Beneath The Outer Shell

ok, i'm bored. it's the holidays, i'm broke, and i have nothing to do to keep me entertained. i have decided to start an extra career in the art of "scambaiting".

if you remember, a few years ago (and for as long as email has been around) there were a series of 419 Nigerian scams hitting this country through email. the emails usually included 3 things, 1) a rather detailed sob story, 2) a large amount of cash (and when i mean large, i'm talking 10's of millions of dollars), and 3) asking for your help, in which you will be reimbursed in the 10's of millions of dollars.

"scambaiting" is just what the word describes it to be. you are, in essence, baiting the scam for as long as possible. the point? to waste the scammers time, energy and sometimes money so they cannot scam other people during the time you are screwing with them.

think about this. this is a LOT of fun, and there are numerous websites that will help you become a professional scambaiter...including what guestbooks to sign in order for you to get your initial scam letter!

i think the best one, by far, is 419eater. if they didn't start the whole scambaiting practice, they were sure close.

in 419eater you will find some of the funniest things and pictures you have ever come across. it's mind boggling and you just have to visit the sight and look around for a few minutes and understand what it's all about. the best thing to do is go to the site 419eater and click on "letters archive" link at the top and start reading some of the entries from the guy who calls himself "Shiver Metimbers". you will find the complete email exchanges between a real scammer and a real person screwing around with them to the nth degree!

this is a RIOT! i'm telling you, this is VERY cool and quite entertaining.

now if a part of you thinks this is WRONG, just remember these people will take every dime you have in a heartbeat and they will kill their brother for their bank account info, if it wasn't already empty. Scambaiting is NOT wrong, especially in this case. hell, if you ask me, MSNBC's "Predator: To Catch A Thief" is worse than this, and i agree with Chris Hanson. so, in a way, if you are NOT scambaiting, you are actually in essence helping and allowing other people to get scammed out of their life savings. hey, you gotta be pro-active to fight online terrorism.

one of the funniest things you can do with these scammers is to get them to send you pictures of themselves holding a sign of your choosing...for identification purposes. some of the things written on the signs are HILARIOUS! think, most of these people hardly know english, so the options to make them look stupid for your entertainment is virtually endless. one time, this scambaiter even had the scammer put a fish on top of his head with a loaf of break in his mouth while holding a bottle of wine. it's childish, yet ingenues!

i'm going to start this ASAFP! i just today got my 3 initial scam letters. 1)a recent orphan who has $27 million to share with me, 2)a 58 year old woman who recently lost her husband and has a plan for me to share $10 million with her, and 3)a guy by the name of Koffa (creepy) who has $12.5 million in unclaimed cash, and i can get 30% of that!

holy shiznit! i'm going to be rich! woot woot!