419 Emails From A Cultural Perspective 463
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."
If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Insightful)
More likely is that you will find someone who has your same interests and general income level, whom you will start a relationship with and then waver in and out of interest with.
That's real life.
Of course I still buy an occasional lottery ticket.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Funny)
Nothing like aiming high, huh?
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Insightful)
Its called 'human nature'.
Some of the friends I went to college with had plenty of money and great looking girl friends of the type most geeks and social outcasts would worship for their stunning beauty. My more-well-off friends would meet these women and be infatuated with them. Several months would go by and they would be oogling another beauty across the courtyard.
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.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:5, Funny)
I think I've found the problem...
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:5, Funny)
You mean the other woman in the computer lab?
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Informative)
I know that this may sound like a fantasy equal to those in the 419 scams but when I was an undergraduate two decades ago, there were LOTS of women in the computer labs. The women who worked on computers back then were mathematics majors, accounting majors, and a few who were working toward a degree in computer science. The number of women in computer science was small (2% of the total in the department), but when you added in all of the other majors using the VAX system for their classes, the number was probably closer to 40%. The university I attended has a strong business school and the accounting majors have been recruited nationally for three decades. By the early 1980s, the population of the accounting department more than 50% women.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:3, Insightful)
Indeed. Real life is that the nigerian scammers are criminals, and deserve to be locked up and/or shot. Not looked at as some kind of cultural escapism that is the necessary end result of a boring life. Get them up off their asses and not indulging in criminality, or jail them. No other options should be considered.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly. This whole article seems to be nothing more than sociopathic guilt transference - they know what they're doing hurts other people, so they come up with excuses about their victims in an attempt to mask their guilt.
I'm surprised they didn't use the phrase "everybody does it".
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:5, Insightful)
Understanding the social and economic context that this sort of crime takes place in is important, especially if we want to combat it. Poverty and lack of education, while certainly not justifications for crime, are often part of the cause.
Much like muslim terrorists, I think it's always better to have an understanding of what's going on with the people who try to screw us over so hard, instead of just imagining them as mustachio twirling villains who are out to get us because, well, they're the bad guys.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:3, Insightful)
While true, it doesn't really help if all you're doing is navel-gazing. Case in point:
Poverty and lack of education, while certainly not justifications for crime, are often part of the cause.
This is true for most crimes (not all of course - some are committed by the rich and priveliged) so it's really nothing new. Constantly bringing it up is just over-analyzing the proble
Re:Bad Guys (Score:5, Insightful)
That is the most insightful thing I have seen in a while and totally agree...
Like the UK Transit bombings when someone says "Maybe they bombed us because we have troops in Iraq?" they get shouted down as providing excuses for the Terrorists, but the fact of the matter is that people just don't wake up one morning and say "Well I am going to blow myself up today for no good reason!"
Whatever reason they may have is actually important to the situation, but I stress it is not excusable to go and murder, steal, and scam people, but if you want to defeat the enemy you must know their motives.
It is how the detective and intelligence catches these criminal... To psychologically understand who this person maybe and also recognize signs of another possible criminal.
And it irks me to no end when I see police or soldiers refer to the enemy as "the bad guys" with no respect to understanding why they do the things they do. Sure it is there job to kill or apprehend the criminal/enemy, but these people are doing it for reasons that may seem justified in their own eyes.
If you sit back and recognize these justification you might have a better chance of avoiding and preventing being scammed, assaulted, or surviving the attach when it happens.
As Sun Tzu said "Know thyself, know thy enemy and win the battle every time.". (paraphrased)
Re:Bad Guys (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem is many people don't understand the difference between an explanation (why something happened) and an excuse (why what happened is okay).
This has led to the belief that understanding terrorists is the same as excusing the terrorists.
This has led to us not understanding the terrorists, and thus being ineffective at fighting them.
I have a real problem with any life view that makes failing to solve problems a requisite outcome.
