Mike Milliard: Clueless hack?

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419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid47350.aspx

Mr. Milliard appears to have an axe to grind with scambaiters. He's also an outright liar. I never received an interview request from Milliard (at least not in the last 6 months which is as far back as I checked). I always respond to interview requests, whether I am interested in doing them or not. Perhaps his email didn't get through to me, or perhaps it's an excuse for misrepresenting various facts.

Though he also attempted some research, sadly he doesn't appear to have got to read the part where revealing scambaiter's real names, first and last is about as irresponsible and dumb as it gets.

Milliard obviously has no clue what he's talking about, and has never seen first hand the real damage that scammers inflict - I, and many others in the scambaiting community most certainly have.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:30 am

It seems to never cross these peoples' minds that we don't make the lads do anything. They choose to do it out of greed. It's called free will.
Has this guy ever actually logged onto eater. The whole article seems grossly selective and ill-informed.
Anyway that's it. I'm quitting baiter, resigning from my job and I'm off to help out these poor, desperate guys. All the rest of you baiters are heartless bastards Wink

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

I'm quite comfortable being a heartless bastard.

At least he didn't call us vigilantes. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:50 am

Quote:

They’ve been procured by scambaiters, a cadre of swashbuckling online vigilantes

Fraid he did

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:52 am

Looks like he spent a while hanging around here reading up on the forum before he wrote the article.

I think Rodus' point is excellent, we're not forcing anybody to do anything at any point. If a lad gets a tattoo or whatever, they know that they're only doing that as one process of eventually ripping off the person who's asking them to do such a thing.

It's like someobody going to rob a bank and then getting their arm broken by the security screen that pop up when the teller hits the panic button - should we feel sorry for them???

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

Oh, great, Rodus- just ruin my happy thoughts. Sad

....although, being an online swashbuckling vigilante sounds kinda cool.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:59 am

@ Shiv.

Ill informed sensationalism, sadly thats what far too much journalism is about these days. Never mind the facts if they get in the way of a good story.
Whats even sadder is that our society just cannot get enough of such 'gossip mongering'.

@TSNerd

I'm not keen on being called a heartless bastard, I do quite like the image of a swashbuckling vigilante though.
I'll compromise, just call me a bastard vigilante..... Laughing

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:11 am

I'm sure he wouldn't mind us using his likeness as a character in a bait Laughing

(Just a joke... I'm sure that would breach the ITP rule).

The I is for Ignorant

Lmao @ "So it is that one can visit YouTube and watch clips of a man taking brutal punches to the skull"

hahahah I'm sure Bombardier will attest that it was anything but "brutal" it was the worst punch scene ever, I've seen kittens with better jabs. Clint would be very disappointed.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:41 am

Selected quotes (and my responses), posted in the hope that this... ummm... "journalist"... will read them someday:

Quote:

They’ve been procured by scambaiters, a cadre of swashbuckling online vigilantes who tangle with scammers by the hundreds

Sorry TSnerd, we're still vigilantes Laughing

Quote:

While most scambaiters keep their pranks on the up and up, many others seem to revel in making their marks as miserable as possible.

Clueless quote #2. Most baiters, particularly those who have had close contact with victims and seen firsthand the destruction that these scams cause to the lives of innocent people, revel in making any and all scammers lives as miserable as possible.

Quote:

one can visit YouTube and watch clips of a man taking brutal punches to the skull, jumping off roofs, falling off ladders, leaping through flaming hoops, and setting his pant legs afire as he runs howling in pain.

The "poor" suffering scammer referred to here makes more money in a month than I do all year. If in doubt, check out his crib, big screen TV, rowing machine, leather couches etc. That said, the description of events is rather vastly overdramatized (apologies to Bombardier).

Quote:

What sort of desperation possesses a man to tattoo some guy’s screen name on his back like a slave’s brand? How hard up for cash can a person be?

Clueless quote #4. A tad of the race card along with more "poor scammers" crap. Never mind that the "man" in question was trying to steal money from what he thought was an innocent person Rolling Eyes

Quote:

What happens when these baits stop being clever time-wasters and become purely punitive and dehumanizing?

The scammers lose.

Quote:

Says Thurston: “Maybe I’ll start my own vigilante scambaiter-baiter service. Get scambaiters to hold up signs saying: ‘Neo-colonial online activist.’ ”

Sorry Thurston, the BADger sign up sheet is full for this month. Please try again later Laughing

Quote:

it’s also disturbing to see poor, uneducated people from such a profoundly damaged place posing for obscene and/or absurd photographs in the hopes of getting some money.

The rallying cry of ladhuggers. I'm willing to bet that when this person's mother, aunt, grandpa, brother, or someone else close to him loses their life's savings to some shitbag scammer, he will undergo a rather dramatic attitude adjustment. Until then we will continue to do what we do.

Nice that he referred to the DD0S attack without bothering to mention that it was instigated by Eastern European scammers tired of us cutting into their profits with our "vigilante" activities... Rolling Eyes

Not quite a Newb Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 44

Finally someone calls me swashbuckling. At last!

We got plenty of that do-gooder here too, justifying everything from shop-lifting to armed robbery by the same old arguments.

