To Scam A Scammer (An Ongoing Exercise)

There's a sucker born every minute.

Some (in)famous person, who's name is escaping me just now, so said. His book of wisdom is obviously mandatory reading in Nigeria.

I've been duelling, if you will, with Nigerian email scamsters for going on 4 years now. I've highlighted a few of those counterscams on my website (example: http://www.outofthinair.homestead.com/419hatch.html), when they've achieved maximum absurdity and I've succeeded in (a) getting them to waste time and resources, as well as (b) made them mad enough to 'threaten' me. Of course, the 'me' they're threatening is one of my aliases, designed specifically for this 'game'. Currently, my scamster of note thinks he's dealing with Dr. U. R. Phulovit, a technician at the International Crustacean Obedience Training Institute in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Don't laugh; they even have a website (well, they used to, until May '07)

This one started when the scamster -- a Mr. Bonnet Wealth (snort) -- and another scamster began writing to me on the same day. I played them off against one another, telling the other that the one was accusing them of being fraudulent. Wealth insisted he was 'real' and the other was a 'bad person who wanted to steal me blonde'....yep, that's what he really said LOL.

So I played along with Wealth, whilst he laid out his effort to give me the business (my words): he knew of an account by a since-dead American engineer who had left something like 32 Million US dollars in an account when he died; and if I'd stand in as the dead 'Merican's next of kin -- and Wealth could make this happen with the help of a 'barrister' in Nigeria -- he'd give me 25% of the account for my help.

Righhhhht.

With ever worse-written emails, Wealth assured me that we were "on the limelight of succeed", and that I need only contact his bannister (my words) for details on procuring the documents to make it 'legal'. And that's where the trap was ready to spring: his 'bannister' wanted me to send him "25,200 Euros" for his fees and document procurement.

Which of course, had I been stupid enough to actually do, that would have been the last I would have heard from the bannister or Wealth.

So I had a 'Net pal (who's a whiz with Photoshop) design me a Euro, especially for this occasion. And I emailed the bannister two of them (for a total of 29,000 'Yurodumass', as a bonus).

He was not amused.

Then I told Wealth that his bannister was corrupt, crooked, and his mother dressed him funny, and he could not be trusted. That usually ends the scam.

But not with Bonnet: he apologized for "an untrusted leegal person", and promised to find a better one.

There's nothing like fooling a fool who thinks you're the bigger one ;-)

So that's where we stand: he's found me a new bannister -- a more expensive one (this one wants 45,000 Euros, and half of it up front).

I'll send him his 'payment' on Sunday. Let you know how it goes from there.

Aren't I a stinker?