Longest lotto straight-bait? Finished at 43 weeks

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Trophy Videos · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:17 am

Only seven months? Well if that's how he feels, then seven more should be no big deal. I mean, after all this time, he must know you well enough to trust you, and he must know that you are good for the money. You're practically brothers right now. Smile

Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:58 pm

A small update. One week: four emails. A perfect ratio!

I wrote:

Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2008 15:39:30 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello Ke1vin M00re
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

Hello, how are you today, sir? I am glad you replied because of the message I wrote to you. Is that realy true that dad has won a lot of money? He kept that very quiet from us all!!! maybe he was wanting to suprise us with it. NEway, this is good news, I think.
i liked what you said about dad and yes he is a good dad to have because of how he treats us. hes very kind and does the right thing i think. i hope he gets better very soon because it is not a proper home without him here. also i think I saw some sadnes in ytour word when you talked abt your own family. i wont ask for more okay? but if you want to tell me then i will read it still.
how do I pay this money you said dad has to pay? i dont know if I have that kind of money for like instant access or something, i might have to see if my bank will let me take it from my big savings acount but thats like probaly going to take a week or something to do. but if i have to do that then i will. you sound like a kind man, mr. M00re. Or can I call you Ke1vin?
NEway, i will listen to your advise abt what to do now. if i have to take out the 600Pounds then give me some days like maybe four or five and i will get it for you.
this is very exciting you know? i didnt know abt this lottery dad won and now its just like i'm all nervous and wondering what we can do with that money! we had a small flood here a few months back and maybe if i do this properly for dad when he is in hospital then he might see i'm not just a silly kid NEmore and can do things propely. i'm 17 you know but sometimes he still thinks i'm just like 10 or something. i dont mean NEthing nasty by this just saying that its like that sometimes and this might show him I'm not just a silly little girl now.
so i hope you reply to me and I will check this email tomorrow. or maybe on Monday because you might not be working on Sundays. i don't think you will be. ok I will check again on Monday when i come back from college.
Bye until then Mr. M00re!

love,
Danielle

Introducing a new character gives me a lot of opportunities to delay him. First, I just write anything, lots of chitchat small-talk. If I throw enough things at him, he might just pick up on a few and think that he's gained an insight into this character's personality that can be used to manipulate her or try to build a bond with her. This another example of "reverse cold-reading" that I mentioned earlier a few times.

Then there's the cluelessness. She's only 17 so she will almost certainly have little experience of anything involving money transfers and banking procedures. I use this to ask some questions, highlighting that she's doesn't know much about this and, I hope, making the lad feel that she is even more gullible and willing to listen to his instructions than her father was.

I include a few things to show that she is completely into the lad's story and already investing some emotions in receiving the prize. What an easy mark she is! Well, I'm hoping the lad thinks this, at least.

I finish off with another variation on the "end on a positive and proactive note" tactic that I used a lot with her father character. That is, stating what she will do tomorrow and making sure it sounds like things are moving forward. Of course, I have to mould it to fit her character so that it doesn't appear too similar to when I used it in her father's emails.

Scammer wrote:

From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello Danielle xx Vxxxxx
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 14:41:26 +0000

Hello Danielle xx Vxxxxx,

Thanks for writing me once again. Please note that you can send the required payment for your dad's online account activation to our payment office. Please see payment details below:

Send payment to: Mr. Frank Roy,

Address: 305 Bxxxxxxxxx Road
Bxxxxxxxxx Wxxx Mxxxxxxx Bxx xxX, United Kingdom.

Please note that your payment should be sent via MONEY GRAM to our payment office. you are to send me all relevant payment details as stated below after payment is made.

Sender's name:
Address:
Amount sent:
Reference number:

You are also to send me a scanned copy of your payment receipt for proof of payment.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Ke1vin M00re.

Hmmm, he's given me too much information about the payment process and it's far too clear! I'll have to think of some way of misinterpreting it or ignoring it. And he hasn't written anything in response to non-script matters. How rude! He could have at least asked how her dad was getting on!

