How do you keep track of all those mails?

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Hi,

This is my first post here.

I have been scam baiting on and off the occasional scammer over the past 2 years until I decided I wanted to do more because it was way too fun... So I have added my "specialized" email address on those mugu lists and whoa, here they come! I have sent 8 fake Western Union payment slips only today...

But the main problem I'm having is keeping track of all those mails: there's barristers, banks, women in distress and so many parties all involved in the same scam... I like to keep on dragging them for weeks at time but I lose track of what bank is linked to what lawyer and what maiden in distress and what is the exact scam "status" of every scam bait at any time...

Do you have any precious tips about well managing all those mails so that you don't waste time every day trying to figure out what to reply to whom?

Maybe not having 10 active baits at the same time would be a good place to start... Laughing

Thanks!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

PS: In my defense I don't think the lads are doing a much better job at managing their contacts... 2 months after baiting a lad and making fun of him with a fake WU slip (fake MTCN and all) he contacted me again with the same email addresses, same names and same story and he finally remembered me when I got to send a fake WU slip again and he got suspicious! Very Happy

Master Baiter Joined: 18 Aug 2005 Posts: 163

@hotsoolah

When using gmail, I would recommend the following:

Let's say I'm baiting a mugu who calls himself "Carl", his lawyer is Barrister "Frank" and the banker is "Freddy", I create a label that says "Carl - Frank - Freddy".

A fresh mail from banker Freddy arrives, and I don't have to start researching who this banker belongs to, I just know I need to file him under "Carl - Frank - Freddy".

Perhaps there are more sophisticated ways to organize everything, but that's how I do it.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Thanks for the reply. I am using Yahoo but I could do the same with folders - create 1 separate folder for each bait... I find the mails from banks particularly difficult to manage as they always start with Bank of Something, no person name to relate to... Wink

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:55 pm

Many baiters keep notes, whether in an actual notebook or some type of word processing file. Others copy and paste their own scripts to the lad, with minor changes. To keep track of bank accounts, I put them all in an Excel file with all the info that would be needed to report them, i.e. account info, scammer email address, "posing as," and type of scam. Using the search function, it is easy to go back and see how many a particular lad has sent, even if the number grows to 419 accounts.

Ten baits running simultaneously can be overwhelming. I have, probably, 30+ baiting accounts. Usually, I try to give specific scams to specific characters.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:02 pm

Similar to dingleberry, I use Gmail's labels to identify each mail relating to a particular bait. I go a step further though and use the Filters to automatically label them based on the email address, then I only have a small number of unlabelled ones to try and identify.

I also have a spreadsheet with a tab per character that lists all my baits and the number of bank accounts/credit cards etc. that I've got from them, together with the current amount they're expecting me to pay. Then I've got another spreadsheet like bware, with all the bank details in them so that I can quickly find which character received a particular account if more details are requested.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:10 pm

I keep each bait in a separate folder. One of these folders has a file called "others" listing the lad's other characters in the bait. If I were doing this for all baits (I have only one "others" file, because I thought of it, then forgot it), I could say "grep Ibrahim */others" and see which bait has the character Ibrahim.

As to bank details, I keep them all in a file called "piggy" in each bait's directory. Similarly, credit cards go in the "blackpig" file.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 6:00 pm

I'm pretty old school I guess. I use a sheet of paper for each Lad. I add the names of characters as I'm referred to them by the Darling. I also write down the characters phone numbers for the purpose of my report after the bait. I use scripted replies most of the time with only minor tweaks. So I write the day and my response number, I use "MOD" if I changed it in any way. And I also note who I sent the message to and brief subject of the response. So a daily entry might look like this:

TUE: Mod#25-Piggy Request to Barr & Bless
WED: #27 to Barr & Bless - pay tomorrow

I write down the Account numbers & account names on my sheet too along with the Reported number of accounts that I'm keeping tally of. I keep my list of Piggy's on a word document (I'm not very versed in XL). In one column I keep the bank account number and the second column I keep the Running Tally number, the date, & the name on the account.

Once I'm done with my Darling and I'm dropping them I write "Ok to Drop" on my sheet so I know that I can erase further E-mails after I breeze through them for further information I haven't reported yet.

When I'm doing my actual report at the Warning site I copy the E-mail, address of the Darling and paste it in the search field of G-mail. It usually brings up all of the three character's E-mails. I've checked the stars next to the E-mails that I typically use in my report so I can find them easier.

When the Lad has dropped me I file the sheets in a filing cabinet I have next to my Computer desk. I sort them by my character's names so I don't have to dig through a huge stack to find a particular Bait if I need it.

