Posted by Baron Greenback [216.54.16.218 - ip-216-54-16-218.coxfiber.net] on 17 July 2003 at 01.38.11 ZuluTime:

In Reply to: If this doesn't work.... posted by Gremlin on 16 July 2003 at 23.02.54 ZuluTime:

This has been on the internet as long as I can remember there /being/ an internet. It's the old "Nigerian-419" scam. Here's a list chronicling the scam....

http://www.upvetmet79.org/~juramentado/mugu/scamletters.html

And here's one that goes further back http://www.potifos.com/fraud/

The way it works is pretty much the way the telemarketing company I worked for did business. They ask you to set up a bank account, then complain that they need more money due to complications, again and again, until you give up and go to the country they live in, after which they can dispose of you, or charge people who know you grand sums of money to literally rescue you. And, of course, in the meantime they have access to a bank account in your name, with whatever privilages they can convince you they need.

Incedentally, Wedgecore, the telemarketing company, stopped short of kidnapping. They simply sold "steel building dealerships" to people, asked them for a lot of money up front as an "application fee" (and by large sum, I mean upwards of twenty five thousand dollars), let them know it was non-refundable, and then let them know that they "won the dealership", after which we gave them a few papers and leads, which they could use to buy and sell steel buildings themselves, something they would be capable of doing without us. But anyway.

I just decided to have some fun with the guy, out of boredom mostly. Incedentally, he contacted me by instant messenger, where I informed him that I had a dead sister named "Lenore".

And, of course, that, and the rest of my correspondance, makes a lot more sense if you go to www.funnyfarmcomics.com and look at the profile for the character Mewn. Not all the details match up, of course, but there's enough reference there for just about anyone to get the joke.

What it boils down to, of course, is that I'm a sick, sick bastard.

Oh! And he mailed me once more.
     
     
     Dear,Greenback

I am very very happy to recieve your email so as i was said before
     that a
     local account will not receive these fund as you see that the owner of
     these
     fund is a foreigner like you so it needs a foreign account and a
     foreigner
     to claim these fund.

So what you have to do now is to contact me another reliable,trusty
     person
     that will provide an existing account to recieve these money into he
     or her
     account ok.

I will assure you that i will give you your persent % as soon as the
     money
     has been transfer into the person account ok