I wrote:

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 10:40:26 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Hello Danielle xx Vxxxxx
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

how are u today, sir? I hope you are doing ok. i have the morning off from college because i dont have any classes right now, but i have some this afternoon so i have some time to see if dad's got any messages. and he has! LOL!
ok, i see that you want some £600 for dads online account to be made active? right? ok then i will hav to get that money from somewhere. i could ask dad but i dunno...... i dont want to put mre stress on him. hes doing alright but he's not out of the intensive care place yet so i don't want to stress him. after college today i will go into town and ask at the bank abt taking out £600. it might take a few days because its a long-time savings acount, you know? they need some notice befor i take out money from it. i hope this is ok with you.
okay then, pls let me know if you are cool with waiting a few days like this. if not then i will have to think of some other way to get the money. but you might be ok so i will worry only if you says its not ok.
do you have any family Mr. M00re? I have dad and mum as probaly know, and one sister. she is younger than me (12) and shes just a kid really. LOL! well she doesnt think so but i think she is!!! you sound like a kind man Mr. M00re, and you were understood abt dad and everything so i am pleazed to be writing to you. some ppl i have wrote to for dad this week have been nasty and demanding and I don't want to write to them anymore. why do ppl have to be nasty like that? its stupid.
ok i will stop and you probaly dont want to read anymore of my silly message! LOL! i get carried away, I know.

love,
Danielle

If you've been following this thread from the start, the underlying tactic I use here should be very familiar. Basically, I ask questions that I already know the answer to, but I make it appear that I really need those doubts or queries confirmed or else I might be making a mistake. I know the answer already, but in asking it I've delayed things for a few more days and shown that I am eager to get this done, and done properly.

And, yes, again I use the "stating what I will do" tactic so it looks like I'm making things happen, when really I'm stalling big-time.

Finally, another attempt to get him to waste his time writing non-script things. Family is a good topic to get a lad writing about. I also try a little bit of sweet-talking, comparing him favourably against the other (fictional) people that I am supposedly dealing with: "I'm glad to be dealing with you, Ke1vin M00re, because you're nice, kind, and I really believe in you!"

Scammer wrote:

From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello Danielle xx Vxxxxx
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 11:46:50 +0000

Thanks for writing me Danielle. How's your dad's condition? hope he is getting better. Yes we can wait for you few more days and we hope you are able to come up with the amount to save your dad from lossing his prize.

Danielle, i have a very lovely family. I have a lovely wife and two lovely kids. The last is bearly months old and will be a year soon.

I hope you are able to work out something with the bank to release the amount for you. you have the payment details already so send the amount as soon as you have the money.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re

You can wait a few more days? Wonderful words! Yes, I have a feeling that there will a little bit of waiting involved, Ke1vin, don't worry about that.

He devotes probably a minute, if that, answering Danielle's non-script questions, but it's a start. With the information being so vague, and being so personal, I can ask him to expand on the details in the next email. Can he really refuse to answer questions about his family? If he wants to appear friendly and trustworthy, I think he'll be reluctant to ignore such questions, so I'd better take advantage of this opening he's given me in my next email.

He's also sent this on a Friday. Danielle won't be home until late afternoon, the bank isn't open late enough for her to go there before it closes, and it definitely isn't open over the weekend. There's at least two days delay very conveniently handed to me, and it means I can take my time to think about what to write. If he gets urgent and sends an email later today or tomorrow (Saturday), I can reply with something about the fact that the bank is closed, won't open until Monday, and I have homework that has to be done, so stop hassling me, okay!

Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 4:45 pm

I wrote:

Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 15:02:19 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello Mr. M00re
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

Hello Ke1vin M00re! its danielle again. I got your last email where u said it was okay to wait a few days so i can get the money from my bank acount.
thats good news bcos now I can do my plan like i wanted. I will go to the bank on Monday when it opens (I tried going there this morning when I was on my way to my friends house but it was closed) and ask if i can take out 600pounds. like i said it will probably take a few days bcos of how my savings acount works, i get like extra intrest or something bcos of the days i have to wait to take money out.
NEway i will do that on Monday. College has finished for the summer holidays now so i will be able to do that early, ok?
i liked hearing abt your family. what are your children called? are they boys or girls or both? are they both babies or just the one of them? i like babies but i dont want one of my own just yet! LOL! dad would freak out if I told him I was going to have one. i will some day tho. they are so cute! oh and what is your wifes name? is she pretty? LOL! of course you will say she is pretty! silly question!!! sorry sometmes i just ask too many questions, i know i do.
okay, i am going to see my friend laura now and we're probably going to do some sunbathing in the park. i wont forget abt the bank on monday.

love,
Danielle

Familiar tactics now, I'm sure.
First, I mention quite a few times about what I'm going to be doing later, making it sound like I'm really looking forward and eager to do this for him.
Second, I use the fact that it's a Saturday to delay my character's visit to the bank. I know that banks are normally open on a Saturday morning now, but the lad probably won't know. Even if he complains and whines about it, how can he know? He'll have to take my character's word for it.
Third, I try to engage him in some time-wasting small talk about his family. I really want him to spend some time on something other than forcing my character to make this payment.