Ok, so everything you never wanted to know about how Big Al Baits, Reports, & keeps track of things.
Wink

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 34

I cut back on the number of baits at one time.
I crossed 2 communications and send the wrong banker name to a lad. Was going to have a chop, but due to the wrong name the lad quickly caught on and it was over.
Lucky for me....he just recycled his list so I got email from him again(same character email). So I am slow playing him again....See what happens.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Thanks for the great suggestions. I think that an Excel sheet is the way to go for me. I will probably also drop the number of active baits to 2-3 at the time. I am nowhere near your levels of expertise and I will never be, I am just doing this for my own entertainment and I'm trying do keep things proper (by applying the rules and guidelines I've read around here) and efficient as I do not always have much time to spare.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Oh, and I will have to add a column to the XL sheet concerning my own IQ level I display to the lads...
Because sometimes I like to play smart (enough), other times I am utterly dumb and keep on pissing them off until they drop me, e.g.:

- I can't send mail to the bank, do you think my wifi is strong enough?
- I tried to scan my passport on my tablet, put it on the screen and pressed "capture screen" button, but it did not work...
- What is Western Union? Do you think I can get there by tram because I get car sick?

And so on and so forth... sometimes it is really amazing how much beating the lads can take...

Anyways, I am digressing here, the idea is that I need to keep my level of intelligence consistent from one week to another! Twisted Evil

Master Baiter Joined: 26 Apr 2015 Posts: 239

Personally for me, I have about 8 different gmail accounts, so I will do one bait per email at a time, at most, normally though I will only do 2 or 3 baits at a time so I remember what's going on.

Each email character will normally have the same back story too, so it's easier to make stuff up.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Yes, I admit I kinda jumped horse, after adding my address to those mugu lists I tried to take on all "offers" I received, so during the past 2 weeks I had around 10 active baits every day... very hard to manage...

This morning I still had 13 active baits, but 8 of them have reached the concluding phase which normally coincides with the sending of the fake WU slip for me...

I am a bit disappointed though to see that quite a few of the lads are getting smarter and checking the MTCN status online via the WU website without trying to collect the money... I would love to see them all try to collect...

Once they realize the pay slip is fake, I send them my avatar picture here as "a fresh WU slip for you to enjoy"... At least that seems to piss them off often enough... Laughing

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:56 am

^ You shouldn't burn lads at the end of your baits, because it educates them about baiting tactics, and makes them harder to bait in the future. It's better to maintain the act and leave them ignorant of what transpired, and make them wonder why they weren't able to get the money.

I don't have a very elaborate system for keeping track of my baits, instead I just read back a few emails in the Gmail thread. Since my characters generally have the same backstory in every bait, it's not difficult for me to read back and quickly remember what stage of the bait I am in, and determine what the correct response is to the current situation.

However, I do have running notepad files of bank accounts, phone numbers, and (most importantly) fake sites. Gmail's search function is invaluable for me as a site killer, because sites often jump hosters or come back online on the same IP. When that happens, I can simply search on the site URL, find my previous report, change the recipient if necessary, and I have a report ready to go. This saves me a lot of time.

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 2:53 am

@ HOOTS
You seem to have the idea of hurting Lads but could use help learning the right and wrong things to do in the long run. I'm always running the endgame of getting the scammers bank accounts and characters information so it can be reported. If you care to step up into the game you might apply for a Mentor and really start hurting the Lads.

There is so much more you can do to hurt the Lads.

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:51 am

Big X wrote:

However, I do have running notepad files of bank accounts, phone numbers, and (most importantly) fake sites. Gmail's search function is invaluable for me as a site killer, because sites often jump hosters or come back online on the same IP. When that happens, I can simply search on the site URL, find my previous report, change the recipient if necessary, and I have a report ready to go. This saves me a lot of time.

I keep reports in text files. Each site directory has a file called "report"; those whose sites I've downloaded have another directory called "site". I can find all reports in Russian (useful when I have to compose a new report in Russian) by typing

Code:

grep -i мошен */report |xargs kate -n&

I haven't worked out a good way to search downloaded sites for templates.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Big Al wrote:

@ HOOTS
You seem to have the idea of hurting Lads but could use help learning the right and wrong things to do in the long run. I'm always running the endgame of getting the scammers bank accounts and characters information so it can be reported. If you care to step up into the game you might apply for a Mentor and really start hurting the Lads.

There is so much more you can do to hurt the Lads.

