419eater in the News

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: 16 Nov 2018 Posts: 6

I baited a scammer on Twitter and wrote about it for a local news site. I reference 419eater in the article, so I thought you'd like to know about it.

Linky Removed - oscarpiles

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:37 pm

Welcome here TwitterLuv. I removed your link as there are a few points I'd like to address. I (quickly) read your article and although it seems well writen there are several points that really jump out:

1 - You quote text from 419eater.com without permission. As a journalist I would suggest you study copyright laws as this could back to bite you in your future endeavours.

2 - You stress Safe Baiting but do not Bait safe. Coming from a 'so called' expert this has the potential for some of your 'followers' to make the same mistakes. I'm assuming the name in the article is you?

3 - You 'Burned' your Scammer telling him that he was just being played with; hence you have educated him. Now he has adapted and become a little bit better at his craft.

4 - You reported his Scammer profile (Twitter in this case) and even acknowledged that he probably has another one by now. Such actions make any Warning site's information absolutely useless. Before you wandered in, a victim or potential victim could simply Google that addy and perhaps learn that they were dealing with a scammer. Now? Well your guess is as good as mine.

If in the future you want to use 419eater.com as a resource or more better scamwarners.com then please try to grasp what it is we do here.

OP

PS - Bait Safe eh?

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 Nov 2018 Posts: 6

This is my second post, and with both posts a mod responded like a little prick. Copyright law? What do you know about it? It requires attribution, which was given. Permission isn't necessary.

Maybe the next time you have new users, you can educate without being demeaning.

You can cancel my account. I won't be back.

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:08 pm

In your first post a regular member called you out for cash Baiting which is more than kinda illegal (please refer to your State's Criminal Code for more information but one could narrow it down to fraud).

I actually did reserve the snark for another day and do apologize if I was offensive as I thought my response was more about unicorns, rainbows and such.

BTW I know nothing of copyright law but then again I also called you a 'journalist'....

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 Nov 2018 Posts: 6

Wouldn't a better reply have been to offer to be interviewed and educate where my bait went wrong and why, and what people who read the article should do to be safe?

I understand your concern about reporting the user, but I wonder, how many people actually Google/find your site to identify that they are talking to a scammer? I'd love to think that most people do that, but unfortunately the people who do that aren't usually the ones getting scammed.

And since you mentioned my first post, it was just as snarky as yours. The fact that the question was asked meant that I was looking for information, not that I was committed to doing it (or already had). I asked if it was illegal, which kinda implies that if it is, I wouldn't be doing it.

All I'm trying to point out is that most people who come here don't spend their days and nights engaged in this activity. I think they could use a little less "look how much more I know that you do" attitude.

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:51 pm

Quote:

Wouldn't a better reply have been to offer to be interviewed and educate where my bait went wrong and why, and what people who read the article should do to be safe?

I did my best to educate you and others as to what was wrong with your Bait although I only skimmed the content. If you would like to learn more then perhaps do some more reading, sign up for a Mentor or if you really want an interview then my contact information is in my profile. I'm responding to you because I am here to help you and anyone else who has questions.

Quote:

I understand your concern about reporting the user, but I wonder, how many people actually Google/find your site to identify that they are talking to a scammer? I'd love to think that most people do that, but unfortunately the people who do that aren't usually the ones getting scammed.

One would make me happy. Two? Three? The only real answer that bothers me is Zero as in a Scammer using a brand new addy because someone had his old one closed down.

Quote:

And since you mentioned my first post, it was just as snarky as yours. The fact that the question was asked meant that I was looking for information, not that I was committed to doing it (or already had). I asked if it was illegal, which kinda implies that if it is, I wouldn't be doing it.

I actually was not trying to be snarky and do apologize but then again I do appreciate B8er's snark on occasion and might have done my best to emulate his greatness. Either way I was,merely pointing out a few glaring errors and misconceptions from your arcticle and nothing more. PLUS I'm very happy to hear that you did not cash bait.

Quote:

All I'm trying to point out is that most people who don't come here don't spend their days and nights engaged in this activity. I think they could use a little less "look how much more I know that you do" attitude.

Noted. I was going to send some Roses but got waylaid by the Hookers around the Pool and then the trouble started....

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 Nov 2018 Posts: 6

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little snark every once in a while. Like in your last post, which was stellar Smile

I've baited before, and I've done it correctly (via email, changed addys, didn't let on, etc.). I absolutely acknowledge that this was not a textbook bait, and I made that clear in my article. It had also been the first time someone had tried to scam me using Twitter, where my personal info is readily available.

I think the "not reporting" suggestion is interesting and I'll admit, it never occurred to me to leave their account up. I'm wondering (for myself and not for the story), do you think that more people lose money by leaving it up rather than reporting it?

I get why leaving an email active would make sense, but with Twitter, the longer someone stays open, the more followers they get, the more credible they appear to the average person. Starting over means they have the telltale signs of being a scammer - brand new account, fewer followers, etc. Thoughts?

