You guys are awesome

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 4

I have been lurking here for about a week now, reading through some of the letters archives and reading through the forum. Some were very funny (Most notably the one that the guy had the 12 point circle ceremony with pictures of fishes in their mouthes and bread and their heads, rofl) while others were very scary (I cannot believe people actually do this and have absolutely no remorse). I've always ignored an e-mail from one of these lads and I never thought that people actually messed with them. It is truly awesome and you guys do a great job in deterring them from actual victims (i.e. keeping them occupied so they cannot take time on real victims).

I was actually led here from a comment in one of the articles about the Nigerian leader saying the victims of these crimes are to blame. So sad.

I'm kind of afraid to bait but probably will attempt after some time.

At my job, I received an e-mail from one of my consultants saying that she was trapped in a country with no way out. This lady is a M.D. who is working for one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies out there. I knew her account must of been phished, so I alerted her of this and she was home safe and sound. Her account was indeed phished and she managed to get everything straightened out.

This e-mail I received from her was then received by another one of my co-workers from another candidate for consulting who decided just to delete it. I wonder if his account (2nd victim) was phished as well.

It is crazy to think that this occurs everyday. I wanted to give you guys my support and let you know what a great job and service you guys do. I cannot believe that people actually bait these scumbags. You guys are great , keep up the great work!!!

I have to catch up with the reading of "Stanley's Great Real Estate Bait" now so I wil hopefully chat with you guys later Smile

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

Hi Deathwish and welcome to Eater. Very Happy

Thanks for the compliments on what we do. I can understand you being hesitant to join in until you're comfortable; that is perfectly fine. Keep reading and you might just change your mind. Wink

I'm glad to hear that you were able to help your friend get her situation sorted. Thumbs up

Enjoy the forum and at the very least, spread the word!! That helps a lot in the fight against scams.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:00 pm

Hi Deathwish!

Welcome to the Eater! Thank you for all your kind words... It really means a lot, as often this "sport" often goes unoticed and almost certainly unrewarded...

I do hope you will stick around after being influenced by some of the trophy baits you are reading about by some fabulous baiters!

Just think though - they started out from exactly where you are now. If you want to, bait safe, read the stickies, sign up for a mentor and absorb yourself into our world!

I look forward to hearing more from you.

Regards

NTBS Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

Thanks for the kind words. If you don't want to bait that's cool-maybe you could tell your friends and colleagues how these scams work so they also know what to watch out for. The less potential victims out there the better-nice work with your colleague btw. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:22 pm

Hello and Welcome here, just read lots and one day you get that email in your own email account and decide that this has gone far enough now and you'll answer the safe way.
How? A mentor and reading here can teach you how to set things up so you can play safely without concern about your family/work safety.
If it takes time, even better, by reading the forums you'll find out what you really want to do/play with Wink

And in the meantime you can protect family, friends and colleagues with your learned skills and information here. If you have any questions about scammers/baiting don't hesitate to ask them here. Bored people ( like me Laughing

) will answer and give hints how to solve the problem.
Glad you dropped in and keep your environment safe from these rats Wink

CUlater

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks guys for the warm welcome.

I am amazed at how good you guys are at this. The FBI should consider turning to you guys to help them with leads in catching some of these scumbags.

For now I'm going to continue to read the stories you guys post. It is a shame they do not get to feel the same as some of the victims do, but at least you guys waste their time, money and resources which goes a long long way.

I've personally seen a ton of 419 e-mails and have informed many friends and relatives to ignore them. They all do, which is great, but you never know.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:57 pm

@Deathwish, welcome to Eater!

I started out much like you - a month or so of lurking and reading, and then I signed up so I could comment on an ongoing bait. I kept telling myself it was scarey, but then a little while ago I took the plunge.

Because I had read the stickies and most of the published baits, I knew I wanted to bait love-lads. I have several going now, and it's truly fun.

I also take advantage of every opportunity to educate people about scammers and scambaiting. Although I can't imagine being taken in by a scam letter, I still feel that any re-education of my friends can't be bad.

Keep reading, keep educating your friends and family, and maybe one day you'll just say, "I'm gonna bait that sucker!"

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:02 pm

Titania wrote:

I knew I wanted to bait love-lads.

It's because Titania is a womaniser really and thought he might be able to convert one of them Laughing

Seriously mate - there is a lad out there for everyone and you can do whatever you feel comfortable with after you have watched whats going on a little Very Happy

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

Hi Deathwish
Welcome, spread the word on Scams Smile

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

notobescammed wrote:

Seriously mate - there is a lad out there for everyone

Aw, you almost make it sound romantic. Very Happy

Hi Deathwish. We like to encourage newbies to stick around. Most of us don't bite, and those that do have had their shots, so it's a relatively risky-free place to hang out. And when you're ready to get baiting there are some really good, experienced mentors that love to help newbies out. Sign up for one on the mentor thread.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:32 pm

In here - insanity is the best policy.

Follow a few simple rules and torment Lads in any way that makes you laugh, and that's it.

It's not difficult - but it can become addictive.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:05 pm

I was a bit of a rouge baiter till I found this place, its much more fun having these guys to back you up and help out when you need some twisted ideas to waste lads time Cool

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:10 pm

Welcome to Eaterville.