Free will to blame (Score:3, Insightful)
If this kind of argument was true, then maybe there is no real merit in making good decisions. You didn't make the right decisions because you are good, smart and hard working, you made those decisions because of circumstances beyond your control.
Re:Bad Guys (Score:3, Interesting)
Sun Tzu was giving advice to generals, not soldiers. He also emphasized that in battle, fleeing should not be viewed by one's troops as a possibility. You fight close to home or with your back to a mountain, and your strength will be doubled. In ancient warfare, most casualties occurred during a willy nilly retreat rather than actual battle.
To put it another way, one strategy in a game of 'chicken' is to throw your s
Re:Bad Guys (Score:3, Insightful)
A soldier's job is to do what he/she's told, not what they think is right.
This is a good recipe for genocide.
Dehumanize your target (Score:4, Insightful)
These conmen in Nigeria can work without bothering their consciences by just dismissing Americans as gullible and rich fools who deserve to be ripped off. Maybe if they saw how real the damage was that they inflicted on the desperate some of them might think twice. The ones without consciences, lock 'em up.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Informative)
Sure about that? [news24.com]
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:4, Informative)
An organized crime ring in some country goes into a low-income district, and finds a few mildly educated people who are short on cash. They loan them some money, and then tell them they can pay it back by pulling a few 419 scams on some rich americans they've got lined up who deserve it.
The scammer sends out the scam to the email list provided, and eventually hooks a sucker or two.
At this point, a number of things may happen, but the scammer is usually not allowed to actually handle any "real" cash themselves; organized crime steps in and takes it from here.
In some cases, the scammer is told to lure the victim to an airport in some country. The crime ring has someone (sometimes even the scammer) set up to meet them, and then has someone else "vanish" the rich foreigner and take their money/ID. The money/ID is then used in the crime ring's other operations, usually to move between countries or launder dirty goods/money.
One thing I've never heard of in these cases is what happens to the hired scammers; one could conjecture that they might also be "vanished" at the end of a job, or it could be a situation where if they get results, they're added onto the payroll permanently, and if they don't, they're pressed to repay the loan some other way and things go on from there.
Of course, there are also the educated teenagers who hang out at internet cafes, and do it for kicks. Usually you can tell the difference, as the hired scammers tend to use one of a limited set of form mails, wheras the bored teens get a bit more original, although they usually end up leaving out something necessary to make the scam actually work.
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:3, Funny)
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 l
Re:If It Sounds Too Good To Be True (Score:3, Funny)
This message was brought to you by the 419 Industry Consortium.
Really? (Score:5, Funny)
Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Really? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Really? (Score:5, Funny)
A friend of mine from another country once said he felt sorry for me because I have Bush as a president. I responded, "Me? Hell, I feel sorry for you. At least I'm not subject to his foreign policy."
Re:Really? (Score:2)
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Bar: Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy. You'll find out it ain't all peachs 'n cream.
Yeah. You've got it bad, here in America (I assume) with "the run-down, teeming streets, the grimy buildings, the broken refrigerators stacked outside, the strings of wet washing. It's the kind of place where plainclothes police prowl the streets extorting bribes, where mobs burn thieves to death for stealing a cellphone, and where some people paint "This House Is Not For Sale" in big letters on their homes, in case someone posing as the owner tries to put it on the market."
Oh, my bad. That's the description (from the FA) of the conditions of the folks who you're asking to "walk in your shoes". There's no way anyone from the US, Canada, or Europe (including myself) could even concieve of what it's like to live in such conditions with no way out.
Wrong is wrong, and the young man profiled in the article has more guts than most to see that and turn his back on it. But to completely ignore the factors behind the bad behavior is counterproductive at best. "Root causes" (of crime, poverty, terrorism, etc) may be overrated, but it's hard to defeat an enemy if you don't know his motivation.
Or maybe Slashdot dropped the [sarcasm] tag from your post...
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Really? (Score:5, Funny)
Have you ever been to West Virginia?
You mean the state with the motto "Thank God for Mississippi" ?