I wrote:

Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:03:27 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello Mr. M00re
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

Hello this is Danielle writing again. i want to tell you abt my bank money and the 600pounds I want to take out. i have aranged this and it is ok. I was late telling you bcos I had to get someone over 18 to sign this form bcos I cant take money out myself until i m 18 or over. but that is sorted now and I can pick up the money on friday. is this okay with you?
pls let me know if it is and then i will make the payment to you for dad.

Love,
Danielle

A progress report. And a day late! I use the fact that my character is only 17 to allow me to add an extra day. And why not? The lad's waited 9 months already!

Also note another time-buying tactic. I ask a question that I know the answer to already ("Yes, of course it's okay") but to the lad it should appear that my character is just being extra cautious and making sure everything is done properly. The answer he gives doesn't even matter, to be honest. All I want is the opportunity to show that my character is doing this transaction to the best of her abilities while the real me is dragging this out for as long as possible without (I hope) looking like I am. That, in one sentence, is my whole approach to straight baiting, especially lotto lads.

And finally, the last paragraph (well, sorta---Danielle doesn't appear to write in proper paragraphs) is one of those "looking forward to getting this business sorted" but in the context of the new character, so I'm focusing it more on doing this as a favour for her dad.

Scammer wrote:

From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Hello
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:24:04 +0000

Thanks for writing me. I'm glad you are making efforts to claim your dad's prize. You have the payment details already. as soon as you have the money, please send as i have directed to our payment office.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re

I'll take that as a "Yes, what you asked about is okay with me."
Which is good. The lad seems quite content with things as they are, so I'm feeling okay about that. I'm not feeling okay about the way he's ignoring Danielle's invitations to talk about his family.

I wrote:

Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:42:45 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Hello
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

Hello, it's Danielle again! thanx for writing. i will go to the bank tomorow and get the 600pounds for dads prize and that will be a nice suprise for him coming home from the hospital. oh! yes! the doctor said dad might be ok to come back next week!!!!! this is v. good news for every1. do you agree? it is to quiet without dad at home so it will be good to have him back.
and also mr, M00re, can i ask again what your kids are called? i;m just intrested, ok? if you dont want to tell them than thats okay as well as telling me, i wont mind! LOL! its non of my busness i know.
ok i will go now bcos i have things to do.

love,
Danielle

I try one more time to get him talking about his family.
Also, lots of looking to the future and wanting the transfer comlete, making him think that I truly believe this is real and will happen just as soon as I've given him my £600.
It really does appear at this point that he has no suspicions that he's been messed around deliberately for the past 9 months. I think if he drops me now it won't be because he thinks I'm just a Gmail Joker who's been playing with him, but rather that he's comes to the end of his patience with a genuine victim who's proving to be slightly difficult and beset by unfortunate accidents all the way.

Scammer wrote:

From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Hello
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:24:59 +0000

thanks for writing me Danielle. My childs name is Daisy. We are presently in contact with the bank waiting for you to send the required payment. as soon as we get it and confirm it, it will be farwarded to the bank and an online bank account will be activated for your dad to transfer this funds.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re

He still doesn't want to play the small talk game. I think this could be an early sign that he's really running out of patience with me. He won't want to drop me just yet, because my new character really does look like she's going to make the payment some time soon. So it's a question of the limit of patience competing against how much he really wants that £600. Sometimes, when things go on for a little while like this, I've noticed that the lad will try to make all of that waiting worth his while by introducing a new cost, maybe as a penalty for crossing a deadline or something similar. This one doesn't appear to be doing it, but I won't be surprised when he does if I still have him in a month's time or more.

