How to Scam a Scammer - Baits and Counter-Baits - A Hilarious Exchange of E-mails

How to Scam a Scammer

Baits and Counter-Baits

A Hilarious Exchange of E-mails

J. K. Stiller (ed.)

InfoLogi

J. K. Stiller (ed.). How to Scam a Scammer. Baits and Counter-Baits:

A Hilarious Exchange of E-mails. Khon Kaen: InfoLogi 2014

Copyright for this compilation © 2012 Khon Kaen, InfoLogi.

All rights reserved.

1st imprint 2015

1 / 2015

Contents

Scam Definition  

The Collection of E-mails

More examples

A Final Note 

What is it that makes scams work?

It’s greed.

So beware of greed.

Be wise instead.

Scam Definition

Scam is a popular expression for a kind of fraud, often performed by e-mail.

An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain. Among the variations on this type of scam are the Nigerian Letter (also called the 419 fraud, Nigerian scam, Nigerian bank scam, or Nigerian money offer, or Fifo's Fraud). Wikipedia

To complete the picture, scams do not only originate in Nigeria but may be sent from any other country as well.

Often the recipient is addressed as Dear … or Dear Beloved … or something similar.

Senders often appear using confidence creating titles like Doctor or Minister of … or Pastor or Bank Director or something similar.

The scam situation in 2015

Scams by email are known since the early days of the email. Everyone who owns an email address will find scam messages in their inbox or in the junk folder.

Scam schemes are still around and even officially known as the following excerpt from a news item shows.

18 Oct 2014.

BANGKOK — Police have arrested a Thai woman accused of running a Nigerian scam ring in Thailand that has allegedly defrauded millions of baht from unsuspecting victims.

From: Thaivisa

Accessed 20 Oct. 2014

How can one get help?

How can anyone successfully deal with Nigerian scam? Self-help helps.

Ignoring those messages and sending them to the rubbish bin is the regular reaction and it will leave one on the safe side, too.

Another promising way is a counter-attack by working a similar trick on the sender. A man in Britain did just this, and it is worth being known to a large public. Moreover, this method is quite entertaining and amusing.

Read the exchange of (original and uncorrected) emails and learn from the method that was most cleverly invented and truthfully displayed in the following collection

The agreement to spread this exchange of emails in this book is assumed as all materials were found in the public domain of the internet, though not in the editing and the condensed form with the lay-out presented now. So, no infringement of any rights is intended or assumed with this publication.

Read, enjoy and learn!

The Collection of E-mails

TITLE: The Tale of The Painted Breast

SCAMMER NAME: Prince Joe Eboh

SCAMMER LOCATION: Lagos, Nigeria

MISC: None

SCAMBAITER: Shiver Metimbers

'Prince' Joe Eboh contacts me with a classic 419 opening letter. I decide to make him jump through a few hoops before I'm prepared to agree to his proposition, and the results are amusing AND profitable, to the tune of $80 + $49 DHL shipping, so our scammer is down a whopping total of $129

From: Prince Joe Eboh

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 12:53 PM

Subject: TRANSFER

Prince Joe Eboh

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am fine today and how are you? I hope this letter will find you in the best of health. I am Prince Joe Eboh, the Chairman of the Contract Award Committee, of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was set up by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha who died on 18th June 1998, to manage the excess revenue accruing from the sales of Petroleum and its allied products as a domestic increase in the petroleum products to develop the communities in the Niger Delta Oil producing areas. The estimated annual revenue for 1999 was $45 Billion US Dollars Ref. FMF A26 Unit 3B Paragraph D of the Auditor General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Report of Nov. 1999 on estimated revenue.

I am the Chairman of the Contract Award Committee, and my committee is solely responsible for awaiting and paying of contracts on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. My Committee Awarded Contracts to foreign contractors for Drilling and Ecological Matters in the oil producing areas of Niger Delta. We overshot the contract sum by US$25,000,000.00. We have paid the contractors and withholding the balance of US$25,000, 000.00. But, because of the existence of some of the domestic laws forbidding civil servants in Nigeria from opening, operating and maintaining foreign accounts, we do not have the expertise to transfer this balance of fund to a foreign account.

However, this balance of US$25,000, 000.00 has been secured in form of Credit/Payment to a foreign contractor, hence we wish to transfer into your bank account as the beneficiary of the fund. We have also arrived at a conclusion that you will be given 20% of the total sum transferred as our foreign partner, while 5% will be reserved for incidental expenses that both parties will incur in the course of actualizing this transaction, and the balance of 75% will be kept for the committee members.