Re:Really? (Score:3, Funny)
You are in a wasteland of twisting subdivisions, all the same. Exits are North, South, East, West.
>west
You are in a wasteland of twisting subdivisions, all the same. Exits are North, South, East, West.
>north
You are in a wasteland of twisting subdivisions, all the same. Exits are North, South, East, West.
>east
You are in a wasteland of twisting subdivisions, all the same. Exits are North, South, East, West.
>north
You are in Canda. You want a Molsen's ay?
What are you talking about? (Score:2)
You mentioned a way for them to build a better life yourself! Sell someone's house while they're still in it. I never liked my current neighbors much, anyway. brb
Re:Really? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Doubtful. You most likely have a personal computer that you can call your own, or perhaps your family's. You probably eat well, have a closet full of clothes to choose from, get a free education (high school), or pay(have payed for) for a good quality education if you're in college. Chances are that you own your own car, or can use on of your families cars. Given the current US unemployment percentage (5.1%) you most likely have a job. You spend your free time on niche news websites such as slashdot. I could go on, but the point is, you (and I also fit into all of those above claims), that we have a good life compared to most the rest of the world, regardless of where we fit in on the American class system.
Now, that all being said, it is in no way an excuse for these immoral scams. Stealing is wrong no matter what and these people prey on the old and poor who are ticked into this scam. What they do is unexcusable, and their reasoning offered in the article is just that, excuses for behavoir they know is wrong.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Funny)
Not at all. Wednesday is Spaghetti Day!
Re:Really? (Score:2)
Re:Really? (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't know who said it, but it's the first thing I think of these days when people talk about walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
Anyhow, for the people criticizing this guy for whining, remember that this is the whole point of the "walk a mile..." saying. Everyone's life is filled with trouble. That's what life is. Some may have it better, and some may have
gasp! (Score:5, Funny)
Delusions (Score:5, Interesting)
This is not a new thinking. Many crooks try to justify what they are doing by making it seem that they are not hurting anyone, at least not as much as they are.
Re:Delusions (Score:2)
The thing with the 419 is that the victim is being 'tricked' into an illegal act, technically, money laundering. Sometimes the victim isn't even really aware of the illegality, but they believe they
Re:Delusions (Score:2)
Which ones have you been getting? It's pretty clear from the ones I've seen that they're soliciting participation in something under-the-table. Usually they promise a substantial cut if you'll assist them in a plainly illegal transfer of money out of their country, but only after yo
Re:Delusions (Score:3, Funny)
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."
Re:Delusions (Score:5, Insightful)
Greed (Score:4, Insightful)
Where else do you see people react to being in an accident like they won the lottery? Be it medical, car, workplace. Get hurt and bingo, how can I get paid.
Tough to admit, but deep down everyone has some greed. Greed is a survival trait. Greed doesn't apply only to money, but to status, acceptance, and a miriad other indicators be them material or immaterial.
Most scams rely heavily on the scamee forgoing rational thought to bite the lure. Nothing clouds judgement like a big payday or a supermodel.
American's are in for a rough ride when China becomes the next superpower and greed is a major reason why.
--signed "A greedy American"
Re:Greed (Score:2, Insightful)
But, hey, if I wanted to castigate the moral fibre of certain sections of American life, I'd draw attention to the sort of moron who throws parties outside jails whenever there's an execution...
"Greed is Good" (Score:2)
Re:"Greed is Good" (Score:2)
Re:"Greed is Good" (Score:2)
Re:Greed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Greed (Score:2)
Nowhere in the grandparent's post was there any indication that the Nigerian's actions are justified. He was just focusing on the reasons and motives behind the victims. Who says both sides can't be greedy?
Oh wait, I forgot that I'm posting on Slashdot (a.k.a. Binaryworld).
Re:Greed (Score:2)
Re:Greed (Score:2)
Then again, it seems likely that a lot of scammers work real hard for no return, thinking they are going to rip off a rich american, perhaps hearing all kinds of stories about how somebody else got rich by running such a scam. They may even be taken in by other scammers who promise technical
Re:Greed (Score:2)
I can think of a few countries where some people are greedy enough to scam foriegners out of thousands of dollars.
