The cold reality of 419 scams - please read

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419Eater is my life Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 264

I came here for a laugh, but its things like this that make me want to go over there and kill every fucking scammer I find. Why the hell does the population on a whole have to be so damn stupid. If everyone used their common sense things like this would be completely avoided.

419Eater is my life Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 290

Browade wrote:

Did you know that in 2003 the US pulled all of the DEA and Secret Service offices and Agents out of Nigeria in protest of all the scamming, and threatened to boycott Nigerian oil which brings in about $56 Billion a year to the Nigerian economy.

Someone else would buy the oil if the US stepped out. Nigeria would have to be slapped with something along the lines of a UN embargo to have any effect on the government whatsoever. Smart sanctions cutting off Nigeria from the Internet and the international banking system (including WU) would be a good start as a general embargo would hurt too many relatively innocent people.

The most useful thing law enforcement could do, globally, is take fraud against consumers much more seriously. There's far too much emphasis on catching people who defraud businesses and nowhere near enough emphasis on catching lad-like scam artists who steal huge sums of money a few thousand dollars at a time.

Guest

It sucks to know that someone lost thier life over something so dumb. I feel for the family.

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:48 am

Man, this really brings it home to roost. I've only been doing this a few weeks and have been having a ball including selling the same car 6 times this week plus all the regular scammers I've got going. While I still intend to enjoy doing this and laugh at some of the stupid things these guys have said or done, this tragedy makes me more determined to scam as many of the scammers as I can. I wish I had more knowledge to be able to help the authorities bring these scumbags to justice instead of just wasting their time.

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:23 am

Yes, it is some pretty sad stuff. My goal is to collect as much info as I can from the scammers with the hope that I can get the right stuff to help get as many as I can taken down. I think the lads are getting smarter though because many that I have now and have finished with seem to have new skills at being very evasive.

I never give up though, hard telling what a lad might say that will give me some info that can be used against him. I also like to have fun with the lads, that is essential for baiting to work. and it is a nice reprieve from the day to day grind of college and life, period.

Education to our communities, friends, and family will help keep innocent victims from falling for the scams. As with anything, people will make up their own minds but if they know that a 419 scam, or any scam can lead to financial ruin, murder, or both, most people will think twice before getting involved.

Very Happy

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 6:09 am

mikmik wrote:

Perhaps a SPECIFIC sticky with some tips on maintaining one's anonymity wouldn't go amiss?

That's a great idea. That should be in the baiting tips forum.

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 9:02 am

@spirit_traveler

Could you PM me this modality? I have a few hours a week I waste eating and seeping, which could be put to better use selling lads phoney cars...

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 3

i hate violance i really do or anything to do with it, i did start my frist bait for fun but now i`m not sure, i well still read the baits on hare mainly cause there funny and stuff, but i might not do any more baiting LOL evenlow u`v not seen my bait u may never as it may be uncompleated, i did send a muga a 419 letter back and i know he recived it because he sent me anothjer email to me, but it seems gladly he never repiled. when i frist joined i wanted money, but now i dunno wanna get into anything related to any 419 crimmals and stuff, there might be 2 kinds of poeople on this board, the brave and the scread and i`m one of the scread.

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 5:26 pm

There's no harm in being scared. This is not Saturday night bowling. We are corresponding with criminals, many of whom would think nothing of kidnapping us, robbing us, and leaving our partially burned body behind a dumpster somewhere had they half a chance. That is simply a fact of life.

Likewise, scammers are not simply in Nigeria. Although Nigeria has the dubious honour of being the country most recognised for advance fee fraud (419 is the Nigerian legal code dealing with advance fee fraud) there are scammers over most of the western world. And many of the lads in Nigeria have contacts in places such as Amsterdam, London, Toronto, and Houston. I think there was even one mentioned recently as being in Australia.

This is why personal security is paramount! Do not bait unless you are 100% anonymous!

Never use personal details!

Never:
- give your personal or work address, PO Box or phone number
- give somebody else's address (even if you hate them and think they have it coming - believe me they don't!)
- bait from work if the IP can be traced to your company or workplace (I remember reading something about a guy getting a visit from someone who had located him that way)
- use your personal email address
- set up a false email address using real details, even in the forms you fill in to set up the account
- send emails between your real account and your baiting account
- trust others just because they are a member of 419eater. Lads can and have signed up too. Keep your private details private!
- phone a scammer if you are not using a 100% anonymous phone. Just dialling the code to block your number is not enough. One baiter got a nasty shock when they got a call back after using the caller display block code.

And:

NEVER NEVER NEVER bait for money!