I wrote:

Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:22:08 +0100 (BST)
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
Subject: for Mr. Ke1vin M00re
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

DEar Mr. Ke1vin M00re

hello, it's Danielle writing.
i went to the bank yesterday morning but they said the money wouldnt be ready for me til the afternoon so i had to go back again in the afternoon and i picked it up. it was all there bcos i counted it properly and so i then sent it to Mr. Fxxxx rxx in bxxxxxxxxx.
hopefully he will get it soon and then Dad's winnings can be paid and things will be extra cool for us all here.
BTW, dad is getting much better and he is always awake now and i told him about me writing to you and sorting out this prize for him. he looked gilty bcos i found out abt the money and he was hiding it from us as like a surprise but it was ok I think and he didn't really mind much. he said I should say 'hello' to you the next time I write. So I am! LOL!!!! "Hello!" <= that's from dad, ok?
pls tell me what to do next, thanks.

Love,
Danielle

Another day added! Although she promised to visit the bank on Friday morning, and that would give her the rest of Friday to report back about successfully getting the £600, I wait until Saturday and give him an excuse that he can't really complain about. Also, I keep the details very vague. I never lie any more than I have to. Too many details and it starts sounding as if you're over-compensating and really desperate for people to believe the lie. Simple lies where the person being lied to can fill in the details him/herself always work best.

The modality I'm using here is that my character doesn't know what Western Union is. In fact, has never heard of it, so when someone is asked to make a payment she immediately thinks that it's either cash or some sort of cheque payment. And that's what she has done! In the email with the payment details, there was a name and a full postal address given, so the obvious conclusion to draw from such things is that she was required to send the payment to that address. Since it was a UK address, it would be the easiest thing in the world for Danielle to write out the address on a strong envelope, drop the cash in it, and post it the nearest letterbox with a 1st- or even 2nd-class stamp on it. Of course, I'm not going to tell the lad explicitly this is what she has done. Let him work it out for himself! That way, I might be able to stretch this out for another few days while we sort out our crossed wires.

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 5:08 pm

That last email may just be the most exciting part of this bait I've read, I can't wait for his sputtering, confused, eager, disappointed, excited, reaction! Laughing

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:25 pm

Oh I can't wait for the reply to that one....

"Did you get the MCTN Number?"
"The what number?"
"When you went to Western Union, they gave you a number for the transaction?"
"WU? What's that? I sent the payment by post to the address you gave me."
"You WHAT?"

Oh yeah... gonna be sweet. It never occurred to me that i could just send the money via post. That gives you days of time if not weeks while you wait for the parcel to arrive or be returned (she did put a return address on the post didn't she?).

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:14 am

Scammer wrote:

Subject: Attention
Date: Saturday, 16 August, 2008 9:42 PM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

thanks for writing me again. did you send the money as i directed in my mail to you? i asked you to send the money via money gram. Did you send the money via money gram? if yes, please send me details of your payment including the reference number so i can forward that to the accounts department.

Regards,
Ke1vin M00re

He's a little direct here so I think it will be difficult to stretch out the mixed-messages part for any length of time, if at all.

I wrote:

Subject: For Ke1vin M00re
Date: Monday, 18 August, 2008 11:07 AM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. M00re,

Hello, this is Danielle using dad's email address. You probaly know that by now tho!LOL!!!
NEway, like i said i sent the money to F**** Roy. was I suposed to do something else as well as that? You gave me Mr. Roy's full postal address so i sent the money there. it was hard hiding the money so it didnt look like an envelop with money in it but i asked for my 600pounds in 50pound notes so that was better than if it was in 20pounds notes, do you agree?
Oh! i alsmost forgot! I like the name "Daisy". it's very sweet name but not too sweet if you know what i mean! i dont like girls names that are all like too light and girly. Daisy is jus right! do you think names make a person who they are in life? i do. i think if i was called something else not "Danielle" then i would be like totally diffrent, totally. i couldn't imagine myself as a "Margaret!" That's just crazy! but if i was then Id probaly not think it was weird but still i would be diffrent in my personality, i guess.
NEWAY! can i see a picture of Daisy? I bet she's very pretty and i would love to see her. sorry if this is unprofessional but this is what i am like and i dont care to change yet!
ok, i will stop now and i hope you hear from Mr. Roy about my payment bcos dad will probaly be coming out of hospital maybe at the end of the week. I am so excited!

love,
Danielle

I don't actually admit to what Danielle did (post the money instead of using Moneygram) because (1) I might be able to get a little extra time out of this, and (2) I don't want her to openly admit to refusing/ignoring the lad's instructions. If I do that, then there's the whole "why did you not obey my instructions?" high-horse for him to preach from. Not that it will stop him anyway, as can be seen below!

