Prof, Yeawhatever & Jojo on the radio-This American Life

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Trophy Videos · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:45 pm

I think he's too busy scamming to listen to it, YW. And a bit too embarrassed. Laughing

Elite Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 1407

He's not embarassed. Now he's "Famous".

Maybe the next guy that "educates" him, should encourage him to put a siggy on his emails such as....

(insert scammer name) as heard on This American Life. Radio Star, Petty Thief.

Adamu's soulmate Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 337

^^^^ yeah what happened to famous and co?

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:07 pm

They are still around... Godspower is not back home yet, he is in Nigeria. The Miracle Network is in Chad still, as far as I can tell. Famous... well, let's just say he is about to REALLY get screwed. He has been on two safaris already and he has been on safari for several days right now. Just in Kumasi Ghana. HOWEVER, I would rather have the fate of Adamu than the ordeal he is about to go through. This will be the worst thing we have EVER done to a lad. EVER.

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:13 pm

If you're referring to the pics, you didn't do that to him. Yes, you goaded him into taking them by appealing to his baser nature, but the final decision to bare it all before the camera was his and his alone. Any embarrassment or humiliation he endures, any ostracism from friends or family, he bears full responsibility for. He is a grown man, and he knew what he was doing. [/schoolmarm]

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:20 pm

I will ask the mods to remove my vote for [snip] if the pics are not used! Very Happy

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:29 pm

Trust me, all will cringe at what will happen to one Famous Jessa. I always think they do it to themselves. Adamu did his journey to himself. Famous did this. But man, as I said, the plans we have for him... they are worse than anything I have EVER done to a lad. And I have done some mean stuff. But this will ruin his entire life with his family.

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:31 pm

A friend of mine just IM'd me to tell me about this great piece she just heard on "This American Life".

I was very proud to inform her that I knew those guys!

It's very cool when baiter news filters into RL. I hope I'll be able to lend a hand in future mischief. Very Happy

Adamu's soulmate Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 337

Jojo - just give a clue?

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:50 am

I didn't like the host's treatment of the baiters. He made you guys look as bad as the scammers.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 3

This is absolutely mortifying that you think this is totally fine and... funny. It's disgusting and barbaric.
I can't believe you guys have desenstisized yourselves like that! Shocked

Sure, this guy in Nigeria is a scum bag, but he's also a HUMAN BEING.
You all keep compensating and making excuses that what you doing is for 'the greater good' (Say, isn't that how terrorists think? Confused

)
or his rightful punishment or whatever.

Look at the big picture! Take a step back and try to see what the consquences could be! I know it sounds childish, but ask some of those questions you learned in Primary so long ago. Is that what Jesus would do?...Am I treating others the way I WANT to be treated?

This is wrong. I know that deep down (maybe it's bit deeper for some), you know that it is too.

-Jade

[/i]

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:07 am

^^^
And what happened to him that is so bad?

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:08 am

Last I heard, Jojo, YW and Prof didn't point a gun at Adumu's head and force him to go to Chad. I believe it was the belief he was getting $200K from a church.

The aim was to get him isolated he couldn't scam anyone. Now that he is back home, what is he doing? Scamming people again. These people lie like they breath.

I invite you to take a look at the sticky called "The Ethics of Scambaiting".

Welcome to Eater.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:11 am

We respect your opinions Jade.

We also have a thousand stories on the types of people we are dealing with here. This scenario is fictitious, the lads response is not. I'm currently baiting as a 50-something man who lost his wife last year. My lad completely believes me. I told him I have no money left and that I really needed to see my only granddaughter who has recently been involved in a car accident.

Quote:

I am willing to fly to Accra - Ghana with all the fees. However, All the money I have left in the world is going to my daughter and her family. They are more desperate than you and at the moment and I fear that I may lose more family members. I am very sorry Emmanuel. I wish we could continue, but my family needs this money. I have to give them the $14k we discussed. I need to fly and visit my family. Since my wife died I have no-one near me.
- Toby

My lads response.

Quote:

Dear Dad
Dad i
really appreciate all your effort,which you have shown as a father and a
beneficiary over us.Dad i am very happy that you have finally agree fly
down to Ghana,Dad am so excited about this.i know immediately you
arrive,you will have the funds $18,000,000 USD in your hand,then i and
mother will prepare to fly back with you to Australia to start a better
like. the funds will help you family better than the little money you have nopw.
your family and sad daughter will be make it with these funds, by the grace ofgod.
arrive in Accra - Ghana and we will help you save the family you have.