Lots of people have read Shiver's Prince Joe Eboh bait and think its a quick way to make a buck or two. But things are different now to when Shiver did it. Scammers are a lot more aware of baiters. They have a better knowledge of tracking. They have a lot more contacts in the same part of the world as you!

Don't scoff - I live in a small town in a pretty remote part of the world with very few migrants from Africa. A couple of months ago when this thread first came out I went to church one Sunday at a different time from usual. I could not believe it when a West African family slid into the pew next to me. Then another came in a couple of pews over. Then I noticed more dotted around our small country church. I swear there must have been a good 10-12 people of West African origin in this predominantly white congregation of about 50 people. Now it is highly unlikely that these individuals have anything to do with 419 crime. They probably moved here because of the opportunities, stability and good life style. We chatted nicely after church to a number of them and continued merrily on our way.

But what if....?

Cash is the what the scammers are doing this for. If you try to cash bait them then you are poking them where it really hurts. Do you think they would have any hesitation at getting even if they could?

Be scared! Be scared enough to make sure that you are 100% safe when you bait. Then you can relax and enjoy it! Laughing

If you don't think you are safe or you want to check then ask your mentor or just enjoy reading other people's baits.

Guest

This is so scary! I'm new at this - can anyone tell me how you can tell if your email address etc. can be traced back to you???

I did send a 'test' from my baiter account to my personal email account, so with this in mind I'm going to go end those baits right now and just start over with some new ones from a new account.

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:38 pm

@BDP: To answer your question, there's a few simple rules of thumb.

If you are using an email address provided to you by your ISP, you can be traced back to you by the lads.

If you have ever registered a website, free or otherwise, using your real contact information, you can be traced. If your email comes fromt hat domain, your email can be traced by the lads.

If you have ever, at any time, posted an email address /anywhere/ online (even say.. buying a book from amazon.com or something from ebay.com), it can be traced to you by the lads. The lads have access to stolen ebay data, choicepoint data, etc.

If you have ever, at any time, used an free email service and entered your real details into that account, you can be traced.

In all these cases, your best bet is to get yourself a yahoo.com or hotmail.com or gmail.com or fastermail.com account and sign up under completely bogus information. A lad will not be able to trace you using that email account.

Always remember though, that law enforcement can track you down no matter what you do, if you piss them off enough, so make sure you bait ethically.

Never bait for cash, it's too dangerous, cash (and this includes money orders) from lads are to be treated as counterfeit at all times. Even possessing counterfeit money is a felony.

If you bait for credit card information make certain you contact your mentor before proceeding. Channels are in place to pass along stolen Identity data to the police.

If you recieve checks through the mail from the lads, make certain your ass is covered by /never/ cashing them. Always store every email from the lad to show that you never inteded to cash the check or pass it along should the 5-0 come a knockin'. Always contact your mentor before proceeding on check baits.

Also, being scared is good. Being scared keeps the lads from tracking you down and keeps you from screwing up. Don't let being scared stop you from doing what's right though. Keep baiting! Smile

Guest

Well I think this one should be a sticky.. Excellent post Swamismurf! And also The Cheshire Cat.. Smile

Cheers,
EK

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:29 am

There is one other twist to a cash bait. The cash you receive may have been sent by a victim. If the victim later goes to the police with details of where he sent the money, you are highly likely to be arrested and charged with being an accessory!

Saying you were merely baiting the scammer will not be an adequate defence!

OC

Guest

Swamismurf wrote:

@BDP: To answer your question, there's a few simple rules of thumb.

[snip]

Also, being scared is good. Being scared keeps the lads from tracking you down and keeps you from screwing up. Don't let being scared stop you from doing what's right though. Keep baiting! Smile

Thanks!!! I'll make sure to keep all that in mind.

Guest

Old Coaster wrote:

There is one other twist to a cash bait. The cash you receive may have been sent by a victim. If the victim later goes to the police with details of where he sent the money, you are highly likely to be arrested and charged with being an accessory!

Saying you were merely baiting the scammer will not be an adequate defence!

OC

Personally I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to cash bait, because I'd have to tell them what city I'm in and that's TMI for me to be comfortable with giving out.

Besides that, I haven't been able to get any of them to send me even one little picture yet. Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:50 am

I won't advise anyone here to do cash bait. It is simply definitly not 100% risky free! However, our objective is to waste as much time and resources of the lads to bait the victims out there. the more time and money we wasted the lads, the better it is. Very Happy

Two words: BE SAFE!

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 123

Quote:

If you have a website and you link to it on this board, please make sure the who is does not have your name and address.

Just in case any newbies don't know, you can go to somewhere like geektools and run a search on any web domain to find out who owns it.

For example, try going to http://www.geektools.com/whois.php and entering "ebay.com" - you will see that the results give you a full postal address for eBay.