If you don't want to get into the baiting side there are still ways to further the cause. For example, post any scam letters you receive in the 'Surplus' forum for others to have a go at. Educate your friends, family and anybody else that will listen.

This site can be a bit daunting at first but if you stick around and read around the forums for a while you will get a feel for the place and the ethos and give it a go. We don't bite. Honest.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:26 pm

The qualification for baiting - 'Have you ever told a fib ?'

Personally, I have never done that ( Shocked

LIAR !!!!!) Laughing

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 4

Haha, you guys really seem like a great bunch. Thanks again and I may end up trying to bait someone in the future Razz

I have had a couple calls to my work phone regarding this "Congratulations. You have won a free cruise, please take this survey to qualify" scam.

I was fully aware of this scam. There was no touch-tone dial to activate, it just went right to the questions. I hit buttons randomly and when I got an operator, she asked for my name and congratulated me on my free cruise. I told her my name was Coffee Mug (First thing I saw on my desk), she asked me, you sure? I said yes and hung up the phone. I didn't want to do too much since I knew it was a scam.

I think the catch of this scam is to get the person's CC number and overcharge them on stuff. Anyone hear of it?

It is crazy how these people can do this to people. I've since gotten one more call, which I ignored and a fake check in the mail which I ripped to pieces.

This is why I guess I'm hesitant to bait, I don't want any contact from them at all.

Master Baiter Joined: 07 Sep 2004 Posts: 209

Hi there Deathwish.
I must admit I found all this very frightening at first too. Then I realized I was just scared of upsetting some guy I'll never meet on another continent who was trying to rip me off and had no way of tracing me.
Believe me, bait safe and you can have enormous fun . As others have said, spread the word too. I was really proud when my father (aged 77) told me how he'd deleted some scam emails he'd received..as internet-savvy as he is I wouldn't want him scambaiting without assistance.
Cheers,
SG.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:54 pm

Deathwish:

I can respect having a healthy fear of communicating with criminals. It is a good policy in general. If you want to help fight 419 fraud but do not feel like baiting go down a few forums and hit the fake bank killing threads. You can fight 419 fraud just by telling the truth! You send an e-mail to the host provider for the fake bank site telling them it is fake and get it shut down. 100% risky free!

Welcome to our nightmare!

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:37 pm

Welcome Deathwish. Smile

There is plenty to do to hurt lads without baiting, if you're not sure that is for you. Alerting others, as you have already, is great, and, as The Man says, we also have a forum dedicated to killing fake sites, which is really important. Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your time here. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:43 pm

notobescammed wrote:

It's because Titania is a womaniser really and thought he might be able to convert one of them Laughing

*ahem* [flaunting my - um - definitely feminine assets]

I have some news for you, NTBS Razz

edited to get my Razz

right

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:26 am

Hi Deathwish,
Yeah your probably right about the CC fraud or perhaps it is a time share thingy which in my books is just as bad when they pressure people to part with their moeny. You really need a calm head to deal with them face to face or over the phone.

I loved your "coffee bug" name reminded me of this classic poster

By atallman at
2008-08-28

Would have been fun to round off the conversation with that quote and hang up on them.

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:37 am

Deathwish wrote:

I have to catch up with the reading of "Stanley's Great Real Estate Bait" now so I wil hopefully chat with you guys later

@Deathwish - Welcome. Stay tuned, it's gonna get worse. A lot worse. And grab a lad of your own.

WARNING: Shameless plug
If you like Stanley: The Great Real Estate Bait, drop in for his concurrent torture in Stanley: The Ladcatcher Murders

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks guys Smile

voudoujoe wrote:

Deathwish wrote:

I have to catch up with the reading of "Stanley's Great Real Estate Bait" now so I wil hopefully chat with you guys later

@Deathwish - Welcome. Stay tuned, it's gonna get worse. A lot worse. And grab a lad of your own.

WARNING: Shameless plug
If you like Stanley: The Great Real Estate Bait, drop in for his concurrent torture in Stanley: The Ladcatcher Murders

Going to check that out now thanks Smile

Stanley is definitely a lad worth the read lol. That guy is so clueless it amazes me.

One other thing I have to question. Some of these scammers have such poor writing skills, how do people get scammed by someone who writes like they are 8 years old? I understand there are some who are educated and write well, but for the most part all I see are e-mails with poor grammar, written all in caps and words spelled wrong. It amazes me.

I know if I get a response with this in it:

"hi brotha yes brther we gona be rich."

I'm going to either delete it or just mess with them because obviously something isn't right!! Lol.

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:15 pm

Sadly many Americans and Brits think that bad English spelling and grammar is common in third-world countries, even among barristers and bank officials. Then, flash dollar, pound, or euro signs at them, with lots of zeroes, and common sense goes out the window.

I've read that lads expect about a .7% return from their initial spam scam. While it doesn't seem like much, one gullible victim can set a lad up for a year or more. Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:47 pm

Perhaps you and other baiters would be interested to see this FBI link

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/alert/tahvili_o.htm

It's not quite the type of 419 fraud we handle but similar to the phone scam you had over the phone Deathwish.

a lottery Twisted Evil

$3m from elderly victims. Shocked

Not a bad return.

Quote:

Tahvili is considered extremely dangerous.

Always assume that you are dealing with a character like this and take the simple precautions in the stickies and you will be safe.

Mostly we deal with much less dangerous scammers.