That ridiculous blabla makes me angry and motivated to carry on. I´m off to the surplus forum getting another pet right now.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:19 am

Clueless Hack wrote:

... where does the moral compass point? ...

Indeed. Where?

The author is opinionated, ill informed, writes subjectively and seems blissfully unaware that many of us "swashbuckling online vigilantes" bait straight, primarily for bank accounts to report.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:45 am

Quote:

Those 419 e-mails (named after the Nigerian penal code for fraud), also called advance-fee frauds, managed to bilk Americans to the tune of $720 million in 2005. Worldwide, it’s estimated, they cost the gullible $3.2 billion each year.

I nearly got all political for a moment. That's a lot of money for Governments to be doing seemingly very little about.

I'm off to buckle my swash, got two new 'poor innocent hard done by' scammers today who are going to (hopefully) be delayed in get their snouts in the $3.2Billion trough

'White Hunters' eh? I wonder what a poll of the members would reveal in terms of race/religion/colour/sex? Probably members from every group you can think of.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:51 am

"Is he having a laff?"

Some people just don't get it, especially SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy) journos with a PC agenda Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:10 am

Quote:

but it’s a safe bet that the majority, relatively speaking, are better off than the scammers they tangle with.

Of course I am. I work an honest job for honest pay (except when I'm posting to Eater from work Very Happy

)

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:24 am

Quote:

SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy) journos with a PC agenda

Pfft, just a lad hugger. I started reading the story, lost interest before I was even half through. If he does not take his job seriously enough to do some proper research, I will not be bothered to read his crap.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:26 am

There was something in what he said that almost made sense, .....
.
.
.
Na must have been my imagination
Embarassed

The world is back to normal.

Except it's very coincidental that he chose NOW to run that.

He knows all about the bunker as he put it Sad

looking sideways carefully psst who is he

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:33 am

f

k him

wait til one of his relatives get stung for a fine princely sum.
then listen to him then.
he probably aint got any other work to do.

maybe he should do a five page article on all those who have
been scammed and how much misery have they gone through.

like the WP website linking us to them this will blow over.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:39 am

Wow. September is turning out to be an interesting month to say the least.

On the racist bit on page 3 ...

Quote:

.... as one poster puts it, that “the colour of [scammers’] skin . . . is incidental to the fact that they would happily rob an old woman blind if she could get to a Western Union office!”

I think that was me....hey I'm famous!

If he wants my real name he can go whistle "Yankee Doodle Dandy" out of his posterior on Youtube whilst holding up a sign saying "Tommo lives here>>>".

I would be almost tempted to bypass the ITP rule in his case, but my 'moral compass' as an 'internet vigilante' [cool!] won't let me.

The article headline implies white baiters, black scammers. Pure conjecture. How does he know that? I'd rather have no opinion at all than uninformed opinion.

Tommo

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:44 am

I think shiver should have a real go at him for using his full name without permission.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

Quote:

but my 'moral compass' as an 'internet vigilante' [cool!] won't let me.

Tommo, that should read 'swashbuckling internet vigilant'. Embrace it. I have. Laughing

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:48 am

Using full names is risky but in Shiv's case it's already public knowledge and he's protected by strange and mysterious powers.

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:49 am

I'll embrace you Tsnerd.

You swashbucler you.....mmmm......All of a sudden I'm having Johnny Depp visions... Cool

Edit : I called you Tnerm. I'm sorry. I blame my parents.

Thanks. Embarassed

Before the edit I had plausible deniability. "No, honey. That isn't directed at me. It says, "Tnerm".....now my wife's fears will be realized. She's always thought that this baiting thing was just a ruse to look at hot avatars and be compared to Johnny Depp. TS

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:55 am

^^^
Yep he totally missed the point. In general we all get to know each other through the forums in small ways, country, race, sex etc. Often apologies are seen when someone thought someone was male or female. In the end very few of know the real truth about each other and that my friends is what helps and protects us. It is really clear that there is no race issues on this site. Just go and ask for a translation from what ever to whatever there is always someone at hand to assist.
Between the ddos attack and this "Small Boy" Smile

I think we can actually be thankful for the old saying "There is no such thing as bad publicity"

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:12 pm

@TSn

Sorry!

Swashbuckling isn't really my forte, despite it being pirate month and all. Now making love to a beautiful woman on the other hand....

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:14 pm

Eh, I dont take these articles seriously anyway. But I do love the way these "journalists" talk about the stuff baiters have done, i.e.:

Quote:

A man has sliced his palm open, for reasons that are unclear. Another reclines, naked and still, as his body is spattered with milk and egg yolks. One holds a sign declaring, I WAIT FOR YOU ON MY KNEES AT THE GLORY HOLE. Another’s placard proclaims him a GAY LAD. One has attached dozens of clothespins to his face and torso. One lays supine as a crude tattoo, huge and hideous, is cut into his back: “Pwn3d by Slaw.” One holds a piece of poster board scrawled with a question: ARE WE NOT HAVING FUN YET?

Though I already knew about most of this stuff, it's still hilarious to remember it all. I love the way that the whole sentence is very downcast, like we should all be ashamed Laughing

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