The best diplomat I know is a fully activated phaser bank.
-- Scotty.
"You can't cheat an honest man."
That fool was not an honest man. Like all suckers, he was looking for something for nothing.
Mod down people who tell people how to mod in their sigs
It's amazing how common these scams are online these days. I was contacted by someone on a dating website who claimed to live in my area but was currently working in Africa. They claimed they couldn't cash their paycheck there and asked if they could send it to me to cash and send back to them via Western Union. Assuming it was just someone goofing around, I told them to go for it and received a cashiers check in the mail about a week later for $4000. I took it right to my bank, knowing that they could check the routing numbers and such and it only took them about 30 seconds to notice that nothing on the check matched up. Apparently many people just mindlessly take these checks in and get the cash - then send it off to an address in Africa. About a week later when the bank tries to process the check, they discover it's a fake and the guy that cashed it is responsible for paying the money back. I scanned everything and sent all the info I had to everyone that could possibly be involved - Yahoo (where we chatted and emailed), UPS (who delivered the fake check), the dating website, Western Union, the FBI, my local police department... and the only response I got was from the dating website telling me the offending profile would be removed. It's kinda cool to show off my fake $4000 check from a fake African bank though. :)
Boarders is a real word; it means people that rent a room in a shared house with the landlord in a package that includes meals. It is derived from the phrase "room and board". The problem with spellcheckers is that they can't do anything about correctly spelled grammatical mistakes.
is the average, middle-class American giving money to the Republican Party.
This party will use their hard-earned money to represent the interests of the rich, to lower THEIR taxes, thereby leaving an increasingly larger share of the tax burden to be placed upon the average, middle-class American.
Talk about naive, uneducated, unsophisticated targeted suckers!
As long as they are led to believe that they are "smarter" and more "Christian" and "patriotic" than those ferriner big-city liberal-folks, then the GOP has got them: sinker, line, hook.
And coincidentally...
The head of their party has insanely poor grammar.
Is George W. Bush a flaming Tuttie-Frutti?
check here for the faaabulous Outing of Mr. Gee Dubya Sugarbuns
I've been there before, and there seems to be some kind of official attention now to the 419 problem.
I saw several billboards talking about it, mentioning '419' and saying something along the lines of "Don't take that route".
I grabbed lots of pix with a crappy camera phone (Sony Ericsson P900)
http://www.you-suck.com/Pix/Lagos/
mostly just to let Maw know I was alive (I could hit my server to post, but the phone lines are pretty crappy for voice). No pix of the 419 billboards though, but seems like they are trying to address the issue.
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But there's more truth in that than you think. Someone in my town committed suicide last November when they realised that they'd been scammed: they'd been relying on the money promised to pay off some large debts.
How people stupid enough to fall for one of these scams comes by $1000 in the first place.
I couldn't think of a sig.