Email scams

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Having fun with those scammers is a hobby called "Scambaiting" for some people, the goal is to lead them along for as long as you can, and to get them to do bizzare things to prove their sincerity, like taking a picture of themselves standing on one foot holding an umbrella, or holding signs with unflattering messages that they do not understand. The people that have fun with the scammers often post the funniest results on the web...

Oooohhh, this could be fun! [rubs hands and cackles wildly]

[646guy]

LOL we can always hope they can be dumb enough to send us the money!

[GlassMan]

The sad thing is that some people are stupid enough to fall for these scams. I the local news the other days there were reports of people loosing money.

These scammers are evil, reporting them is the best way.

A lot of the scams are when people get letters asking them to help the scammers launder money stolen from Aid grants or UN programs and such that are meant to help the poor. Or they claim to be children of a deposed leader trying to get the money their daddy stole from the 3rd world country out to the west. I have a really hard time feeling sorry for the fools who lose their own money by getting involved. If you think that you're going to make millions by laundering money meant to feed starving children, then you deserve to have your money stolen from you. Seems like just punishment for being a greedy pig.

[Mike1]

These 'individuals' harvest e-mail addresses from e-mail servers and send out the initial messages to every address they harvest. If they do not get a reply, they typically move on to the next list of addresses.

However, if they do get some sort of response, they then know they have a actual, working e-mail account. So a reply to these types of e-mail is rather akin to jumping up and down, waving your arms, while shouting, "Spam me!"

[cessna152towser]

Often the scams are configured according to your profession - I'm a lawyer and get these regularly from so-called barristers in Togo, Nigeria, etc. and I forward them straight to Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert. Like others here I always forward E-bay and Paypal ones to these companies to let them deal with them.

[Graham]

I agree with Mike, I rarely reply to spam, it's a mistake.
I use a program called mailwasher, it helps in the war against spam.

[ByDand]

If we reported and investigated every e-mail scam, we would have to have another government entity set up to do nothing but that. With all of the technology we have there should be a way to isolate or filter all the BS that goes out over the net. We will never be able to do anything about them because of where they originate, however having fun with them may curtail some of the abuse. I, like the rest of you, feel sorry for the few that actually believe them and get scammed.

[646guy]

Often the scams are configured according to your profession - I'm a lawyer and get these regularly from so-called barristers in Togo, Nigeria, etc. and I forward them straight to Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert. Like others here I always forward E-bay and Paypal ones to these companies to let them deal with them.

Well I'm not a lawyer but I get those as well. They just send out blanket emails hoping they can get someone who will be gullible enough to fall for it...

[Mike1]

LOL! A FAX just came in, from a Mr. Jack Williams, who claims to be the Head of Delegation to the World Bank in West Africa.

He says we should provide him with a private telephone number for easier communication.

Uh-huh...

[UmAnOnion]

LOL! A FAX just came in, from a Mr. Jack Williams, who claims to be the Head of Delegation to the World Bank in West Africa.

He says we should provide him with a private telephone number for easier communication.

Uh-huh...

1-800-GET-A-GRIP!!!!!!