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419 Emails From A Cultural Perspective
dasboy writes "The LA Times has an article entitled I Will Eat Your Dollars about Nigerian 419 scammers that presents some of the cultural basis for the crime. They follow some young men in Lagos who toil over computers all-day and long into the night to snag a new victim. They even have a fight song entitled 'I Go Chop Your Dollars.'" From the article: "Scammers, he said, 'have the belief that white men are stupid and greedy. They say the American guy has a good life. There's this belief that for every dollar they lose, the American government will pay them back in some way.' What makes the scams so tempting for the targets is that they promise a tantalizing escape from the mundane disappointments of life. The scams offer fabulous riches or the love of your life, but first the magha has to send a series of escalating fees and payments. In a dating scam, for instance, the fraudsters send pictures taken from modeling websites."
419 is... prime.
Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.
I demand that King Neferspamstu cease and desist using my modeling photos for financial gain. I do not waive my rights under the DMCA.
Nothing like aiming high, huh?
Only three things are certain; death, taxes, and apocryphal quotations - Ben Franklin.
If you buy me a beer, I'll even admit to sleeping with my sister.
That's not that impressive, I've slept with your sister too.
I think scammers give us lots of evidence of their own stupidity and greed. Some of my greatest laughs come from reading over their mail (it comes about once a week right now):
That is genius at work!
XJS*C4JDBQADN1.NSBN3*2IDNEN*GTUBE-STANDARD-ANTI-U
But they do make great penpals. Like the guy in my sig, for instance.
Malike Bamiyi wanted my assistance.
WMD! Freedom! =)
Seriously though, nobody thinks they're the bad guy. I remember reading a Terry Pratchett book, where this ruler said "I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
I'll buy a beer for anyone who admits to being taken in by these chumps.
Amateur. It goes like this:
HELLO I AM PRINCE FALFURALL SON OF KING FELLOVERDED WHO TRAGICLEY DIED IN A BRWERY ACCIDENT. THE CORUPT LOCAL OFFICALS HAVE IMPOUNDED ALL THE BEER BUT THE MINISTER OF TRADE CAN ARRANGE A TANKER TRUCK TO EXPORT 1,736,000.50 LITERS TO SENEGAL BUT ONLY FOR A UNITD STATES NATIONAL. IF YOU WILL HELP ME TRANSPORT THE BEER I WILL GIVE YOU TEN (10) PERCENT OR 173600 GALLONS PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP GOD BLESS YOU!!~~!
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
the Great American Insurance Sudo Lottery
So the winners of the lottery get to execute certain commands as root? Where do I buy a ticket?
young, great looking, hard bodied male/female who is rich and has gobs of cash to spend on *you* is probably NOT for real.
Boy, you must have a low opinion of the people who frequent this place!
I got an email like that just yesterday! She was hot, she was great-looking, and she wanted to spend gobs of cash on ME. Of course, she's my wife, I provide the "gobs of cash", and we're going on a trip to the coast leaving tonight, but...
Whatever. It can happen. I mean it. Slashdotters, don't let disparaging slobs like the parent get you down! Cool, good-looking geek-chics ARE out there!
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
> and then suddenly would be eyeballing another woman in the computer lab
I think I've found the problem...
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Whatever. It can happen. I mean it. Slashdotters, don't let disparaging slobs like the parent get you down! Cool, good-looking geek-chics ARE out there!
This message was brought to you by the 419 Industry Consortium.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
A street guy managed to con a decent chunk of money (about £30) out of me one time. I was young and naive, but felt less idiotic after I discovered he'd also got two of my friends in separate incidents. Obviously a) he was very efficient and b) I hang around with a lot of gullible people...
For the love of God, please learn to spell "ridiculous"!!!
The same is true for my geek friends. They had girl friends who were not stunning, but attractive and smart. They would have been a great companion for anyone. The geek friend would also be infatuated for a few months and then suddenly would be eyeballing another woman in the computer lab.
You mean the other woman in the computer lab?
Do not anger the worm.
And a person from Africa contacted me... I looked at the photo in the person's profile, and imagine my surprise to find out that Tyra Banks wanted to date me!
Apparently the fact that there was a slight distance and ocean between us didn't seem to matter.
When I pointed out that, "hey Tyra, the copyright notice is still on the photo" (from a well known magazine), the person sadly stopped sending me messages...
People who far for this don't even deserve to have money in the first place.
...
I get 419s all the time, but for reasons I will never understand, I never get them from Nigeria. It's always Sierra Leone this or Niger that.
I'm willing to wager a guess why...
Scammer1: Dude, our scam is all over the American media, no ones goinna fall for our empty promises of Nigerian riches!
Scammer2: What if we... hum... say we're from Niger? It's not like the stupid Americans can figure it out
Scammer1: Brilliant!
Idiot: What's this? Some poor fellow in Niger wants me to help him get $100 Billion out of the country, and will give me... 20%! Oh, but is it a scam... no, of course not! This ones from Niger, not Nigeria like those other emails!
>>I'm surprised they didn't use the phrase "everybody does it".
Everybody uses that phrase.
... was the guy who responded to one of these emails, saying that the money would really come in handy, as he was in dire financial straits. As the series progressed, he escalated it to the point where he had killed his girlfriend (he sent the 419er a picture of her blood-soaked "body" in a bathtub), and now needed the money to flee the country. Meanwhile, the 419er is still trying to get some money out of him. One of the funniest things I've ever read on the net.