Notorious e-mail scam finds believers

Seattle Times ^ | December 29, 2003 | Jim Stratton

[martin_fierro]

For interesting reading on those toying with Nigerian scammers:

http://www.scamorama.com

[cpst12]

>>It's too simple to assume all the victims are stupid or greedy.

Not its not. It *is* that simple.

[Drango]

The good thing is that the new federal "Can Spam Act" will stop all this spam...They told us it would, and I believe 'em:-)

[Byron_the_Aussie]

Well, we'll just have to disagree, on that.

[HighWheeler]

This guy sounds like the perfect Gore voter out of Floriduh.

He'll believe anything you tell him as long as he is promised a big cut of the pie. Then he will do anything you tell him as long as he still thinks he is getting a big cut of the pie. But his cut of the RAT pie has always been far to small in his estimation, but that was someone else's fault too, so he keeps voting RAT because their promises are so good. It's never his fault for being a dupe.

[joesnuffy]

Poor fellow...in the throes of severe cognitive dissonance...at least the cult he joined
didnt give him any kool-aid for his trouble...

[DustyMoment]

I have to go along with the majority, here; the huy is not too bright. The first lesson you learn in the school of hard knocks is that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. This guy just flunked the first lesson.

I've gotten a bunch of these Nigerian scam emails and have forwarded them to my state's AG - they won't do anything.

So, I just ignore them or sound them an obscene response in naive hopes that they will just go away. They won't, but I also won't play the game with them.

[Central Scrutiniser]

What a moron. What I like to do is to egg the scammers along, say that you are putting up the money, make them work at their scam. Once I told the guy I was adding a trip to Nigeria into my itenerary of a business trip, the scammer implored me not to. Then I told him I talked to the bank officials and got his home address and that I was coming over with the officials, he got real angry and edgy calling me all sorts of names, etc. It was beautiful! BTW, I posed as James T. Kirk, it made for great theatre..

[brooklin]

Never underestimate the power of stupidity.

[ikka]

This guy is lucky to be alive. They could have just killed him and got his credit cards while he was over there.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Feel sorry for this intellectually challenged old man who has deluded himself out of everything? Not at all! Greed is his downfall and the need to believe the unbelievable is what keeps him going, living in terminal denial. Life's lessons, some live and learn, some just live.

Just think, he had enough money to live comfortably in his old age. He got rid of a small fortune to acquire a large fortune for no other reason than ovewhelming greed. Not need, not want, Greed.

[chadwimc]

I always reply to these scams with the most vile, racist, Islam bashing rhetoric I can come up with. I keep hoping one of 'em will make an issue of it...

[Bluntpoint]

Another Florida Al Gore... Pat Buchanan voter me thinks.

[FreePaul]

They could have just killed him and got his credit cards while he was over there.

Why kill him? They had access to his credit cards with no risk while he was alive. He was so anxious to get something for little or nothing that he was, and apparently still is, blind to the nature and extent of the scam.

[Lee'sGhost]

"It's obvious we're not dealing with a lot of brain thrust here. "


Hmmmm . . . Florida. Retired. Probably some dumb yankee union guy.

[Bug]

You would think people would be skeptical of claims of instant wealth with little or no hard work involved. Even millionaires didn't get it handed to them on a silver platter.

There are millions of folks like this. They make up the bulk of the democrat party.

I had a guy doing work in my house last week. We were chatting about jobs, business, etc. when I told him about my best friend's brother who created and owns Arizona Tea. You don't get as rich and successful as this guy without a lot of hard work and smarts, yet my tile layer attributed it all to a "lucky break".

[reagan_fanatic]

This idiot is as dumb as a sack of hammers. How he got through life with a nest egg at all is a miracle by itself.

[Ditto]

The Nigerian "419" scam has been around even before the Internet...

Right you are. 15 years or more ago, I used to get snail mail at the office from these guys (my name used to appear in technical magazine articles) and they were a real hoot. I used to pass them around the office and everyone got a kick out of them. Once I even forwarded one to the Corp. Controller (an old friend) with a note that he could have a record year for revenue growth if he just gave these guys our Corp account numbers. He wasn't much amused.

I am amazed that anyone could be taken in by this scam, but I guess if you bate enough hooks you are bound to catch a few fish.

[SBprone]

Agreed.

The way you get started in a scam like this is by trying to get your hands on a large pile of cash that doesn't belong to you or to the scammer. Anybody can see that it's wrong. Anybody with an IQ of 90 or better will surmise that it's also a criminal conspiracy.

Scammers have their own perverse moral code. It tells them that once you decide to renounce your ethics and join their hypothetical criminal conspiracy you are a criminal too (albeit a stupid one) and therefore you deserve to be fleeced without mercy.

If you don't want what's not yours these con artists won't have a chance with you.