Seriously, greed is human nature. The scammers are greedy, too. They're after a lot of money.
Re:Greed (Score:2)
Until they grow big enough to smack mommy right in the face. And then they go out and play extra hard, just to make up for all of the years they weren't able to play.
Re:Greed (Score:3, Funny)
So the winners of the lottery get to execute certain commands as root? Where do I buy a ticket?
Re:Greed (Score:2)
They are right about one thing... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:They are right about one thing... (Score:3)
The best cons work take advantage of people who believe they are already cheating someone or doing something illegal/unethical.
You cannot be tempted to do anything you wouldn't do anyway.
Honestly the best site regarding 419 scammers (Score:5, Informative)
An informational website that helps you scam the scammers.
The video totally rocks (Score:5, Interesting)
The lyrics there are helpful because the accent is hard to understand.
Re:The video totally rocks (Score:2)
Psychology of scammers (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Psychology of scammers (Score:2)
Re:Psychology of scammers (Score:2)
But how much money would you be willing to part with in order to earn $20? Scammers don't need a lot of people to fall for their scam, they just need a couple people who think it makes sense to send a few thousand dollars so they can get millions back.
Re:Psychology of scammers (Score:3, Interesting)
So as long as the number of people who will be duped falls slower than 1/dollars, they have an incentive to make the amount as high as p
Cultural greed (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were stuck in a 3rd world country with corrupt governments and no legitimate way to feed myself, I'd be tempted to turn to scamming "rich" people too. And in North America, the middle class is rich compared to most of the world's population. In Canada it would take about 5 Earths* to sustain our current level of consumption. [*source: The Nature of Things from a few days ago.]
Cultural greed? More like human greed! (Score:2)
All this talk about American greed and reimbursment is just the greedy scammers trying to con
Advance_fee_fraud (Score:2, Informative)
Studid and Greedy... (Score:2, Funny)
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):
Cultural Relativism (Score:4, Insightful)
What I mean is, regardless of the culture you were raised in and the social climate of your environment, at some point, wrong is wrong is wrong.
In this category, I would put anything that infringes on the rights of other human beings, including murder, assault, and, yes, simple theft.
Justify it all you want. Yes, the people who fall for it are often greedy and stupid, but that doesn't make the act of the perpitrators any less wrong.
Re:Cultural Relativism (Score:2)
Now, in a world of limited resource, one might say, well, the fact that Americans use more than their fair share means that Nigerians have less to go around, so Americans are impinging on Nigerians rights by being greedy resource hogs. If we didn't initiat
Re:Cultural Relativism (Score:3, Insightful)
This is all true. (Score:4, Funny)
Why wouldn't they think it's OK? (Score:5, Insightful)
Justifications:
- It's their fair share.
- They did XYZ THING in the past
- Their ancestors did XYZ THING in the distant past
- They have a different skin color than me
- They have a different religion than me
- They can afford it
- Etc.
The justifications aren't really relevant, BTW. They're just flavor. People steal/tax/defraud/embezzle/con because they want the money and because they can.
Re:Why wouldn't they think it's OK? (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, assume that all land was originally unowned by anyone. Then it was held in common. No man owned it, but the whole tribe used it. Then someone develops the notion of private property. They put up a fence and use force to keep out the orginal users o
Re:Why wouldn't they think it's OK? (Score:3, Insightful)
"- It's their fair share."
You just did it. You tried to justify one wrong by referring to another.
The problem is, I completely reject your concept that
"the entire system of private property is based on theft and unfair advantage."
Primarily, how can it be theft if (as you claim) NO ONE owned it? What you fail to consider is that some people have doen MORE than their fair share to protect their exclusive use of these resources. They found them, developed them, exploited and, most importan
Re:Why wouldn't they think it's OK? (Score:3)
It produces a stable, well-defined system where "the common person" can work hard, save, and have a good life for himself and his family.
