Music Producer Apparently Missing After Getting Involved In 419 Scam

from the who-doesn't-know-about-these-things-yet? dept

It's the same question we ask every time there's a story about someone tricked in a Nigerian 419 scam, but how is it that there's still anyone on this planet who doesn't know about this scam? It's been so widely publicized and anyone with an email address probably receives multiple 419 scam emails a week these days. However, apparently there people keep falling for it. A music producer in Los Angeles has supposedly gone missing after getting involved in just such a scam. The somewhat sensationalistic articles certainly make it sound like the scammers showed up at his door and chased him -- but at this point it doesn't sound like there's any proof of anything. Of course, it's hard to feel too sorry for victims of the scam who lose their money -- as the whole scam is based on the victim's own greed. However, potentially losing your life seems like a high price to pay for being greedy and gullible. Update: The story has now been updated... and apparently the Nigerian scam was all in the guy's mind. He was found naked washing his clothes by a creek insisting he was being chased by Nigerian scammers who don't appear to exist. He's been judged to be mentally incompetent.
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  • identicon
    dorpus, 25 Aug 2005 @ 10:01pm

    Bring On Hulk Boy

    The Xinhua News Agency is reporting that a 5-year-old boy is able to lift over 52 kg. Although most 5-year-olds cannot lift more than 6kg, this freak of nature is able to lift almost 3 times his own body weight. Weighing less than 18kg and 106 cm tall, the boy has been fast-tracked for admission into athlete school. Although athlete schools usually accept people only starting in 6th grade, the boy's freakish talent has earned him a profession at an early age.

    http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/main/news/20050826i505.htm
    http://sports.qq.com/a/20050825/000207.htm

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2005 @ 10:38pm

      Re: Bring On Hulk Boy

      Dorpus,

      Either you gotta dial down the narcotics or dial them up. Either way, you've deactivated the part of your brain that gives you the ability to link two ideas together with some sort of context.

      What the heck does some freakishly strong boy have to do with the possible kidnap of a record producer and a 419 scam?

      I saw the article about the boy about a month or two ago, and it wasn't on a Technical site like TechDirt. I think it was Fark. Maybe you want to reprint your post there, but for the fact that it's been there already.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      eeyore, 26 Aug 2005 @ 4:48am

      Re: Bring On Hulk Boy

      Hey, Dorpus, take your weird Japan fetish someplace else. Either that or go do us all a favor and commit seppuku, OK?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Dougy, 26 Aug 2005 @ 5:57am

        No Subject Given

        Saying that only people who are greedy fall for 419 scams shows you havent researched the topic at all. This is the excuse the Nigerien goverment uses, however good hearted people have been ruined through trying to help somebody in need.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Chris O., 26 Aug 2005 @ 6:09am

          Re: No Subject Given

          The issue still remains that a person has to be a damn fool to fall for one of these scams in this day and age. The problem has been covered ad infinitum for the last half-decade at least...

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          eeyore, 26 Aug 2005 @ 6:24am

          Re: No Subject Given

          True, look how many elderly people send their life savings to scumbag televangelists.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Just Me, 26 Aug 2005 @ 6:25am

      Re: Bring On Hulk Boy

      It's just Dorpus. His goal in life is to Troll and create messages (like this one) complaining about him/her/it. Seems to frequent this site. We need a filter.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pete Austin, 26 Aug 2005 @ 3:05am

    Probably not a Nigerian 419 scam

    From the article: "friends and relatives told the newspaper that Irwin later received a mysterious $50,000 check and became increasingly concerned."

    If this really is a 419 scam, he must be the first person ever to receive the large check that the fraudsters promised!

    More likely, he's in trouble and had decided to disappear, or maybe some local criminal decided that for him.

    Either way, the high-tech link seems bogus.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      nonuser, 26 Aug 2005 @ 4:30am

      Re: Probably not a Nigerian 419 scam

      Right, the Nigerian folks sit back and collect from the one-tenth of one percent who fall for the trick. Every so often someone goes over to try to collect, proving they are not just a fool but a damn fool, and security is called.

      The fallen eyeglasses on the hill seems to be a giveaway that this was staged.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      eeyore, 26 Aug 2005 @ 4:47am

      Re: Probably not a Nigerian 419 scam

      The check is probably a forgery. A coworker of mine sold cars on eBay and had this happen a dozen times. Somebody would buy the car and send a check for about $5-10000 more than the car cost and asked them to cash the check and send the difference to someone to "cover their expenses" for picking up the car and having it shipped overseas, always to Africa. One of the checks was an American Express cashier's check that the bank swore had to be genuine until it came back as a forgery. If the guy got a check it was probably fake.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    justaguy, 26 Aug 2005 @ 6:34am

    A fool and his money...

    are soon parted.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      nostranonymous, 26 Aug 2005 @ 10:24am

      Re: A fool and his money...

      Yes, Dorpus does nothing but try to say the most irrelevant, ignorant, or blatently false statements he can simply to annoy the people trying to use the comments section for actual intelligent discussions.

      He is a tool.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mark Fox, 27 Aug 2005 @ 8:46pm

    He's alive but mentally ill

    The original story link has been updated to state that the man was found naked by a creek washing his jeans. A sheriff department Captain said there was "no evidence anyone was actually pursuing the 48-year-old producer" and he "was taken into custody because he was deemed mentally incompetent and possibly dangerous to himself".

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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