If that was a domain that you had registered, it would have your name and address on it. And you don't want the lads to know that, do you?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:59 pm

On the subject of the "scared" and the "brave", what's that saying?

Caution is not cowardice, neither is foolhardiness bravery?

Being scared of a lad finding your real identity is not cowardice, it's just good common sense. I warned a guy just recently, and he replied. Long story short, it emerged that he essentially was a lone baiter, unaware that there were communities for these things, doing so with his own email address.

We corresponded for a while, because I was worried he was baiting in a less than safe manner, and he kept saying things like "Oh, I'd love to meet one of these guys! They're all idiots." and so on, which alarmed me. I kept disabusing him of the mistaken notions he held that all scammers were stupid, stuck in another country, and completely unable to track you down. He also thought they were d not hardened, organized criminals and that they only rarely stumble onto a few bucks. I also showed him that lads could indeed show up at his front door in California, since there are plenty of them in North America, and if they did, they were not likely there to chat about the weather.

I ended my last email to him by saying that, while the odds are low that a lad would track him down, the odds are also low that you will be struck by lightning in a lifetime. However, I still don't recommend that you stand on the roof during every storm, holding a lightning rod. Please use some common sense, especially if you have family living with you. He didn't reply again. I assume I finally knocked some sense into him about discounting the dangers of messing with lads. As I put it in one message, "You wouldn't mess with the Russian mafia with your own details, would you?" Stories like this certainly remind us not to be complacent about safety. And that's a good thing, to not get lax about your own safety.

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 123

I think it's probably fair to say that The Lads would like nothing more than to murder a baiter, which would discourage other baiters from continuing. That is why I am careful.

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:45 pm

Quote:

I think it's probably fair to say that The Lads would like nothing more than to murder a baiter, which would discourage other baiters from continuing. That is why I am careful.

Never was a truer word said breaker419. One of the things I really like about this site is the obvious care and attention everyone puts in to ensure new members are warned about how to "bait safe" including the excellent mentor programme.

Personally, I referred here by a friend who said "Hey, you wanna see what these guys are doing!". I knew immediately that funny baits were not going to be my forte but rather I should stick to straight baits (though some straight baits can be hilariously funny I think, if done in a particular way). I enjoy the story telling, characterisation aspect of it all but that comes secondary to wasting their time, costing them money and with enough effort (possibly) making them doubt their chosen profession.

My condolences to the family of this victim.

Guest

I found this site through research after a person I know arranged a sting with the local police on the mugus. Unfortunately the mugus couldn't be arrested "because there's not enough evidence". I can't go into details. Also, the police here could be corrupt since I am in the third world. The cops could be in league with the mugus (at least in the third world it could very well be).

Anyway, using Yahoo or Hotmail is a bad idea, in my opinion. It will display your IP address and most people I think use cable internet where the IP address doesn't change often, or at all.

Gmail and fastmail don't reveal your IP, so the mugu can't trace you, and if you are doing cash baits, they only know what city you live in and the mailbox you use. They don't know what you look like and I don't think they will stake you out 24/7 over a few hundred bucks when they are making thousands upon thousands.

I admit I did some cash baits and succeeded after reading about Prince Eboh (lol), but am worried they could find me, even though I never used my real name, photo or real email address.

Now I would like to sting them... no more funny baits or cash baits.

They are cold-blooded killers and work together. It is an international mafia, not just a group of dumb Nigerian scammers.

I'm thinking of arranging a sting with local police, but am afraid they are corrupted. Can someone PM me here? Maybe there is another baiter in my country who can help me to bust them.

Thanks.

Guest

Also a thing to consider like someone posted before is that the mugu might send you counterfeit bills and you can get popped for trying to take those to the bank.

What if the mugu sends you a letter bomb?

You never know. That's why I won't do cash baits anymore, in part, besides the fact they could find out where I live.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 2301

What do you all think about this service for baiting?
http://www.anonymizer.com/

Login through a proxy before accessing/sending/reading any email from your bait account?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:01 pm

nasakom wrote:

I'm thinking of arranging a sting with local police, but am afraid they are corrupted.

If there is even the remotest chance the police are corrupted then don't even think about a sting. How long do you think it will be before someone who knows someone is able to obtain enough details to find you?

It's just not worth it. There have been well-documented cases of police and government officials colluding with the scammers in Nigeria - even to the point of being present at meetings with the scammers and victims if the victim can be pursuaded to travel to Lagos as part of a wash-wash.

Rule #1 - BAIT SAFE!

Guest

Is there someone above the police who can make sure the sting won't be tainted by corrupt cops?

Say, Interpol, for example? I'm not familiar with Interpol... is it an international policing agency that works on its own and is independent or just a cooperation between all the police in the world?

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