As you can see. My sensitivity level has been diminished.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 3

I don't know the specifics, I haven't bothered to read into it much. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I know he's not a good person, in fact he seems pretty awful. But what makes you think you're any better? You not stealing money, but you are putting some people in extremely dangerous situations, starving them, playing with their emotions, really hitting below the belt. Honestly, what if someone thought you were a jerk and did that to you? Do you think suffered enough yet?

-Jade

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:19 am

As this is a response for YW - Can I ask for a keep off please. Allow YW to respond. A education in lad depravity will be required. I'll be watching this one peoples, so keep it sensible. Very Happy

Edit: People may post. Just let YW deal with the specifics. Showing people why we do what we do is fine.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 3

Special_K wrote:

Ah, but YW, jojo, and Prof didn't *make* the scammer go anywhere. He went there by his own choosing, to pick up $200K from the church.

The victims whose lives the scammers wreck are human too, btw. Wink

I've worked with love scam victims who feel so betrayed that they want to commit suicide. I have heard of another victim who flew to Africa, was kidnapped, set on fire, and dragged behind a car. Forgive me Jade, but I find it difficult to muster sympathy for scammers like that.

edit-NN must have posted that while I was still responding...sorry.

Oh I know! What happened to those people is awful too...but those situations came from their greed also! I mean, weren't they offered money, and went after it? Sounds familiar to this situation.

Again, I understand that this nigerian man is not a ethical man... but aren't YW, Jojo, and Prof. being the same kind of scammers?

Elite Baiter Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 1269

NN said I could go ahead and post this, even though YW hasn't come around yet.

Scammers feed on a victims willingness to believe combined with their lack of expertise. None of us is an expert on everything. Scammers tell us things most of us want to believe. Once a victim has paid out money, they are usually reluctant to stop, as they think everything will be settled after "just this one last hurdle". In addition to telling victims what they want to believe, they are masters of deception and manipulation, and many have been scamming for years. They don't care about the victim-just their bank account or wallet.

In the case of love scams, can you tell me how you think those victims are greedy?

Not all scammers are from Nigeria.

BTW, I just came across this news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7380093.stm

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:49 am

I believe it is a common misconception that greed is what motivates victims. Often it is desperation, or even good will. Some scams are highly targeted with scammers reading through obituaries and contacting the deceased's relatives. Is it greed that motivates a person to claim what they believe is a legitimate inheritance? Is it greed that makes a person want to claim a lottery prize they believe they have won? Maybe.

Even if greed is the motive, and that means a victim "deserves" to be scammed, sadly, the damage is usually not limited to the well-hooked greedy victim. They may borrow and steal from employers, family and friends who have no idea they are incidental victims.

We know for a fact that scammers impersonate charities, and target dating sites that cater to people with disabilities. We also know victims have been kidnapped, held for ransom, and murdered.

If law enforcement were effective against individuals like Adamu, this site would not exist. In the months that Adamu was off trying to steal money from a fictitious church, how many people were spared losses? One would be enough for me. Because of the publicity this bait has generated, how many people now know enough to avoid internet scams?

Adamu is an adult and an experienced criminal. I believe he was totally capable of assessing his situation and minimizing risks. If these guys had told him to jump in front of a train, he would still be alive and scamming. Just as he is now. The greatest consequence of this bait is that he is totally humiliated. I can live with that.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:57 am

@followthesum,

Quote:

but those situations came from their greed also!

Came from their greed also? Is that really what you think? If so, then you are really misinformed and therefore, temporarily forgiven for your well-meaning, but very wrong opinion. Only a small percentage of victims act out of greed. Most who get scammed fall for other types of scams that even the most ethical people could fall for.

For instance, many people are told that they have won a contest or lottery. While most of us laugh at the idea of winning a lottery that we did not enter, there are many out there who actually believe this lie. They pay the scammers "insurace fees", "delivery fees", "taxes", etc... until they are left broke.

Others are offered jobs where they can "work from home". These are the most insidious of the scams in my opinion because people actually think that they are working. Many of these people have been unemployed for months/years and are desparate for the money. They cannot afford to lose any money. Many people have lost their homes over this type of scam.

And the list goes on and on.

I wrote the following a few years ago, after I sent a couple of other thieves into Darfur. It was good then... it is still good now.

Quote:

Some of you reading this bait may be questioning the ethics of tricking 419 scammers into dangerous regions of the world. I have heard many opinions from well informed, well intentioned people. Some have no problem with tricking scammers like this, others are completely horrified by the thought. I obviously have no problems with this. Let me explain why.