In societies based on corruption and theft, the common man can't save, only the strong man. The strong man steals the savings of the common man and adds it to his own.
Why should they buy into and support such a system?
They should look at the results. Free-market, low-corruption, private-property societies work. And they wor
What do you expect? (Score:3, Insightful)
Dating fraud (Score:3, Interesting)
The truth is people don't have time to investigate every purchase or offer they're made. And often the more desperate someone is the more eager they are to grasp at straws that purport to offer a way out of their desperation. Just watch the televangelists who sell prayer rags for debt relief.
dating scams are old. (Score:3, Informative)
The nigerians are way behind in their scams.
My Nigerian Experience (Score:2)
I had a lot of fun playing along. It reminded me a little of D&D. I picked a persona and then played it to the hilt, knowing all along that it was a scam.
I was fascinated to learn from the article that these guys have counterparts in the USA who will try to intimidate you into paying up. I guess I didn't take the scenario far enough to get a call from some Nigerian "Guid
Who is stupid and greedy again? (Score:4, Interesting)
That's rather ironic. If you read 419eater or any of the other "scam the scammer" sites out there, it's pretty clear who the stupid and greedy ones are in this game.
While I don't have too much respect for the intellect of the average American, the people who actually fall for these scams are probably the most stupid and greedy among our population, but they are a fraction of a percent of Americans. Most people have long since been trained to spot these things for what they are now and recognize that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. The Internet is no different from the rest of life in that way.
The scammers, however, are too stupid to realize that if a scammee is asking for absurd, ridiculous acts to be documented on film, then the joke is almost certainly on the scammer.
I have pretty much no empathy for these people, no matter how poor they are or what adversity they have faced. They have turned to common thuggery to steal that which they feel entitled to, instead of trying to earn an honest living the way we, or our parents, or our grandparents who came from equally poor backgrounds in other parts of the world did. Every time a scammer dies a miserable death, baby Jesus smiles.
Until the entire continent of Africa learns a more constructive ethic of hard work and self-help, all the charity in the world won't help them.
Let's have some perspective (Score:5, Insightful)
I can't tell you how many times I hear about welfare fraud where someone might net a few hundred dollars a month, but these same people never once mention the corporate people who steal millions or hundreds of millions of dollars. Or corporate bosses who steal the pension plans from people who have worked hard all their careers and are left with nothing. Thank god for social security so they won't starve.
So right now we're worried about some Nigerians stealling tens of millions a year when we've got tens of billions in medical fraud going on in this country.
Get some perspective.
Re:Let's have some perspective (Score:3, Informative)
It's funny how we seem to get most upset when it's people who have almost nothing doing the scamming. Yet when rich folk do scamming, like the Savings & Loan scandal, Enron, Worldcom, and so on, people don't get so upset.
Do you know how many people lost their jobs, lost their entire retirement savings account, and had to start from scratch from the Enron scandal? If you not, I'd recommend you to watch: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room [imdb.com].
I don't know about other
Re:Let's have some perspective (Score:4, Insightful)
What the hell are you talking about? This is not insightful, this is class-baiting anti-business nonsense painting with a stupidly broad brush and getting the facts wrong (not that doing so ever stopped a good anti-business rant, of course). But let's say you're immune to all of the CEOs-Going-To-Jail media coverage. The reason "we" don't get so upset is because something is done about people like that. They lose their jobs, page huge (usually bankrupting) fines, and then give up their liberty as they go to actual prison. The billions and billions that are lost to petty scams, inside retail theft, check/credit fraud, identity theft... that stuff makes us mad because people are rarely caught. Profiles about people who do it are inflammatory for that very reason.