I always get their bank accounts (when they are willing to send one) because I always play dumb and say I went to the bank instead of WU and bank needs account details... Some of them send it, others do not and insist on going to WU. What I did not know is that you keep track of those bank accounts... Is there a section around this site where I can report those accounts?

As for my "fresh slip" copy, I always send that in the end, when they start getting nasty because I sent them fake slips... They are no longer wondering what is wrong, they know the MTCN is fake, so not much more to lose at this stage... If I send them a second fake MTCN they just check it online and don't fall for it anymore, so might as well have a good laugh! Laughing

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Big X wrote:

^ You shouldn't burn lads at the end of your baits, because it educates them about baiting tactics, and makes them harder to bait in the future. It's better to maintain the act and leave them ignorant of what transpired, and make them wonder why they weren't able to get the money.

As mentioned above, I only drop the act when they know the MTCN is fake and start talking dirty to me... I first try to send them back to WU for as many times as possible by coming up with all kind of excuses, but they do catch up sooner or later, so not much to lose at that stage, they deserve the "fresh slip".

I am always aiming for some death threats and really nasty replies in the end but unfortunately that does not happen often enough... Wink

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 7:52 am

hotsoolah wrote:

Is there a section around this site where I can report those accounts?

You can PM the account details to a Moderator - names in Green. There are details here https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=253518

hotsoolah wrote:

they know the MTCN is fake, so not much more to lose at this stage... If I send them a second fake MTCN they just check it online and don't fall for it anymore, so might as well have a good laugh! Laughing

There's plenty that you could do, perhaps the WU clerk stole your money and gave you a fake MTCN, perhaps you misread it and you've now thrown the receipt so will have to go back to the WU to get a replacement (perhaps forms will be needed for this). By sending a childish picture, you're educating the lad and helping him get better at scamming and identifying time-wasters.

I have many lads who have had failed payments that come back months later for another try at my character - if I'd burned them, they would have disappeared forever.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Thanks! I have gathered some 10 bank accounts during the past 2 weeks, I'll find them back in the mails and send them to a Mod.

As for the picture, once again, that comes after the clerk steals the money and the cat eats my slip and the barrister runs away with the money and so on and so forth... And even after getting a "fresh slip" from me, a lad contacted me back 2 months later...

On the other hand they are getting harder to bait anyway, in most of the cases they don't contact you back as soon as you send the fake MTCN because they just check it online without bothering going to the WU office anyway, so I am trying to postpone sending the MTCN or fake slip as much as possible because very often that means the end of the bait...

The further we keep on pushing the baits, the more bait aware they become for the future, that's for sure!

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 9:54 am

@hotsoolah.....first off all welcome on Eater......

I would like to repeat a very important rule that we have on here....We NOT burn lads....I think it's pointed out before clear enough but you keep dancing around it.

Even when a lad would be sure your a joker you still talk you way out off it.And most off the times this works fine when you have the experience but in order to get experience you need to practice.Burn the lad only have downsides.
Baiting is a mindgame play it with your mind not with emotions.

P.S i never send them fake slips anymore since it can be checked online but as a baiter you need to be creative and some genius baiters made great tools to mess with them.Feel free to check them out.

Master Baiter Joined: 26 Apr 2015 Posts: 239

^^^ when they think the Wu receipt is fake it opens up for more pain, nothing gets a lad more riled up than the old fashioned dolla chop, they can't handle it, they explode, if it's pissed off lads and insults you want, that will deliver lad gold every time.

Then you talk them down, get them to work with you on some sort of scheme with the rogue Wu merchant and the possibilities are endless with the right lad.

Much more fulfilling than burning a lad, and at the end of it all, they will be mega pissed and none the wiser, because they will believe the people are real, and they have been screwed over for real, which hurts even more, because they think the money has slipped from their hands.

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:21 pm

After you send those bank details. Put a pretty little pink Piggy down in your signature line. :$_ lad: Is the code for the piggy. just remove the space between the underscore and the letter "L".

Not quite a Newb Joined: 13 Nov 2015 Posts: 54

Thanks for all the good tips.

I am sorry but I did not find anything about not burning the lads in the general hints and tips here on the site, so I did not know this should not be done. I will have to read around a bit more to better understand why (I mean other than educating the lads about baiting tactics...).

Sending fake MTCN is clearly not very lucrative as they can easily check them so I will have to send more dlls and crap and avoid sending any such fake information which can be easily verified... This is something I learned the hard way... and it is only the beginning! Wink

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:07 pm

Lots to learn. I've been doing this for almost 3 years and I'm still learning things.

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