I started scam baiting in November of 2005. I am relatively new to this. When I first started scam baiting, I was like many other "noobs". I thought it was simply funny to get the crooks to pose for stupid pictures, fill out silly forms, and other assorted time-wasting activities. As I continued to bait, I got more involved with it, more that I ever thought that I would. I eventually found myself in contact with actual victims of 419 crime. This is when I started to take a much more serious attitude about baiting.

In early May of 2006, I was talking to a man in Naples, Florida. He is a real life victim of 419 fraud. He is a 53 year old disabled man whose house is being foreclosed on, is $153,000.00 dollars in debt and owes tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes to the IRS which, as anyone here in the US knows, is a debt that you may never get out of even with bankruptcy.

Just one year ago, he was contacted by a gang of 419 scammers. He was finacially secure and just looking for a way to be able to leave some money behind for his kids, when he took a job as a financial agent for a company that was having him collect checks from customers, blah, blah, blah....

This man was in tears and was seriously considering suicide. I spoke with him for nearly 40 minutes trying to talk him out of that. I would not be at all surprised if he were dead now. At the time I was talking to him, he was spending the last night in his home before being evicted the next day.

So, you may be saying to yourself, "yea, but these scammers that you are baiting here are not the scammers in your example". True. You would be totally correct in saying that. But if you read this bait carefully, you will see that they intend to steal everything they can, no matter who it was from. In this case, the scammers know full well that they are stealing from a priest who is using this money to save the lives of Sudanese families fleeing Darfur. So, am I going to lose any sleep if these guys find themselves in danger? No. Not for a second.

I have heard people claim that the baiter would be responsible if the criminal being baited was hurt during the bait. If I had a bag of money, tossed it off a cliff, and a person jumped off the cliff after the money, would I be responsible for that person being killed? I would say no, even if I had a pretty good idea that the person was going to go after the money if I tossed it. I did not make the person jump. They chose to do it on their own. Did the person know that there was danger in jumping? Yes. This bait is no different in my opinion. The scammers knew well in advance that they were traveling into a dangerous region but chose to do it anyhow. And once again, what was their intention? To steal money from some of the neediest people on earth. It was their choice to do what they did, not mine.

I know that this little explaination will not change any minds out there. I just wanted to make clear what I think about this.

Let me also point out that there is no evidence that anyone was killed or hurt in this bait. In fact, there is more indication from news reports from the region, that the two scammers that may have traveled into Darfur are probably in jail somewhere.

So, try to rest easy about all this. I know that I will.

Now, about the "funny" aspect of this... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But to me, a guy that thinks that he is about to steal from a church, whose job it is to help Darfur refugees, getting stranded in the very same place where actual Darfur refugees are, is totally hilarious to me. Can't you appreciate the irony? He is essentially trying to steal from refugees and as a result, becomes one himself. Does karma get any better than this?

Oh yea, one last thing. We are nothing like these scammers. We are not trying to steal from anyone. In fact, we are trying our hardest to protect people from be stolen from. We have not done, nor would ever do anything illegal in our baits.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:19 am

followthesun wrote:

I know it sounds childish, but ask some of those questions you learned in Primary so long ago. Is that what Jesus would do?...Am I treating others the way I WANT to be treated?

I'm an avid proponent of separation of church & baits, but if I was a lying, selfish, greedy, vicious, merciless, conning, predator type !@&*($#^@, yeah I'd hope Jesus cared enough to give me a taste of my own medicine.

The vast majority of baits are not of the super duper wicked evil variety perfected by YW, Jojo & Co. Most baiters waste scammers' time & resources playing along hoping to limit/eliminate lads' access to real victims. However, I'm glad we have baiters capable of executing the super duper wicked evil bait, cuz they're grrrrrrrrreat! Very Happy

Whatever a scammer trying to steal from a house of God, charity, child, pitiful human being, etc. deserves exactly what they get. When you're doing the wrong thing you shouldn't start whining when your actions come back to take a chunk outta your nether regions. But the scammer who keeps hitting up a real live victim with no mercy even after they have bankrupted themselves & working on bankrupting everyone they know, and STILL demands more, which is all of them if given half a chance, well...he deserves worse than even these baiters can cook up.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:29 am

These "humans" are the scum of the earth and deserve everything they get from the baiters.

What do you think of this scammer? Was he also just a human being?

Quote:

By KIM CURTIS and STAN LEHMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) - The lonely, divorced carpenter thought he was going to Brazil to make wedding plans.
Instead, he was drugged and held captive for six days at his fiancee's home while she and another man emptied his bank accounts, according to Brazilian authorities. Then they drove the 56-year-old victim to a vacant lot, where they strangled him with copper wire, doused his body with fuel, and set it on fire, investigators say.

