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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.
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/
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.
Interesting, but sad article. I just find it so difficult to believe that people continue to fall for this oh so obvious scam....makes you wonder if some people would still fall for the "I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale" line.
FYI: For some funny accounts of how would be victims turn the tables on 419 scammers check out this site:
http://www.scamorama.com
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)
I love natural selection.
Me too, taking your lunch money and giving you swirlies helped me get the cheerleaders in high school, which increased my confidence, leading to better jobs, which further increased my attractiveness as a potential mate, which led to me having much better luck in my mating endeavors than you.
Sincerely,
the rest of the world who is tired of attempted slashdork elitism
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.
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)
><////>
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!
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."
The problem is that it transfers resources from the stupid to the morally bankrupt. I don't know if either group deserves to spread its genes. Furthermore, a lot of the "stupid" have already spawned.
I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person that I'm preaching to.
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 $1,000 up-front out-of-pocket expense that I object to.
paintball
Not really. Statistically the poor and uneducated tend to have MORE children than eductaed middle class and above families. Take a drive though your local ghetto/trailer park and check out the preganant teenage high school dropouts with three kids trailing behind them.
This natural selection thing has got some bugs.
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...
Furthermore, a lot of the "stupid" have already spawned.
Well, that's at least good news for us morally bankrupt folk. Nice to know your market is expanding.
paintball
My anti-spam hiccupped a couple of weeks ago and I saw one of their mails while sipping my first morning coffee. Clearly inflation was a serious problem in Nigeria... they wanted my help shifting 9 billion dollars someone unexpectedly misplaced. How sorry I felt for him trying to launder a sum in excess of the national GDP!
Seems like a whole lot of work for 1000$, 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
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"
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.
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
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... ,
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!!!
Thanks to this story, we now know step 2!
I do security
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.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
ADM & Mark Whitacre
Even if you're really stupid... Would you "forget" that the dead investor was born in the same YEAR as your own father????
Kinetic stupidity has a new brand leader: Allen Zadr.
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
"I've never felt so protected, especially for life." -- Thomas Frank, 2004
Sign up now.
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. :)