How smart are they?

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Hey, I am new to this Lad Hunting business.

I consider this a "Role Playing" game of sorts... And when I write, I like to allude to mythology, video games, movies, etc.

So, how many allusions can I make (e.g., my Uncle Ganondorf, my brother Strife, Mrs. Venus, Rambo) before they catch on? How many Nigerians play video games or know much about Greek/Roman mythology?

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:17 pm

Most time they dont care, they dont care how is your family called, they focus on only one thing. To get money from you and get rid of you.

If it is important to get money from you, they would believe "almost" everything Smile

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Alright, thanks. Knowing this will help me to lead some interesting baits...

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:26 pm

HarrySmith64 wrote:

...how many allusions can I make (e.g...Rambo) before they catch on?

You're prolly OK with the Greek / Roman stuff. The Rambo? They may recognize Rambo. They haven't picked up on my terms of affection "my cr4pulent weasel" or "my gallbladder quivers for your caress".

I enjoy medical terminology. President of my bank is H4r0ld Hematoch3zia (look it up) and there is Sister B4rtholin'5-Cy5t.

If you expect them to be well read...I doubt that few have library cards.

Bottom line, they won't even know or care who you are until 4 or 5 emails.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Nosmo King wrote:

HarrySmith64 wrote:

...how many allusions can I make (e.g...Rambo) before they catch on?

You're prolly OK with the Greek / Roman stuff. The Rambo? They may recognize Rambo. They haven't picked up on my terms of affection "my cr4pulent weasel" or "my gallbladder quivers for your caress".

I enjoy medical terminology. President of my bank is H4r0ld Hematoch3zia (look it up) and there is Sister B4rtholin'5-Cy5t.

If you expect them to be well read...I doubt that few have library cards.

Bottom line, they won't even know or care who you are until 4 or 5 emails.

Ha, those are brilliant. No worries - I won't steal them from you Razz

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:49 pm

How smart are they?It depends on the lad,some seem quite stupid,but most are fairly well educated with some computer skills.It is the cultural gap that they find it hard to overcome.Read some of the posts around here and see what people get away with.I once baited a lad as Obi-wan Kenobi,owner of a wookie ranch.

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:52 pm

I've got a well-read Lad. He keeps recommending books to my character. Most of them do not interest The Real Me, but I am currently reading one of the books he recommended, and very good it is too!

I'm a cautious baiter. Although I have had various 'relatives' named after The Wombles (well, why shouldn't someone name their children after The Wombles?), for names that seem a bit more 'universal', I tend to say, 'We call him Rambo' rather than, 'He is called Rambo.'

I also use 'We call him Timothy' (or whatever) when I'm using a photo (as 'my husband's') of an actor that I think it is possible the Lad might know. Well, why shouldn't my character be married to an actor? Just at home, we call him Timothy, not the name he is generally known throughout the world by.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Alright, thanks for your tips.

I just asked one scammer if the funds had anything to do with my oil investments in Pakistan. That should perk him up Razz

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:39 pm

All my character names are based on Alan Partridge. Keeps me amused Smile

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:22 pm

My fiance chose my favorite baiting name for me. I just like names that are so ubiquitous that no Google search in the WORLD would ever turn up anything relating to my baiting career...

Elite Baiter Joined: 19 Jan 2009 Posts: 1440

I think you could call yourself Rumplestiltskin and they wouldn't bat an eye.

The majority of them can't even figure out what their own names are, and still don't know that Westerners are not called "Mr. Brown Peter", or "Mrs. Smith Mary" etc etc..

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Is this acceptable?

Quote:

Dear Miss Elvish,

I am sorry to hear about your father's death. It is terrible how fictitiously evil the Presidency can sometimes be. It is wrong that they would murdolate him for keeping his trust with the old President.

If you are sure that you want to place this trust on me, then I will do what I can to help you. How do you want me to proceed? Do you know how heavy the safe is? It might be hard to quietly remove it from the building.

Could you please send me contact information for the security man? I don't need his phone number, because I would much rather communicate through email.

---------------------------------------

Sincerely,

H@rold Sm1th
Hyl1@n Security Systems
Vice President
Ireland

Haha.... I love murdolating...