Scammer wrote:

Subject: Attention Danielle
Date: Monday, 18 August, 2008 2:47 PM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Attention Danielle,

How are you today? From your response to my mail, it's obvious that you have gone against an instruction i gave. I asked you to send the payment to F**** R** via money gram not through post. you should have asked question if you were confused on what money gram was. that means of payment is not official. please call back your post and send the payment only as i directed in my mail to you.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re

"Call back" my post? I'm not sure how he thinks the postal service actually works if he wants me to recall a parcel/letter I've sent. Perhaps he's so used to the WU/MG system where "Recall your money from Wester Union!" is an automatic response that he doesn't even need to think before writing it. Who knows... ?

He's still getting in the "You didn't obey my instructions" rant but I'm not going to bite at it. I imagine he wants to get some kind of moral/authority high ground on me here, but if I don't play into that trap then all he can do is keep trying but gain no advantage over me.

I wrote:

Subject: Attention Mr. M00re!
Date: Tuesday, 19 August, 2008 3:41 PM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Ke1vin M00re,

Hello! It's Danielle again.
I read your reply and it upset me bcos it looks like you are telling me off for something I did. i know you probaly meant to be gentle and everything but it still hurt me and upset me. i dont know what "money gram" is. I saw the post address for Mr. F**** R** and the obvious thing bcos is to send the money direct to him in the post. he'll get the money in an envelop when it arrives, whats the problem here? it will drop through his leterbox and hell open the envelop and there will be 600pounds and i wrote dads name and email address on a sheet of paper and put that in with the money. what did i do wrong? Mr. R** will still get the money yes? I'm really upset now bcos you are shouting at me for doing something that looks totally the right thing to do!
i cant write anymore now bcos i am upset thinking about this.
pls write back and tell me why you are angry with me and what i did wrong ok.

love,
Danielle

So I play a counter-tactic: Skip the whole browbeating that he wants to adminster and go straight to being upset and remorseful and wanting to set right the wrongs I've committed. A crying girl might also (well, might) soften him a bit. It's worth trying, anyway.

Scammer wrote:

Subject: ATTENTION
Date: Tuesday, 19 August, 2008 4:20 PM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Danielle, i'm not upset. you should have asked question in areas you don't understand. Money gram is every where. you should have asked me questions about it. then i would have been able to search for a location near you so you can sent the money.

this prize has not been claimed today because your father did not act to instructions given to him now you are acting likewise. Follow my instructions that was all you needed to do. please go back where you posted the money and ask for it to be returned. your means of payment un official.

Send the payment only as i have directed. Please send me your phone number if you have any.

Thanks for your understanding.

Ke1vin M00re

Phone number??? I am completely unable to sound like an upset teenage girl, so that's not going to happen!
He's still insisting on "recalling" the payment. From the postal service?? How???

I wrote:

Subject: To Mr. M00re
Date: Thursday, 21 August, 2008 10:55 PM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Ke1vin M00re,

It's Danielle here.
I know you said your not upset at me but i feel horrible abt what i've done. NEway it wasn't my fault, ok? i sent the money through the royal mail post like any normal person would if they had a postal address.
sorry but i had to laugh at your bit abt getting the money back! do you know how the postal service works, Mr. M00re? Im sure you do. once you post something there is no way you can get it back. it goes to sorting offices and then put on a train or a lorry and then it's delivered to the address. getting a letter back from the mail like that is a funny thing to ask someone to do!!! LOL!
also why do i have to take the money from Mr. R** ------he should have it by now i think----- and then give it back to him a diffrent way? this makes no sense. if he already has my 600pounds now then why take it away from him and give it back to him? whats the point of that? I would like to know bcos it's important to know why someone does something. also i want to tell dad everything i did and if he asks "WHY?" then i can anser him. do you see what I mean here Mr. M00re? i hope so.
NEway.......... the 600pounds will have been delievered to Mr. R** in the past few days so he has the money now. if you want me to get it back (so i can give to him again! hahaha! LOL!) then I will have to travel to his house or office or whatever the address was, and ask for him to give it back to me. do you expect me to do that? i havent been to B********* before so it might be a nice day out for me.
NEway, let me know what I should do, but dont ask for impossible things like getting a letter back from the postal service! thats just crazy and i hope really hope you didnt expect me to try that!

love,
Danielle

Okay, so a lot of knee-jerk reaction to what I wrote here will be "Don't educate the lads!" I always think there has to be a balance struck between not educating them to be better scammers and letting a bait carry on in order to waste their time. Both have to be considered, and the question I asked myself here is, "Will correcting the lad's instructions about recalling something from the postal service actually help him be a better scammer?" I don't think it will. I don't want to list all the justifications here, as that would be deviating too much away from the actual bait itself, but all I will say is that I have no problem about what I wrote.