Re:Let's have some perspective (Score:3, Interesting)
The myth of modern American capitalism says that almost all CEOs are good and decent people and that the few bad apples are always brought to justice. The truth of the matter is that one almost has to be corrupt to get to that level in business, most w
Re:Let's have some perspective (Score:3, Insightful)
I have seen corruption firsthand in all sizes of business. I see that our economic system
nobody deserves it, no USA greed or stupidity (Score:2)
And nobody deserves it because they are stupid. What a callous statement. An old lady, who is not as sharp as she once was, get cheated out of her life's saving - HA HA!! She deserves it! Right?
Not that I can expect any honesty, but I'll ask anyway: if you somehow could make that much money *that* easily, would you turn it down? If not, are you greedy?
BTW: I have never been taken by any such scam. Percentage wise, I doubt m
Not exclusive of 419 SCAMS (Score:4, Insightful)
"Forget about diets! Forget about exercise! With the new fat-o-free efervescent pills, you can get from THIS (fat lady in picture) to THIS (supermodel)! Forget about those tight clothes (B/W scene shown)! Start your new, slim life, with fat-o-free! 1-900-IAMA-DUMB. CALL NOW! Our operators will be pleased to help you! And if you call in the next 30 minutes, you get F-R-E-E our how-to-lose-weight manual. (blinking)C-A-L-L---N-O-W!!!!!"
As I said in an earlier post, the media and commercialized culture has "educated" the american mind into believing there are easy magical solutions for all our problems, instead of investigating the problems from the root and encouraging hard work. And if material solutions don't work, then somebody must be affecting your karma (and there we go, to the next degree of scams: If it doesn't work is because you don't have faith!).
The apparition of 419 scams was just a matter of time. (Kinda brought it upon themselves, if you ask me)
I tried a dating website (Score:5, Funny)
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...
I myself admit... (Score:5, Informative)
I myself am from another EU-state so it had to be shipped over. He told me he was going to use this and this shipping company with 3-way system (escrow service) and take all the costs on him.
The site seemed legit, even had some sort of certificate of a known site for e-commerce (it said on their site) but before I agreed I checked the "click here to certify" link which took me to another site saying the certificate was correct but not quite the site of the issuer. Checking the real site of the advertised certificate the site was not in their lists.
I contacted that certificate site to verify and they said there was no certificate issued for the site so they were going to do the necessary steps. I mailed the dude saying that I wanted to use another escrow service because the site was abusing the logo of certificate issuer and that I contacted authorities and never heard from him again, his e-mail doesn't exist anymore etc.
I was almost tricked into such scam and I understand that some are being scammed buying christmas gifts for their grandchildren. But some promises are indeed too great (like the nigerian scamming letters) and should trigger something inside any sane persons head that there is something fishy.
My advice to anyone with online business: if it looks, hears or smells fishy, then check everything being said and promised until the bottom!
Cons require marks with a little dishonesty (Score:3, Insightful)
This is my favorite element of the crime: taking advantage of a desire to take advantage.
Hooray for duelling dishonesty!
I love those Nigerian scams, if only because I like the fact that someone says, "I'm going to pull a fast one on this Nigerian yokel for all that money."
My favorite counter-scam ... (Score:3, Funny)
Part of the point, though... (Score:4, Informative)
We've got laws and a social order that reviles scamsters, conmen, and thieves BUT there is also a sort of Robin-Hood admiration for someone with the chutzpah and intelligence to pull this over on someone. Hollywood has been fascinated by these characters for decades: Paper Moon, The Sting, The Grifters, etc
Let's be totally honest: when you read about some grandma or naive intarweb n00b being taken in on one of these scams, your gut reaction isn't "that darn naughty criminal!" it's "WTF? Who could be STUPID enough to fall for this nonsense?"
It's financial Darwinism. Frankly, if someone with $200,000 to blow loses it to a Nigerian scammer, it's practically justified. If they were a different moral character, they'd blow it on drugs, gambling, the Church, or any number of the millions of expensive tarpits lying around for the unwary.
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:3, Funny)
If you buy me a beer, I'll even admit to sleeping with my sister.
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:2)
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:5, Funny)
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!!~~!
Re:Were YOU suckered? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:stupid and greedy?!?! (Score:3, Funny)