If you know that you will be capable of helping us actualize this transaction, you should send to me immediately the details of your bank particulars or open a new bank account where we can transfer the money US$25,000, 000.00, which you will be holding in trust for us until we come to your country for our share. Your nature of business does not matter in this transaction. The required details includes your company’s name, address, your private personal telephone/fax numbers, your full name and address, including your complete bank details where the transferred fund will be routed by the Apex Bank.

Note that this transaction is expected to be actualized within 21 working days from the day the required details are forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Finance who will approve the needed foreign exchange control allocation for the release of this money to your account. Please, treat this as top secret. You should contact me urgently.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Yours faithfully,

Prince Joe Eboh

From: Father Hector Barnett

To: Prince Joe Eboh

Father Hector Barnett

Financial Development

London SW

Dear Sir,

My thanks for your very interesting email below. I would dearly love to help you however my ministry forbids me from entering any business deal with partners who are not part of our faith. I am sorry but there is nothing more I can do for you.

If you ever decide to join our faith then of course I could help you both with my experience and financial support.

I wish you well in your endeavour my brother.

Blessings,

Father Hector Barnett

Financial Development - Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast.

From: Prince Joe Eboh

Date: Friday, April 23, 2004 4:33 PM

Subject: Re: I'm ready to join your faith.

Dear Father Hector,

If joining your faith is what it takes to help me of course, I am ready to joing you. I'm from a good christian family. I will do anything you want me to do in the faith. Don't forget that I have to transfer the money to your account as urgently as possible. Send me your account details. I hope to read your mail soon.

Prince Joe Eboh.

[Excellent! Time to put my dastardly plan into action]

From: Father Hector Barnett

To: Prince Joe Eboh

Dear brother Eboh,

Bless you for your prompt reply and may the lord God almighty send you many blessings (Amen).

My brother, it is wonderful that you are considering joining our church, you will be most welcome in our Holy order.

My brother, of course you will have to prove your commitment to our ministry. This will require you to send us a photograph of yourself showing part of the commitment ceremony that we will require (this is very simple), and you will also have to sign our Order of The Red Breast induction agreement form. The agreement form is very simple and only requires your name and signature.

If you are in agreement to our terms above, please signify it to us as soon as possible and I shall arrange to give you the complete instructions for the photograph and agreement form.

As soon as you have been inducted to our order then we can proceed with your business proposition immediately.

Please note that we cannot agree to any form of communication other than email until after you have been inducted to our church.

Blessings,

Father Hector Barnett

Financial Development - Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast.

From: Prince Joe Eboh

Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 12:43 PM

Subject: Agreement

Dear Father Hector,

Peace be unto you in the name of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ Amen. I'm in agreement with your terms. I will adhere strictly to your instructions. Send me a comprehensive instruction for the photograph and agreement.

Do not forget that this transaction is between us and I can assure you that the ministry is going to benefit from it especially now that I am a member. I hope to read your mail soon.

Stay blessed.

Prince Joe Eboh.

From: Father Hector Barnett

To: Prince Joe Eboh

Dear brother Eboh,

Bless you for your interest in our church, and below you will find the complete induction procedure. First of course you will need to know a little more about our ministry.

Our ministry was founded in 1774 by a wonderful lady by the name of Betsy Carrington (I have attached a photograph of her for your records). She spent many of her first preaching years in Kenya, spreading the holy gospel amongst the local people there.

She was the first person male or female to promote Christian texts and beliefs to the Masai warrior tribe. The most famous account is when as a test she had to remove the top part of her clothes and paint the top half of her body and breast with the red Masai warpaint as a gesture of faith and belief to them so that they would accept her and trust her. She was almost immediately accepted by them and was one of the most trusted westerners known at that time.

In her later years she returned to England and started her own ministry Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast and was very active until her sad death in 1861.

As a qualification to enter the Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast, all followers must go through the initiation procedure that Miss Carrington made so famous. Of course in these modern times, female members do not have to paint their breast. They only need to make the symbol on their stomachs. However, all males must still show commitment to the church by having the symbol of the church marked on their breasts.

My brother, this is what you will need to do in order to complete the church induction ceremony:

You must remove your shirt and then paint/draw in red, the symbols of our church. So that you know exactly how the symbol must look, I have attached a photograph of four of our young inductees going through the procedure. Please use this picture to enable you to make the same marking on yourself. I have also attached a small picture showing the design in more detail.

Next you will need to have a HIGH QUALITY photograph taken and sent it to us my email attachment.

Once your photograph has been received we will then forward you the induction certificate. All this requires is your name and signature. Once you have signed and dated