Anyway, what I have in this reply is a list of what I've explained throughout this thread but applied to this particular situation. I act a little clueless but not enough that I will blindly follow every instruction, I keep referring to some undefined future that I am looking forward to and when the transaction is (my character thinks) completed, I encouarge a slight sense of reliance on the lad's character's knowledge and experience by asking for his guidance, and so on. It's worked for the past 9 months, so why change the formula?

Scammer wrote:

Subject: Attention Danielle
Date: Saturday, 23 August, 2008 8:35 AM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Thanks for writing me Danielle, I'm really sorry, you have lost 600 pounds. your payment was not confirmed. You have to send the payment only as i have directed you. Then we can send approval to the bank so they can activate an online account for your father.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re.

Hmm. Not much to work with here. He hasn't responded explicitly to the whole "recall your payment from the postal service" thing, but I'm taking his lack of response as acknowledgement that it was a stupid suggestion and he now realizes it is something that my character can't do. However, at the same time, he's still insisting that I send him my £600, which might mean he wants me to get that money back somehow but isn't going to suggest the HOW in case he gives me the opportunity to laugh at him again.

I wrote:

Subject: READ THIS - MR. M00re
DAte: Saturday, 23 August, 2008 8:45 AM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Mr. M00re,

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!?!? I had to send my 600pounds to f**** R** like you said and thats what i did!!!!! How have I lost it? EXPLAIN THIS TO ME PLS. this is looking sillier and sillier all the time to me, 1st you say give Mr. R** 600pounds then you say i shouldnt give him 600pounds but instead I have to give him 600pounds a diffrent way? WTF?!?!?! this is totally crazy and i dont understand any of it and i'm annoyed and ANG RY THAT U SAY I'VE LOST MY MONEY.

Explain things pls, Im not stupid I just dont understand your mixed up instructons.

Love
Danielle

Time to get angry. I've been told my character has lost her £600, with no explanation for the nonsensical situation, so a little anger is justified.

I do realize that I'm working myself into a corner that may not have an easy escape, if it has one at all. As usual, I try to look a few emails ahead and guess (based on what I would do if I were the scammer and on how I've seen them react in previous baits) how the lad will react and what direction I might be going in. It's impossible to predict the details, but the general direction at this stage is not one I am too happy about. I do, however, have an ace up the sleeve that I try playing if things get too bad. Extra points for anyone who can guess what it is.

Scammer wrote:

Subject: RE: READ THIS - MR. M00re
Date: Tuesday, 26 August, 2008 8:09 PM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Thanks for writing me. i can understand that you are upset. i'm sorry, when you go against an instruction, that is what you get. i'm afraid, you have lost your money. that payment was not received at the address you posted it to. I asked you to send the payment via money gram transfer but you used post service against my instruction. If we don't get any positive result from you or your dad in one week, we will call off your dad's price and send it to those which really did it. Save the children trust fund won't be a bad idea.

Regards,
Ke1vin M00re

I like that last bit! But I don't like the "one week" thing. Half way through this bait, I might have been slightly worried by a deadline but not too concerned. However, now, with the time that has elapsed and the many attempts to progress that have fallen through... the deadline is now more worrying. I've mentioned the Investment Effect and how the more resources you put into a project, then it's less likely you will want to give up on it. This effect is not infinitely elastic. It will, eventually, run out and other factors will over-ride it. Right now, I think that for this lad and this situation, the Investment Effect has been stretched as far as it will go and is in danger of snapping. What is needed is some way of restoring the lad's belief that a payment is just around the corner. It's time to start laying the groundwork for that.

