Just Putting Things In Perspective

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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 4:50 am

The other night we had the house to ourselves, and I asked my wife if she'd like to make love in front of the roaring fire I had built in the living room. She got incredibly upset (we have no fireplace) and banished me to my basement again. So I started surfing.

We (myself included) often talk about lad-land as if it was some far away place with little running water, lots of vermin, and over-crowded cities where merchants try to sell things out of wheelbarrows. But it ain't always that way. No need to read in-depth, but have a peek at the following web-pages.

http://directmag.com/legal/telemarketing/mortgage_scammers_0321/
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1110854287534_19
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=852307
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/5099844.stm

They're not all 419ers, but a scammer is a scammer. And they're everywhere. West Africa and eastern Europe may be popular lad-regions, but they certainly don't have exclusive market share.

Should we start mass-responding to credit-card junk mail or baiting telemarketers? While it might be fun, I don't think so. Does it get our lads off the hook just because everyone's doing it? Hell no. This post is just more of a "not all scammers are Nigerian" rant and not much else.

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 7:39 am

It's nice to see a few get taken down properly.

Maybe your wife was baiting you and was all ready in the bedroom whilst you where on safari in the basement Smile

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 8:37 am

Okay folks, let's not turn this thread into a discussion about sex. Very Happy

Great links, Obi. Scams are everywhere and in everything. Evil or Very Mad

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 19

^^^^^ you make that sound like it's a bad thing Razz

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 6:25 pm

http://scam.com

Lots to read in there if you can stand the lack of moderation ...

One thing that makes me wonder about folks is the fact that "You can make $3,000 a week stuffing ( envelopes, selling junk, recruiting, taking surveys, e.t.c. ) " scams are still a major problem on the internet.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:38 am

I know what you mean Shippou. We pick on 419 scams (and they deserve it), but there's almost no end to the number of people out there trying to pull a fast one for some free cash.

My personal favourite that I fell for was a few years ago. My fiancee (now wife) dragged me kicking and screaming to a bigass bridal convention. While being in a room with 3,000 obsessive brides was my version of hell on Earth, I managed to find a cool SeaDoo display. I got talked into filling out a no-purchase-necessary ballot to win 2 of the boats, with visions of 2 SeaDoos parked in my driveway. Naturally I didn't win the water-harleys, but I did manage to win countless other prizes, all from different companies and all from one ballot. Three vacation packages, a professional photo-shoot, some genuine Mexican silverware, dancing lessons, a ski pass with a room upgrade and rental car, and I think a massage-for-two. All in one week. I still have the notifications! I also won a cool set of beer glasses, and I actually claimed that.

The above example might not be a scam per se, but it's not a whole lot different than the lotto wins or orphan letters we receive. I wonder if the guys who write the lad-scripts got their start in consumer marketing jobs sometimes! Very Happy

And welcome to the Eater by the way. You'll like it here. Warm people, cold tactics, and scammers in pain. Don't forget to read the safes, bait sticky, get a mentor, and have a good time!

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:45 am

Big Dog wrote:

^^^^^ you make that sound like it's a bad thing Razz

For public discussion, yes. There is a time and a place to discuss these kinds of things. Wink

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:54 am

On top of that kind of scam there are the ones who call your house and tell you your car warranty is about to expire. Umm ... I was unaware that the 1993 car I purchased 2nd hand from my distant in-laws was still UNDER warranty! Rolling Eyes

Read up on this little scam online to learn that these yahoos tried to convince people who didn't even OWN cars that their warranty was about to expire. Smooth, real smooth!

Secondarily, there seem to be a lot of *ahem* collection agencies *ahem* that call CLAIMING to be collecting on fictional debts. It's sad that these kinds of things permiate the world.

Then there's people like us, who like to play hard ball with the jerks for a while. Before I even found this site, I had a company try to scam my husband and I. Yes, they had our REAL identity (we were niave then), but they got real whiny when we didn't finish sending in their paperwork! Evil or Very Mad

"What went wrong? Why aren't you working with us anymore? Call us back we're the only ones who can help you!"

"Gee, I dunno, maybe we found out you guys were lying through your teeth?" I let them keep calling figuring every fruitless call they placed to our household meant one less call to a new victim who hadn't figured out how their unhanded, too good to be true scheme REALLY worked. They weren't 419 scammers, they were in a way WORSE! Legitimate business posers who make a bad situation unrepairable.

I think there is a special place for all these 'wonderful' people once they pay the final bill. Twisted Evil

Not quite a Newb Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 51

SHIPPOU wrote:

http://scam.com

One thing that makes me wonder about folks is the fact that "You can make $3,000 a week stuffing ( envelopes, selling junk, recruiting, taking surveys, e.t.c. ) " scams are still a major problem on the internet.

You actually can make money taking surveys on the internet, but certainly not that much ;p

As for the stuffing letters... you usually end up stuffing envelopes with pamphlets that tell people about a wonderful opportunity to earn cash... by stuffing envelopes.

Master Baiter Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 104

I had a job once stuffing envelopes, it was the worst job i've ever had. thankfully I only did it for two days, but still, a small part of me died forever with every envelope.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:13 pm

Morf wrote:

SHIPPOU wrote:

http://scam.com

One thing that makes me wonder about folks is the fact that "You can make $3,000 a week stuffing ( envelopes, selling junk, recruiting, taking surveys, e.t.c. ) " scams are still a major problem on the internet.

You actually can make money taking surveys on the internet, but certainly not that much ;p

As for the stuffing letters... you usually end up stuffing envelopes with pamphlets that tell people about a wonderful opportunity to earn cash... by stuffing envelopes.

Back in the 90's I fell for one of those ... $25 got me a letter and 2 sheets of paper ... The first was "How to place ads in the local paper, and have folks send in $ for information" ... The second one was the information I mailed back ... Live and learn Evil or Very Mad

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