New Paint Job On A Clunker
By now we have all seen a “Nigerian” 419 scam e-mail. They have been around for ever.
These e-mails are usually filled with typos (thus my frequent game of LET’S COUNT THE TYPO’S! articles), and are asking for our assistance to “transfer funds“. Sometimes they play on our generous good nature and/or Christian Faith, as in the classic I am a dying woman, shown below, but usually just invoke Greed by mentioning millions of dollars.
But some items have come to my attention that would indicate that the *folks* who mass-mail these formulas are finally starting to realize – like. oh.. fifteen years late, bright bulbs that they are – that these are not getting results. Unless you count laughter.
So a new tack appeared the other day. Short, direct, and to the point.
That surprised me a bit, as the standard “form” is several rambling paragraphs…
An alert reader (thank you Mr. C.) sent in this one,
.. which tries to say, “I am different from the others.”
(And since it is there in black & white, it must be true. Right?)
But really, it is just a new paint job on an old clunker.
Today’s free link(s): Folks, I think you might like to read, Nigerian 419 scammers: What you didn’t know. If you have ever wondered about where these come from, or what kind of person sends these…
“In good months, Banjo said, he has made $60,000. But in these tough times, the scammers said, they are relying more on a crucial tool: voodoo. At times, Banjo said, he has traveled six hours to the forest, where a magician sells scam-boosters. A $300 powder supposedly helps scammers “speak with authority” when demanding payment. A powder, rubbed on the face, reportedly makes victims viewing the scammer through webcams powerless to say no.
“No matter what, they will pay,” said Olumide, a college student, adding that he is boosting his romance scams by wearing a magical, live tortoise hanging from a cord around his neck.”
As well, this is an excellent related article, How to Conduct Online Banking Safely
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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