Authorities found Raymond Merrill's charred body in April.
Now, the woman he believed was his betrothed is under arrest, along with a man suspected of helping to kill him.
"He would talk to me about ideal relationships and pure love," said Merrill's best friend, Bill Rauch. "With age doesn't necessarily come wisdom. He was used to doing things his way and, in the end, it did him in."

For months, his family knew nothing of his horrifying end. It was only after a bungled robbery in Brazil that investigators even learned of Merrill's fate.

Merrill met Regina Filomena Rachid last year through an online dating service. At the time, he was lonely and depressed, having been dumped by a Las Vegas woman for whom he had bought expensive gifts, according to Merrill's best friend.

Merrill and Rachid exchanged dozens of calls, e-mails and photographs, often enlisting Rachid's 18-year-old daughter as a translator. Rachid was 41, from an upper-middle-class family that was in the real estate business.

"I thought, `This is going a little fast,' but I didn't want to sound critical," said Merrill's sister, Marcia Sanchez Loebick.
The warning signs were obvious to Merrill's friend of nearly 30 years. Merrill gave Rachid $10,000 to start a skin care clinic and bought her a $20,000 sport utility vehicle. She complained it wasn't a fancier, more expensive model, Rauch said.

"This from a man who was tightfisted," Rauch said. "Ray and I would go out and I'd have to buy all the beers. All of a sudden, he's lavishing all these gifts and money on a relationship he's not even close to consummating.

"I said, `Ray, these are so many red flags. I can't believe you're pursuing this,'" Rauch said. "He would just slough it off. He'd say, `She's just a passionate and emotional Latina.' What do you say to a guy like that?"

Merrill visited Rachid twice in Sao Jose dos Campos, an industrial city about 60 miles from Sao Paulo. Both times he stayed a week longer than planned. Both times he notified Rauch, who then drove to Merrill's home in San Bruno to water the plants and collect the mail. On the third trip, Merrill again overstayed his return, but this time he didn't call Rauch to let him know.

Loebick, who lives in Cleveland, said she sent her brother repeated e-mails warning him that their 86-year-old father was dying, but got no response. She and Rauch's best friend called police in California to report him missing.

What happened to Merrill was more awful than either could have imagined.

Sometime after he arrived on March 21, Rachid and her real boyfriend, Nelson Siqueira Neves, drugged Merrill, kept him in a room in Rachid's house, and drained his bank accounts, stealing about $200,000 in all, according to Merrill's sister and Brazilian authorities.

Then, on April 1 - the day he was scheduled to return to California - they hired Evandro Celso Augusto Ribeiro for $5,600 to help kill him and set fire to the corpse, according to investigators. Authorities found the scorched remains but could not identify the victim, and buried the body in a pauper's grave.

But then Rachid - to raise money to pay off the hit man - took part in the holdup of a black-market money changer, and accidentally left her purse behind, investigators say.

The money changer went to police and turned over the purse, which contained Merrill's credit card. Hours later, Rachid showed up at the same police station to report her purse stolen. Police arrested her on the spot. The alleged hit man soon told authorities what happened to Merrill, investigators said.

Rachid and Ribeiro are in custody, charged with armed robbery followed by death.

Rachid's boyfriend was questioned by police in early October but was released under a Brazilian law that says no one can be arrested in the days immediately before and after an election, investigators said. Now he cannot be found.

"I feel a really terrible sense of loss," said Merrill's best friend. "You expect to lose your parents. But you don't expect one of your best friends to die."

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:38 am

How about George Makronalli? Do you think the scammers considered that he was a human being?

Quote:

Philip de Bruin , Beeld

Interpol and the police forces of South Africa, America and Greece have joined forces to investigate the brutal murder of a wealthy Greek national whose badly mutilated body was found in Durban shortly before Christmas.

George Makronalli, 29, was a victim of a notorious 419 fraud scheme.

He was apparently lured to the country under the pretence that he could earn hundreds of thousands of rands. He was then kidnapped and summarily killed when his family refused to pay the ransom.

A spokesperson for the Durban police confirmed on Thursday that Makronalli was a victim of a 419 syndicate.

Caught in a trap

The syndicate issued a statement on the internet in which they claimed that they had stolen about R150m from the South African government by submitting false claims for "contracts" and that they needed help from overseas to get the money out of the country.

Whoever was willing to help them, would receive a large part of the "profit". Makronalli was caught with this ruse. He reacted to the "invitation" and was convinced to come to South Africa in November.

He returned to Greece, but re-entered South Africa through Johannesburg International Airport at the request of syndicate members on December 18. He then disappeared.

