A question from the New Guy

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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 2:40 pm

I have been reading a lot of the archived letters and it got me to thinking. Are there real organizations out there that would put scammers through trials such as these and then actually give them money? It seems like most churches or charitable organizations would either give you the money or they wouldn't. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem believing that these dirt bags would scam an organization, but are there such organizations that would put them through all that and then give them money? I guess I am just trying to figure out what makes them think that performing all these tasks will pay off, unless they have done it before and it worked. It never ceases to amaze me that people who make a living out of tricking other people have trouble spotting it when they are being tricked. It can't just be greed. A greedy man wouldn't take a step in one direction unless he thought it would pay off. I apologize if this is a dumb question. Forgive me I'm new.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 2:48 pm

Any person or organization that gives money to a scammer is truly deceived. He, she, or it, has bought into the scammer's lie. Thus, they willingly give money (usually sending it via Western Union or Moneygram) to the scammer. The good news is that most scammers share something in common with most victims - greed. They will buy into our "modalities" just as readily as a victim buys into the scammer's "modality", and will then do just whatever it takes to get the big payoff.

What we do here on 419eater is very analogous to what the scammers do. They dangle a (fictitious) reward just out of the victim's reach, and make him jump through financial hoops in a vain attempt to get it. We dangle an equally fictitious reward just out of the scammer's reach, and make him get tattoos, fill out forms, or go on safari in a vain attempt to reach it.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:42 pm

There are no dumb questions, just dumb answers.

Ok, my attempt at explaining:

Any business transaction is based on supply and demand. The more value you offer the more you can demand.

If the scammer thinks the money he might get is worth doing strange things he will do them. The secret of success is
a) to know throughout the bait how much you can ask the scammer to do, and
b) make the scammer believe that there are riches "beyond his wildest dreams" if he just does a few little things in return.

It takes a lot of learning and failures to master this. You have to drag the scammer into a "virtual reality" from which there is hardly an escape. This is certainly not for beginners.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:53 pm

Scamzilla wrote:

It never ceases to amaze me that people who make a living out of tricking other people have trouble spotting it when they are being tricked. It can't just be greed.

I think some of it is down to arrogance - on some level, either consciously or subconsciously, some scammers probably believe that they are too smart to be tricked - which just adds to the fun of baiting.

And, a lot of scammers have no concept of baiting - their mindset does not allow them to comprehend that people would spend the time doing what we do free of charge - they scam for money; they don't get what we do.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:10 pm

^^^^ Yep, they can't fathom doing something good for a long period of time with no reward. Someone posted a link to an article about "Being a Nigerian" and talked about how doing anything in Nigeria required a bribe or money in some fashion. These scammers have no concept of doing something good for another person just because it's the right thing to do. I have met Americans who are the same way. It's disgusting trait to have as a human being. So, they can't understand why we do what we do for no pay.

I will see if I can find the article.

Welcome to Eater Scamzilla! Hope you find your way around here and stick around and do some baiting. Have you got a mentor yet? They are a great and invaluable perk for members. Razz

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