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ColinB Regular user 129 Posts |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You for making my week! Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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ColinB Regular user 129 Posts |
You're very welcome, Doug! Glad you liked it!
My favorite line has to be, "I have decided to leave the church and join a travelling circus..." |
Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
It is just amazing this scam makes $$!
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/ That link is from the same BBC page but in case you missed it there is a wealth (yes P intended) of info on the actual scam. 5 Billion Dollars US? JEESH! I like best the revelation that the scammers are as 'innocent' (ie: STUPID) to a reverse scam as the intended victims due to mutual greed factors. Now if only we can figure out how to get at the eMail spammers who promise us larger 'members'. Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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dpe666 Inner circle 2895 Posts |
"This would all be funny if it wasn't for the millions of dollars being stolen..."
It is not "stolen". Stupid people give it to them willingly. Yes, it is given under false pretenses, but stolen implies that there was no knowledge of the money being taken. |
prospero Special user Elsewhere 572 Posts |
Dpe666 is correct. Ignorance is a factor. However, it is still wrong.
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dpe666 Inner circle 2895 Posts |
What is the difference between this type of scam, and the ones taught by Harry Anderson and Dan Harlan? And why is it wrong to use someone's stupidity against them? Just making discussion.
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Probably the $18,000 dollars removed from the bank account could enter into it...
The religious sects have been scaming $$ off the peasents for centuries... these days I guess it depends if it's considered as 'entertainment' or not. But you "CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN" will forever be true.
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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ColinB Regular user 129 Posts |
Well, it is fraud. As for "stupidity", naiviety and a tendency to trust may not necessarily indicate low intelligence - background, upbringing and culture may come into it. But I do accept that scams like this have always worked by the lure of being able to make a lot of money easily and quickly.
Another motto, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. |
prospero Special user Elsewhere 572 Posts |
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ColinB Regular user 129 Posts |
I remember a Dilbert cartoon, when one of the characters enthuses about receiving the scam:
"A nigerian banker needs my help getting thirty million dollars out of his country! All I need to do is give him my bank information by e-mail and I`ll get a ten percent commission!" He then writes, "Dear Gustava, my bank is a tube sock that fell behind the dryer..." |
Cheshire Cat Special user Wilmslow, UK 941 Posts |
Thank you for ten minutes of pure ENTERTAINMENT!
I'm already starting to miss these endless e-mails I used to get through AOL (Wanadoo has a 'spambuster' programme!) |
dr chutney Special user United Kingdom 518 Posts |
In my previous job in the IT dept of a motor dealership we saw 2 or 3 of the Nigerian emails a week.
I remember seeing a web site where a guy was taking on the scammers at their own game by leading them one way then the other. Always seemingly taking in but carefully avoiding payment. It was another example of the scammers wasting time and effort in attempting to lure him. We also encountered another scam, out of the US this time, where a supposed motor dealer says he wants to buy one of your cars in stock ( amazingly sight unseen ). He offers a cheque payment to more than cover the car and its transport abroad. By the time the deal has been done it's too late to realise the cheque's a dud. It never ceased to amaze me the gullibility of people ( not to mention the blind greed ). I still cannot fathom how so many people are taken in by these preposterous emails. There's more than one born every minute!
We're having a laugh!
Grab yourself a FREE Joke Ebook at http://thejester.biz |
dpe666 Inner circle 2895 Posts |
As I was reading the post from Dr. Chutney, I got an e-mail noticication. It said it was from "mrjohnson5@ tiscali.co.uk" and the subject was "VERY URGENT". I wonder what that could be?
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ColinB Regular user 129 Posts |
I guess this is a modern, electronic version of the age-old scam where something of perceived value is left with the victim as security, instilling a sense of trust for the scammer (in this case, there's a belief the victim will be in possession of the scammer's fortune for a brief time). Only later does the victim discover that the "briefcase of banknotes" contains only paper...
In his book "Houdini On Magic", Houdini documents a number of such scams of his day. Of course, there was also the cruder, more slapstick kind of scam, where two "gentlemen" call into a grocer's, apparently wishing to settle a wager that the top hat worn by one of them can hold a quart of molasses. Having assured the grocer they will pay for the molasses used in the test, the grocer happily takes the hat and fills it to the brim with the sticky goo, whereupon one of the gentlemen grabs it and pulls it sharply over the grocer's head. With the grocer thus incapacitated, the "gentlemen" are free to raid the till and make off quickly with its contents. |
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