When his brother, Sotirus Makronelli, from Los Angeles, could not establish contact with him for two days, he contacted Interpol and the American police. The police spokesperson said Sotirus allegedly also invested money in the 419 scheme.

Shortly after, Sotirus received an e-mail from the syndicate in which they informed him that they had kidnapped his brother and demanded that $160 000 (about R1m) be deposited in an American bank account within 24 hours. They threatened to kill George if their demands were not met.

The ransom was not paid. A day later, police found George's body in Durban. Both his legs and arms were broken and he had been set alight - probably while he was still alive.

"This was a blatant execution after a failed demand. Mr Makronalli's suitcases full of clothes and travel documents were found with his body. Robbery was not the motive," the police spokesperson said.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:47 am

How about this elderly lady? Do you think they considered her a human being?

Quote:

Lottery Scam Victim Commits Suicide

01/08 - New Jersey - The day Ann Mowle was finally going to be rewarded, she anticipated that someone would knock on her door at the Rossmoor adult community in Monroe and give her her prize money.

"She told us it was going to be a Publishers Clearing House thing," said Monroe Detective Robert Bennett, referring to scenes taped for television ads, when Publishers Clearing House delivers a fat check to an unsuspecting winner.

However, when police arrived at Mowle's home they soon realized she was the victim of an elaborate lottery scam, and warned her to ignore the calls and pleas for money.

She would not listen, said Bennett. "In her mind she knew it was wrong, but she was still committed and obsessed with this scam."

On Oct. 31 she drove to Spring Lake, and apparently jumped into the ocean. The following day two fishermen found her body adjacent to a jetty. Her death was ruled a suicide. When investigators tallied her losses to the lottery scam they pegged the figure at $248,000.
Bennett recalled visiting Mowle's home, the day she thought she was going to strike it rich. The home was immaculate, he said. There was no indication Mowle was suffering from dementia. After her death police found a tidy pile of records on her dining room table, documenting her dealings with the lottery scam.

People in the scam were so brazen, said Bennett, that they did not hang up the phone, when they called while police were at Mowle's home.

"I spoke to these Jamaican lottery guys, and they laughed at me. They said, "You can't do anything about it,"' said Bennett.

After the visit police contacted Mowle's son and daughter, and told them how their mother was the obvious victim of a scam.

"We notified them and said they should keep an eye on her finances. That was the last time we dealt with her," said Bennett.

The money was sent in the form of a money order, or in a Western Union wire transfer, according to Bennett.

The scam began in October 2006 when she received a letter in the mail informing her she had won $2.5 million. However, in order to collect she had to pay $18,000 in upfront fees. Once she paid the operators of the scam kept asking for more.

The day she expected to receive the prize at her front door, she was told the money was being delayed while it was held up at a customs' office at the airport.

According to Bennett she had money in an annuity, and pleaded with the bank to allow her to withdraw more than was allowed, telling bank officials she needed the money to pay for cancer treatment.

Elite Baiter Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 1269

QLD man loses $20k in net romance scam
Shannon Molloy
September 4, 2008 - 8:28AM

A Queensland man was conned out of $20,000 by a woman he met on an internet dating website, prompting police to issue another warning about online romance scams.

Another local female victim recently lost thousands of dollars and was left waiting at the airport for a love interest who didn't exist, after she was conned by a thief on a match-maker site.

Police Minister Judy Spence appealed with people to follow their heads and not their hearts when it comes to sending money to strangers.

"In this modern technological age it is not uncommon for people to start relationships online before ever meeting in person," Ms Spence said.

"However people need to be very careful when it comes to online relationships ... requests to send money or personal information like account details overseas to an online companion should be treated with extreme caution."

Despite on-going public awareness campaigns about internet scams, Queenslanders continue to lose millions of dollars every year.

And police are investigating a number of romance scams where love-seekers have been scorned.

However Ms Spence admitted many other cases are never reported because the victims are "too embarrassed" to contact police.

Scams usually involve a love interest who claims to be Caucasian and of English or American heritage, Fraud and Corporate Crime Group Detective Superintendent Brian Hay said.

"Often this person has visited, is residing in, or is about to visit a West African country such as Nigeria or Ghana," Detective Superintendent Hay said.

Once a relationship is established, the scammer will generally ask for money to pay for an airline ticket to visit the victim or pay for medical expenses.

The scammer could also claim to be the victim of a robbery or "corrupt officials" and require money in order to survive.

Queensland Police will host a national conference on fraud next month, with about 100 experts, victims and international guests expected to attend.

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