Why Bait The Scammers?
There are a number of reasons why people bait the scammers - I'd hate to second-guess some of the motives people might have for doing this. However I believe some of the more frequent reasons are as follows:-
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• It turns the tables on the scammers. They send literally thousands of emails out at a
time: many are to non-existent addresses and so "bounce"; of those that reach a valid mailbox,
most are ignored; out of that small percentage which land in the mailbox of someone gullible
enough to believe that there really is someone out there who wants to give them ten or twenty
million dollars, the scammer is hoping that just a few are too greedy to pass up the opportunity
and end up being sucked into the trap. If everyone who receives an approach like this engages
the scammer in a protracted exchange of time-wasting emails, his productivity will be reduced
dramatically, and fewer people will end up losing their hard-earned money. • It's fun! It can be looked upon as a game, an intellectual exercise, a challenge in creativity or merely an opportunity to give oneself and one's friends a good laugh at someone else's expense. |
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Listen to a
radio interview
with a scam baiter which was broadcast on an Australian station in March 2004. (580k)
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I'm putting this here mainly because I can't think of anywhere else to put it, although I suppose it is loosely related to the question of why we bait the scammers. It's a selection of some of the funnier things the Lads From Lagos have written to me:-
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"The doctor diagnosed her, with a report that she had developed a heart problem as a result of
too much thinking" -
Dandyson Osas (referring to his mother). "My dick still won't go down until it has reached the right target and that is your honey pot and infact, as i am writing this mail, my dick is pooping out of its closet and almost bursting cos it's full of scud missiles which i want you to help me unload" - Will ar‑Rahmani (responding to a raunchy photo sent to him by Mandy Lifeboats). "Absolutely i was surprise or rather flabbergasted, when i have a glance on your mail, well all your contents well fully understood. now all my thoughts is full contamptulations in the sense that i am biased" - Barrister Williams Dagogo (in the Rose Savimbi game). "On the issue of geraffes, I suspect that they exist and I am trying everthing possible to guide against it by having a private phone to myself" - Pat Okonwa. |
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From: <name removed> Subject: Players' Picture Gallery Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 21:26:08 +0100 hi was glad i found your picture gallery, im afraid i got caught up in the mohammed abacha scam, and unfortunally have lost alot of money in the process. my letter was alittle different however it was supposed to be from his deceased grandmother begging me to help recover some money that had in a box they had someone deposit the money in greece at the nova bank .i was to be the benificary of it. when i notified the nova bank they said the funds were there and i needed to hire a lawyer from greece to get a clearance certificate so the money could be officially in my name. the 30% bonus the grandma offered me to invest the money in the us for her children and grandchildren seemed innercent enought to me that i fell for it. i hired a lawyer which cost me 3000.00 euros. the lawyers name is smittie kallon hes a barrister. i have his e mail address next the lawyer said i needed two granters to gaurentee paying the tax there in greece when i get the money, i had no grantors so i had to e mail mohammad abacha and tell him about the grantors. when he replied he said not to worrie he would supply the grantors. so next the lawyer wrote me that the grantors had to come to his office with 2500.00euros each as a guarentee. well of course the grantors showed up with no money, so my lawyer was anoyed and told me that i had to pay the grantors money or i wouldnt get the certificate so there goes another 5000.00 to greece ( what a fool i am) anyway the lawyer emailed a copy of the clearance certificate. well to cut a long story short, right now the box is supposed to be in new york brought there by a diplomate named francis hayes. now they want 25000.00 from me to deliner the box to my house he is waiting to hear from me. i am so ashamed that i got caught up in this i have lost alot of money but thank god for you picture gallery. i reconised the picture of mohammed abacha that he had sent me earlier. so now i know i was scammed for sure, hard for me to beleive a lawyer a bank and and a diplomate can all be involved in this, i know my money is lost now but atlease no more, thank you <name removed> |
Are you interested in becoming a Scam Baiter? If you're thinking of joining the game, take a look at the Hints & Tips page for a few ideas to get you started.