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1. 

   Posterlogo, 23 Feb 2006 @ 12:21pm

   
   

   What is a 419

   "Under the "419" scam - named after the Nigerian legal code for fraud - criminals send junk e-mail to thousands of unsuspecting people offering them a share in a large fortune if they can only provide a smaller amount of money up front. The criminal takes the money and then disappears."

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2. 

   Matt Sherwood, 23 Feb 2006 @ 1:19pm

   
   

   419 Scams

   thank god for g-mail..these all get sent directly to spam...not that I ever fell for them back in my "Road Runner e-mail" (just the pits, ine ebry way...has it gotten any better in the last 18 months? days, but they sure were a NUISANCE to wage through...Query to Group...how well do Yahoo and AOL filter these out? (I assume Hotmail almost as bad as Roadrunner, no?)

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3. 

   Dam, 23 Feb 2006 @ 1:49pm

   
   

   I May Burn In Hell........

   but I just can't feel sorry for people who are so naive that they would give a total stranger money or personal details. Are they elderly? They should know better.
   I donate money to a few charities each year, but break out in a sweat when I do.

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

4. 

   Don Gray, 23 Feb 2006 @ 2:01pm

   
   

   Almost got a friend...

   I had a friend stationed in Germany who got one of these and had his tickets lined-up to go to London and make the deposit.
   
   Luckily, he mentioned it in an email. I did a bunch of lookups for him and sent him a bunch of links about it basically begging him not to do it. He eventually didn't, but even after all the information I sent him, it still took a phone call to convince him otherwise.
   
   I consider him an average intelligence person and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It was surreal...

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

5. 

   JohnD, 23 Feb 2006 @ 2:04pm

   
   

   Re: I May Burn In Hell........

   I suggest you and the author of this news investigate the specifics of the 419 scams. Some are pretty ridiculously obvious yes and their also the ones that almost never work. The counterfeit check 419 scam works constantly and whats even more ridiculous is the banks will even claim the check has been cleared.

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6. 

   ehrichweiss, 23 Feb 2006 @ 2:33pm

   
   

   Re: I May Burn In Hell........

   How can you feel sorry for someone who thinks they themselves are ripping off someone, somewhere? I mean they get into them because they are greedy and think, like most white collar criminals, that nobody is being hurt by their actions.
   
   The best con in the world is one where you get some retard who thinks he's getting one over on "the man" and you fleece the idiot.
   
   I got my first introduction to this world in high school when a guy, significantly larger than I, asked to look at a knife of mine and then decided that he'd hold it hostage. I told him I'd have his money the next day and I promptly got the cash he wanted, put it in an envelope and then got some play money and put it in another envelope. Thanks to a few security guards looking out at school I had good reason to put the cash back in my pocket and make the old switch-a-roo. When the guy discovered it he at least had a sense of humor, realizing I could probably do it again but much worse but I got a helluva high knowing his greed showed him who was really running the game.
   
   So feel sorry for some of these idiots!?!? Never, they deserve it.

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

7. 

   Mr. Lucas Brice, 23 Feb 2006 @ 2:47pm

   
   

   They Deserve It

   Anyone who falls for a 419 scam deserves to get ripped off, plain and simple. The thing that drives these scams is greed, the desire to get money for nothing. Stupid greedy people deserve to get ripped off. It teaches them to be only stupid, like 90% of the people on the planet.

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

8. 

   Mgumbo Njambwe, 23 Feb 2006 @ 3:39pm

   
   

   Re: Almost got a friend...

   What's his email addy? I've got an offer he may be interested in...

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

9. 

   Thomas, 23 Feb 2006 @ 4:58pm

   
   

   Re: 419 Scams

   You might want to check out security.rr.com...

   [ link to this | view in thread ]

10. 

    Chris H, 23 Feb 2006 @ 6:04pm

    
    

    No Subject Given

    I've never gotten one of these emails in the 10+ some odd years I've been online. I'd like to get a few just so I can waste their time by sending emails back and forth.
    
    And like a lot of others here I have zero compassion for the people who fall for the scams.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

11. 

    Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2006 @ 7:53pm

    
    

    Re: No Subject Given

    The most fun can be had baiting the 419er... I once got in a long conversation (ie, multiple emails) detailing my personal life and how much money I had, until I decided to propose. It was pretty sweet. He stopped responding.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

12. 

    TechNoFear (profile), 23 Feb 2006 @ 8:24pm

    
    

    Re: No Subject Given

    To paraphrase Einstein;
    There are two things that I think are unlimited, the universe and stupidity, and I’m not so sure about the former….
    
    What most people don’t realize is these are called ‘confidence’ tricks not because they gain your confidence but because they take you into theirs, by telling you something embarrassing / damaging about themselves.
    They are willing to trust you with their most embarrassing secret, so why shouldn’t you trust them?
    
    Got to love social engineering, much easier to get someone to tell you the password than try and crack it.
    

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

13. 

    Bill, 24 Feb 2006 @ 10:01am

    
    

    No Subject Given

    Every day millions of people get fleeced by legal lotteries so it should be no surprise that other scams work.
    

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

14. 

    Shoal Creek, 24 Feb 2006 @ 11:00am

    
    

    Re: No Subject Given

    Hey, Chris H.
    
    If you've got a junk email address that you don't mind trashing, just post it here and I'm sure someone could forward you an offer.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

15. 

    Paul Frost, 24 Feb 2006 @ 11:34am

    
    

    No compassion...

    First let me say that I've never fallen for a scam (to my knowledge anyway).
    
    Second, it amazes me that you people have no compassion for the victims here. Yes, they were stupid. That's even more of a reason to have compassion for them. Con artists don't prey on the strong, they prey on the weak (and in this case it's those who are weak minded in a sense). It's wrong. It's shameful. The victims deserve our compassion and not a our ridicule.
    
    My 2 cents...

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

16. 

    AlexG, 24 Feb 2006 @ 1:26pm

    
    

    Re: Lotteries

    Lotteries are not played just because you're promised a win. Lotteries are played to get a thrill of expecting a win. Same for gambling. You pay for a thrill, for an opportunity to hold a (false) hope of getting a jackpot.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

17. 

    Benami, 25 Feb 2006 @ 7:25pm

    
    

    Re: I May Burn In Hell........

    It is morally wrong to let a fool keep his/her money.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

18. 

    Benami, 25 Feb 2006 @ 7:30pm

    
    

    Re: No compassion...

    Darwin would be so disappointed here.
    
    Two points:
    1. People are not an endangered species, so it is hard to argue against:
    2... It is morally wrong to let a fool keep his money.
    

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

19. 

    SmarterOne, 14 Mar 2006 @ 4:58pm

    
    

    The Scammers Cant get caught?

    How come they keep sending 419 baits if they are supposed to be Illegal? Dont they in fact fear getting caught or is the law very loose over there?

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

20. 

    TAP, 4 Jun 2008 @ 10:32am

    
    

    Re: The Scammers Cant get caught?

    The Nigerian government basically looks the other way at best. At worst, they endorse the scams. From what I've heard from a few Nigerian nationals I've been speaking to online (these aren't trying to scam me... tho I remain suspicious), the 419 scam is a major industry over there.

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