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 11:23 pm

IBL.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

oscarpiles wrote:

I was going to send some Roses but got waylaid by the Hookers around the Pool and then the trouble started....

Witness.

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 12:36 am

I don’t want to jump into the argument, but I believe that you technically have earned the TV Star

icon for getting Eater mentioned in the media. Congratulations?

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 1:35 am

^
Please, not the hookers around the pool scenario AGAIN Crying or Very sad

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 2:06 am

TwitterLuv wrote:

(A) mod responded like a little prick.

I've been called a lot of things here. I've been accused of even more. "Little prick" wasn't involved in any of them.

The post was really pretty gentle. You asked if cash baiting was illegal and I responded.

Our Guidelines, clearly linked at the top of each page (and linked right back there) are very clear on the subject.

Quote:

Baiting for cash:- PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Due to the possible legal implications involved, but more importantly because the possible dangers posed to baiters, please note that the Administrators and Moderators of 419eater.com no longer permit any discussion relating to cash baits or methods of extracting money from scammers on this board. If you feel the need to discuss such matters then please do so either by this board's Private Messaging system or by email - but be advised, we do not sanction or encourage such discussions and will play no part in furtherance of cash-baiting.

Any public posts relating to cash baits, other methods relating to the extraction of money from scammers will be immediately locked or deleted.

I'm sure you understand, from a moderator's point of view, adhering to the Guidelines and protecting this site's continued presence far outweighs the discussion of illegal activity.

Should you have a question related to how or why a Moderator did something, perhaps take a look at the Guidelines before calling them a prick (of any size). If that doesn't help, feel free to PM the Moderator directly.

************

Quote:

how many people actually Google/find your site to identify that they are talking to a scammer?

I'm guessing not very many. I would much prefer they find www.ScamWarners.com. This site is for baiting scammers. ScamWarners is for helping victims. That's where they belong.

The reporting and closing of scammer email addresses and profiles is highly discouraged. For the minimal amount of inconvenience you cause the lad, you run the risk of ruining many months of work from other baiters or vicitim resource sites like ScamWarners, if the contact is lost. You will cause the scammer much more trouble by posting details, including their email address, on ScamWarners. By doing this, others who suspect something suspicious in exchanges with the lad may find information on the scam by searching these details. We would much rather know where they are and what they are doing. If you need more reasoning behind this, read a thread dedicated to the subject here.

Quote:

You can cancel my account. I won't be back.

We don't cancel accounts here.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 Nov 2018 Posts: 6

First, I apologize for the prick comment. It was reactionary and unwarranted. I felt like both responses were overly harsh for a "newbie," and not very welcoming. But neither deserved my comments, so I apologize.

Thank you for the explanation on cancelling/reporting accounts. It still seems that Twitter is a very different animal than email, and while I understand that a cancelled account could ruin others' work, it also seems that the longer a Twitter account stays open, the more credibility it gets, allowing them to scam unsuspecting victims even more. But you're the experts--I'll take your word for it.

I was also a little surprised that my link was deleted. While it's your site, and I respect how you want to run it, I was pretty clear in my article that I was not baiting safely, and if someone wanted to bait they should spend a lot of time on 419eater.com before they started. Had I said something stupid like, I learned everything I did from 419eater, then yeah, delete that sh*t.

This discussion got a lot better after the emotion died down. Again, my apologies for the rude comments.

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:20 am

I didn't see the link; but if, as Oscar seems to imply, it is an article written in your real name then deleting it is the safest thing to do.

If you decide to hang around and one day in the future really piss a lad off, but he finds himself posted here, he could find this topic and a link to your article with your RL name in it.

I know that's a lot of ifs and coulds, but for your own safety (and that of your friends and family), you really don't want scammers knowing who/where you really are.

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:49 am

Quote:

I was pretty clear in my article that I was not baiting safely

Yes, the opinion piece clearly emphasized this. You wouldn't expect us to send our members off to some other site to learn how to not bait, would you?

We preach safety and do not condone nor support activities that blatantly disregard it.

That should be reason enough for why the link was deleted.

Quote:

It still seems that Twitter is a very different animal than email

It is. So is Facebook. WhatsApp, too. Oscarpiles and I bait via social media accounts, as well as email. We are aware of the limitations, opportunities, and unique circumstances of each. If I've spent six months baiting and determining that @ladposingasBurtReynolds is connected to the Facebook profile "Turd Ferguson" and have posted these profiles at ScamWarners, the work will have been wasted if their sites are reported.

Alternately, someone curious about the profile for @ladposingasBurtReynolds might search that particular term and find just enough information at ScamWarners to get them to block the lad. I'd much rather one victim was saved, even if done via blocking than to see that work be dismantled in a matter of minutes.

Wannabe Baiter Joined: 28 Oct 2018 Posts: 90

FWIW -- I'm a newbie here too, and I didn't find the mods response(s) to be snarkey AT ALL.