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:24 am

Hello HarrySmith, welcome! : Smile

: What the lads are looking for is a willing victim. Someone they can play to get cash. Kind of like a sales person, who reads their client's willingness to buy, the scammers look for commucants who are willing to send them money.

You get to sell them that you ARE willing to send them money when in fact you aren't going to send them anything (except trips to WU or MG and maybe on a safari).

There is good information at the bottom of the "Index" page identified as Eater University.

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:52 am

my dog is smarter than these mugus

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:28 am

And bear in mind the Rambo is a REAL surname.

for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dack_Rambo

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:55 am

It's a mistake to think that lads in general are dumb. They vary in the same way that any large group of people does.
All you can say for sure is that they are greedy and have no sympathy for their victims.

Juan's stalker Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 1423

^^^ I Totally agree. Don't underestimate your enemy. Wink

Most of the lads I have are in school. IT is a big big deal for them to be in UNI as they call it.
They believe it is ok to scam because it pays for their schooling. Evil or Very Mad

I once had a lad who knew more than me about some literature things.
He would say things to me I didn't understand and I went along with it at the time.
After the chat session was over, I would look them up. He was insulting me with passages from books.

Use whatever names you like and if you get called out by the lad its ok, always act innocent,lol.
You can always rebait him from another account or go after the thousands of other lads.
Have fun and you will learn as you go. It's ok if you get dropped.
We all get dropped sometimes. Lads are looking for certain targets and sometimes our characters fit and sometimes they dont.

Welcome to Eater and have lots of fun. Very Happy

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Thank you

Yeah, I figured they were well-learned since they speak English, but I wasn't too sure how well they grasp certain things when phrased in English Razz

Anyway, I am trying to work out a safari... hope it works!

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Quote:

Anyway, I am trying to work out a safari... hope it works!

Good luck with that! Safaris take a lot of work & preparation, and the lad needs to be the perfect candidate. To ensure you're not wasting your time, make sure the lad can carry out lesser tasks for you, like forms. If not, then you have no chance of a safari.

Work out every possibility, plan plan plan! It's all about being prepared.

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:37 pm

And sometimes there's just plain old dog eared luck. I mentioned IN PASSING that I was THINKING of visiting my scammer's country and he just latched onto it. I told him IO was visiting 5imb@ in the next country and after a bit of prodding, he went!!!

Plain old stupid luck

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:40 pm

HarrySmith64 wrote:

Yeah, I figured they were well-learned since they speak English, but I wasn't too sure how well they grasp certain things when phrased in English Razz

Actually, English is the/an official language of quite a few West African countries (including Nigeria), so it's neither a shocker nor a show of intelligence that they can speak it. Remember that just because they speak it with an accent, it doesn't mean that they have less language skills then you. Think of it this way, to them, you speak English with an accent, as does everyone to everyone else.

The cultural references are just that, cultural references. You mentioned Greek and Roman mythology, for example. Now, it just so happens that they play a large part in our culture, but that's not to say that everyone on the planet knows or cares. If the lad were to have a name which references something in their traditional culture, you wouldn't know what he's going on about, even if he does speak in plain English.

See?

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:29 pm

Some Lads also Google things they don't understand. My character told her Nigerian Lad (who is pretending to live in the UK) that she was buying a Fell pony. He replied, 'Why are you getting a Fell pony and not a Dales? Does a Fell pony need shoeing? Their feet are hard so maybe not?'

I had to Google the information for my character's response!

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:41 pm

Branwen wrote:

Some Lads also Google things they don't understand!

Tell me about it! My character's email siggy is German for "you are a liar, you piece of shit". Anyway scammerboi Googled it and I got a VERY abusive email back. I gave him an excuse and he BOUGHT it!!!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 58

Ha... one of them asked for my picture. I sent a picture of Heath Ledger Razz

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:33 pm

I work on the theory that everyone around the globe has been exposed to "B-grade" Hollywood Western Movies. With that in mind, my baiting characters are stereotypical of the characters in that genre of films - basically cowboys less literate than the lads (if that's possible) and "dumb as a box of rocks". It makes delays (stampedes, floods, computer problems, WU form errors, etc.) much more plausible. It's also an excuse to avoid telephones (no phones in the bunk house, just cable TV and a modem), and lack of ID for the cowboy, though my character's "Texas Rodeo Cowboy Assn." membership card was accepted with no problem.