Turning the table on Nigerian scammers
I believe we all know the Nigerian 419 scam - so known for a section of the Nigerian legal code - or its newer versions from Iraq and China. Basically, people behind the scam tell you the story that, if you help them to move tremendous riches out of country XYZ, you will get a share from the loot. There are still people falling for the scam, in Malaysia and in other countries.
However an article in today's New York Times (17/6/2004) describes those adventurous souls who turn the table around - under names such as Venus de Milo, Lord Vader and they engage the con men, trying to humiliate them and, more important, waste the grifters' time and resources - some even got money from the scammers!! A chronicle of those activities can be found www.scamorama.com. It is fun to read, but don't try it yourself - these people are dangerous and violent, but the police also said that this helped to develop trails to the scammers.
I believe we all know the Nigerian 419 scam - so known for a section of the Nigerian legal code - or its newer versions from Iraq and China. Basically, people behind the scam tell you the story that, if you help them to move tremendous riches out of country XYZ, you will get a share from the loot. There are still people falling for the scam, in Malaysia and in other countries.
However an article in today's New York Times (17/6/2004) describes those adventurous souls who turn the table around - under names such as Venus de Milo, Lord Vader and they engage the con men, trying to humiliate them and, more important, waste the grifters' time and resources - some even got money from the scammers!! A chronicle of those activities can be found www.scamorama.com. It is fun to read, but don't try it yourself - these people are dangerous and violent, but the police also said that this helped to develop trails to the scammers.
posted by Andreas @ 8:44 pm
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