I wrote:

Subject: Mr. M00re I want you to be serious with me, NO GAMES
Date: Friday, 29 August, 2008 10:18 AM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Ke1vin M00re,

It's Danielle here and I am still very angrey at this thing.
explain how you knew right from the start that I lost my money???? you told me only 1 day after i told you i had posted the 600pounds that i'd lost it. HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WOULD GO MISSING THEN????? This is gettinmg stupid. Ive sent lots of letters and parcels and theyve never got lost befor so I would never post a letter and next day think "OH, MY LETTER IS LOST, I KNOW IT IS."
if i didnt know better i think you are playing me a game here, Mr. M00re. Or Mr. R** is. I bet Mr. R** got my parcel with my 600pounds and he is saying it didnt arrive.
so what is it Mr. M00re? either tell me how you knew my 600pounds would go missing straight after i posted it or find out if Mr. R** is trying to steal money from you.
i am not happy abt this at all. dad is coming home on Wed next week bcos the doctors think he is well enough now, and i want him to come home and see that i have done this propely w/o any mess ups and specialy not some really suspicous things like knowing a parcel will go missing as soon as its being sent.
start being serious Mr. M00re and dont try to fool me. i am not stupid even if i am under 18 and a girl.

love,
Danielle

And in fact, I lay the initial foundations for a few different approaches to try. This email contains a few launching points for possible plotlines that might add interest and reset the lad's overstretched Investment Effect to something that gives me some more room to play with. Those speculative plotlines will only be followed if the lad looks like he is taking to them, I won't try to push them too much. But I have a fallback plan in that my character's father will be returning. I'm expecting the lad will want to resume dealing with him, which leads to a whole new round of delays and emails!

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:18 pm

Brilliant, this was going just the way I was hoping for it to go!

If only they were two separate lads, and you could set them against each other like that, claiming one received the money. Oh well. This bait just gets better and better. :)

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 11:52 am

I wrote:

Subject: RE: READ THIS - MR. M00re
Date: Thursday, 4 September, 2008 1:24 PM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Ke1vin M00re,

I have returned from my hospital stay and I am feeling very much recovered.

I have been hearing about how Danielle has been helping you with my lottery winnings but you and she have been having some angry words. Is this right? Something about her losing some of her money, correct? Let me know your side of the story and I will see if I can sort things out.

In the meantime, I have made a payment to your payment officer as you requested that Danielle do. I used Western Union, but as you know I am flagged on their system so I asked a friend to send the money on my behalf.
Please use these details to pick up the payment:
MTCN: 999999999
Sender's first name: xxxxxxxxxxx
Sender's last name: xxxxxxx

I have checked this information on the Western Union online tracking page and everything looks fine. Let's hope that this matter is now firmly behind us and you can start to transfer my winnings to my account.

Looking forward to your reply,
R1ch4rd

I decide to bring my original character back. I'm hoping that the mess-ups with Danielle will be put to one side and we can start (a new bunch of mess-ups) all over again. However, looking back now, I realize I pushed things a little too quickly.

The Western Union information I give him is, apparently, real. Some of my catcher accounts had been picking up a new-to-me tactic in which lads send out real WU information so potential victims check the details online and see that, yes, there's a payment ready to be picked up. There isn't enough information to pick up the payment, but just enough to check its validity online. However, the payment is completely out of anyone's control except for the person who made the payment, so it's a very risky and hit-and-miss thing to use. I probably shouldn't have tried this, I now realize.

Scammer wrote:

Subject: ATTENTION
Date: Saturday, 6 September, 2008 5:09 AM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Money Transfer Tracking
W0131 We do not have an order with the provided information. Please verify your information and click Check Status of another transfer.
Welcome to Western Union
MTCN : 99999999999
Check status of another transfer
Welcome to Western Union

Above is the online tracking result of the payment information you sent to me. please verify your information again.

Best regards,
Ke1vin M00re

Fat fingers, obviously!

16 minutes later, however...

Scammer wrote:

Subject: ATTENTION MY DEAR FRIEND
Date: Saturday, 6 September, 2008 5:25 AM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Attention Mr. R1ch4rd,

I'm really very disapointed in you. Are you trying to play on our intelligence? i notices i didn't enter the senders full names on the tracking page so i did it once again before sending it to our accounts office only to see this

Money Transfer Tracking
Welcome to Western Union
MTCN : 99999999999
Status : Picked up
Check status of another transfer
Welcome to Western Union

are you trying to fool ever one here? why would you send us a payment that has been picked up by someone else. I demand that you send me a clear scanned copy of the payment reciept from western union.

if we do not conclude this within one or two weeks from today, we shall put a parmanent end to your payment and funds transfer.

