How silly can you go?

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 9

Hi All

As a newbie to this I just can't seem to reign in my imagination when i respond to scammers - however i do seem to be able to get away with the daftest of emails. Do the scammers actually read the initial emails and understand what is in them? and just how silly can you be and get away with it?

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:33 pm

If you mention the prospect of them getting money, they'll read that part. You can write just about anything else and they won't even notice.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:35 pm

What I've found is if you keep your first reply short, to the point, and fairly believable, then a lot of them will read it and respond to what you write. The party-line of "They never read your first reply" is, in my opinion, too much of a simplification of what really happens.

The real mistake is overloading a first reply with too many details, too much narrative, too many things to take in for the initial contact.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:38 pm

There are so many lads in the world unfortunately that any generalisation is wrong. Some will not read your first email and simply scan it to see if you are willing or not to play along, others simply press that reply button and insert script email number two. It all greatly depends on the ladyou have on the hook. I found out that especially love scammers do not take the time to properly read your mails until you hit the payment stage, but once again there will surely be exceptions. I would say: give it a try and find out Very Happy

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:05 pm

You can get away with most anything you can think of - but it depends on how you lay it on them. You probably can't start off with "I'm a Martian let me know where to park my spacecraft" - that doesn't work - I tried Very Happy

If you draw them in and lead them in slowly in a manner that attracts and interests them with no major shocks, then you can achieve a lot.

A Lad will BITE a bait when he replies, but you can never assume he is HOOKED. He may be paying more attention to the money you offer him than the tale you tell. So always make the smell of money fresh in his nostrils, and assume he is nodding his head to keep YOU hooked. He may consider that he is mentally superior and humouring you, which in itself is a good sign.

Start off short and sweet and if you have some complex plan at the start just some tiny mention will do. Write from Cape Canaveral Astronaut Training Centre. Plant a seed then make it grow. Wink

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:19 pm

I think that the adventures of Chilly Jimmy may help answer your question. Be sure to follow the link in the first post before reading the rest of the thread.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 34

New on to this also. About first answer to scam-mail. I have understood that you should not lay all your (invented) life, and problems on the first mail. But would some sort of doubt about the "luck" that has faced you / mixed with underlying interest of the money work on average ??

Or would the simplest: "Great. How do i get my money?", pass on the initial filter, and get you further, till 2-3 post, to those that are not copy+pasted ??

Molok

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:27 pm

Simple and to the point seems to get the highest return rate for the first few mails, after they've got a picture in their mind of a good victim, you can start to edge them off script.

This sticky is your friend. Smile

Welcome to the Eater.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:31 pm

I generally start of slow "this sounds interesting" "is this safe"...etc. Then I try to get them off script by slowing writing longer and longer emails. I've found that works. They will pretty much believe anything with a money sign or a belief that they will get money.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 34

Thanks, and Trapdoor - i am not trying to hijack this thread or anything.

So, you have suggested:
- simple first answers, not too long
- let the interest show
- not to show much knowledge about anything, as that might scare them off / act dumb but enthusiastic

I don't want to waste too much of time in these initial answers either - you don't know do you have "good", later talkative lad on the other side.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 9

Hi All

I asked a lad to prove to me that he was a god fearing man and went into such great detail about how I knew Devil worshippers and goat blood drinkers that I really thought he would see through it. He has replied with equally protracted details about his church activities and apparently, his home address and passport number hahaha.