Regards,
Ke1vin M00re.

This is one risk of using these MTCNs... they could be picked up by the original sender/receiver at any time, so their status is completely beyond the baiter's control. Unfortunately for me, this one has been picked up between the time I sent the information and when Ke1vin M00re checks it himself. If it had reported "Ready for pick-up" things might have been different...

Another risk, of course, and more important than simply ruining a bait is that a lad who receives this information could use it himself on a real victim. If I had to do this again, I'd do it completely differently.

Scammer wrote:

ATTENTION MR. R1ch4rd
Date: Saturday, 6 September, 2008 8:15 AM
From: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>
To: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>

Hello Mr. R1ch4rd,

Hope this mail meets you well.Owing to the fact that you have been unable to finance your claims the board actually decided that your claims be withdrawn.I did speak with my boss on this and he asked me to contact one of our sponsors to help you finance your winnings including payment of taxes and bank charges.

As it is you will be given certain amount of money to enable you do this.As soon as you recieve the money in your account you will be required to deduct the amount you will be spending on financing your claims and send what remains to our office this is done this way by our sponsors to know and test the credibility of our winners.So you are required to provide the following informations.

1.BANK NAME
2.ACCOUNT NAME
3.ACCOUNT NUMBER
4.SORT CODE
5.PHONE NUMBER
6.CONTACT DETAILS.

Note that you have between now and monday morning to send this informations if you are still interested in claiming your prize.

I await your response.

Best regards,

Mr. Ke1vin M00re.

Oh, and what's this? Looks like he's setting me up for a bank-transfer-based scam. I'm thinking that he will made it appear that the account I've given him had received a large transfer, I'll take out the money, send the required fees to him, and then the transfer to my account will disappear and I will be back to where I started but with a deficit of the fees that I have sent him.

But before I can act on that real life interferes at this point and I have to take a few weeks off from baiting.
However, unlike all my other baits that were ongoing at this time, I get no "Where are you? I haven't heard from you!" messages. Not a good sign.

I wrote:

Subject: Re: ATTENTION MR. R1ch4rd
Date: Thursday, 25 September, 2008 5:33 PM
From: "R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx" <[email protected]>
To: "Ke1vin M00re" <[email protected]>

Dear Ke1vin M00re,

Do you know how long it takes for a UK citizen to set up a new bank account since the rise of the Terrorist Threat? It's stupid, and I have been through all kinds of screening just to get this new account created. I hope you appreciate the time, effort, and stress that has gone into this.

Anyway... informations you requested:
1.BANK NAME: National Westminster
2.ACCOUNT NAME: R1ch4rd xx Vxxxxx
3.ACCOUNT NUMBER: 99999999
4.SORT CODE: 99-99-99
5.PHONE NUMBER: 0199 999 9999
6.CONTACT DETAILS: Natwest Bank, 99 Sxxxxx Street, Pxxxxxx, PLxx xxP

regards,
R1ch4rd

I return and decide to reply to him as if nothing had happened. It might work, it might not! I'm not encouraged by his lack of "Where are you?" messages during my absence and I really think that he dropped me once I didn't reply within a few days of his last email.

Well, as I said at the start of this short update, I played this one completely wrong at the end. I rushed things, used risky modalities, and basically screwed it up big-style. But compared to the larger achievement of having a lotto bait run for 43 weeks, I'm not filled with regret about it at all.

44 weeks, anyone?

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 12:04 pm

Not wanting to be the actual bait gravedigger...but when you consider it done, I´d love to have it included into the you-know-what forum Smile

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:46 pm

I really think it's dead now, so it's okay to start shovelling the soil into the hole, I don't mind.

I'm going to spend a few days tidying it up (removing my "OMG! It's over at 15 weeks!" hysteria) so that I can put into a PDF.

And then moving on and seeing if I can get one to go even further.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:00 pm

A truly amazing bait, Otterfan, and one to be proud of. Very Happy

It sucks when RL interfers with a really good bait, and make you rush things a bit. But, that said, it's still quite a feat to keep an impatient lottolad on the hook for 43 weeks. Nicely done, and bravo to you! Very Happy

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:27 pm

Great job Otterfan! beers!

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:52 am

Absolutely wonderful. I can't wait for the PDF so I can have it for posterity. And to include in the baiting textbook.

Wait... there's no baiting textbook? Nevermind.

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