Baiting scammers.

[i_like_1981]

Hello there everyone.

Okay, after a bit of reading on sites like 419 Eater (some of whose content is absolutely hilarious, especially the crap pictures sent in by the scammers themselves to try and "prove" their identity!), I have decided to start answering the scam emails I receive in my inbox and scamming the scammers back by pretending I'm gullible enough to fall for their tricks. This has just started today, about ten minutes ago. I have replied to the emails of two scammers, one of whom claimed to be a lottery somewhere on the internet telling me my email address had been selected to win "945,000 dollars", and another one to some "woman" who claimed to need my help in taking care of some funds left to her by a deceased relative. (Come on, if these people were for real, surely they'd wish to take care of their money with people they knew personally and had full trust in instead of someone random on the internet who they never met or even knew by name?) I was just wondering if anyone else here had ever indulged in the fun sport that is called "scambaiting" and could perhaps share with me some tips and personal recollections that will help me in my mission of seriously frustrating some scammers? These people ruin the lives of people who never did anything to harm them; innocent people. Believe me, some unsuspecting yet generous people are taken in by this crap and have lost everything. Some people have even been killed when they make the foolish decision to go out and meet the scammers abroad. I will never ever let myself be taken in by these worms and shall make it my intention to "burn" them for all the harm they do to good people who deserve none of it. I can see why some people are taken in by the lies these people spout and I personally think every "baiter" should do their bit to help keep these worms away from real victims. Now I don't expect to hear back from my scammers right now but I'll try and update you when something does happen. I advise you to go and check out the site at www.419eater.com. Some really good information on there, and the Hall of Shame "photos" of the scammers seriously split my sides. Some of these scammers really ought to buck their ideas up as more and more their whole kind is being exposed for the filthy, dishonest bunch of lies it is. I'm not sure I should have used my real email address to harvest the scam mails but too late to change now. I'm always quite eager to post it up over the net in a hope of receiving more mails so why should I complain? I wonder where all this will go... but if you don't see me posting on here for a while, you may have a good idea of what has happened!

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Skul]

Hey, I'm a member of 419Eater! I'd advise you to join the forum (under a unique alias, one that you don't use everywhere else) and ask around. Or, you could try baiting by yourself, using tips you've taken from other baits, like I did.

There's a "university" board at the bottom of their forum that can teach you all sorts of things.

One thing I'll tell you is, never tell them they're being baited. That way, they won't catch on as quickly. If they know it was just a big joke, then they'll more cautious in the future, making it harder for other baiters in the future.

Set up a new account for baiting, a lot of people use googlemail because it removes IPs (yours), but anything will do, really. Just not your regular e-mail account. Joke names can make a bait more entertaining, too (Ben Dover, Stin K. Anis, Mario Bigglesworth, etc). Mine is Haywood Jablowme. They'll buy it, too! Get creative.

[i_like_1981]

Hi Skul.

I've just responded to a third scammer who wants me to assist with a business deal. The amount he mentioned was only $45... forty-five dollars? Seems to me this scammer is just small potatoes or he's a bit crap with numbers, as normally we're talking millions when scammers want your help with money? Or is this just to lure me into a false sense of security by making me think "Oh, it's only a tiny amount of money, I could afford that much, yeah sure, this guy can have my bank details, he's no big threat." I know already that the name of the game is - NEVER TRUST THE SPAMMERS! They manipulate and they lie, and they shall not stop doing so! Oh, and I've picked my baiter name - Mike Hunt. Looks perfectly normal and believable (and I'm sure a lot of people actually do have that name!) but it's not so pleasant when you say it out loud... it could be hilarious should I ever enter into a phone conversation with one of the scammers (which some people do!) Oh and I have set my email account so that all emails apart from my list of safe senders are sent to the Junk folder where I can check them manually, so I should have no problem with this crap drowning out all my real important emails. I don't see how it can cause any real harm, but before I can reply to a scammer, I have to bump their mail up into my actual inbox. That way, any emails coming from them will enter my actual inbox and not go into the junk so it'll make it easier for me to differentiate between new scams and actual dialogues (none of the latter have started yet but it's only been a few hours since I sent my first baiting email!) Three scammers on the go now... let's hope at least one of them gets back to me. Send us a PM or email me if you want to know how all is going...

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[i_like_1981]

Well, I hate to say it, but I've given up with baiting scammers already. I guess it was just a flash of interest that passed over me for a few days, nothing more, really. I did sign up for an account on the 419 eater forums (my account really isn't that hard to find) but didn't use it and don't expect to either. I tried to get one of my scammers to send me a CLEAR photo of himself holding up a board saying "I shag sheep" (this was a way for him to prove his authenticity and trust to me) but he never got back to me and the other scammers I am baiting have given up all of a sudden. I guess I just lost faith. If they get back to me then I will be most pleased to continue this little story but otherwise this is over. To be honest, I'm not a pro baiter and I've seen far better baiting done than myself. So, forget it. All emails apart from my trusted senders are being sent to my junk inbox anyway so it isn't clogging up my actual inbox.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Skul]

I'm not a pro baiter, either. It takes a lot of work to learn all the tricks of the trade.

You asked for a photo far too early and scared him off. Also, he might know the meaning of your message. Try being much more subtle, like I'm getting 0wn3d. It's unlikely they'll be able to read 1337, and if they can, they won't know what you mean by "owned". Just make up some bullshit story about why you want him to hold the sign. Remember, you need to build up some trust, but even after talking with them for about a year, "lads" (baiters' nickname for them) still don't send a picture. They're lazy bastards; anything that requires effort on their part, they try to squirm out of. I tried to get a picture of my most recent lad, but even after four or five months, he refused. He was persistant (read: stupid) though -- he'd give up on me, then come back a week later... three times!

Baiting can be fun, but you need a bit of patience. Sometimes, when a bait is over, I don't feel like starting a new one straight away, mainly because building up the trust with a new one seems like a slog at the time, but I eventually do pick one up again.

Also, remember that baiting them keeps them away from real victims. That usually motivates me.

[i_like_1981]

Well Skul, I guess you've got a point. But I did manage to get a lottery scammer I was baiting to send me a badly-made photo of himself holding up a sign saying "I like nooky" although the resolution on it is too low to be of much use to the trophy room on 419 Eater. Oh well, it's better than nothing, I suppose.

I probably will be back baiting scammers eventually - just not now. My interest has nosedived for a bit - hell, sometimes I have those moments where I don't want to post anything on the internet at all. Now is not one of those moments. It's Saturday night, I'm in an "internetty" mood and I've got a can of Relentless energy open on my desk. It could quite well be 3:30am before I log off. I really ought to get a girl. But don't worry... next Friday night, I'm going to a bar for a bit of searching. Well, I hope to. I may back down but I'm hoping to at least get a conversation with a girl going that night. Perhaps we may share a table, I might even order her some food - if I get that far, who knows where I might go. But it's not likely.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[i_like_1981]

Right, now I really wish I'd not signed up to this scam-baiting game.
I've lost all interest in it and last night I had to get rid of over 1,000 emails from my junk folder.
I've had to set my email account to "Exclusive" mode meaning that emails from ONLY people who I have on my safe senders list will appear in my inbox.
Any emails not from one of my safe senders list will be put in the Junk folder, where they will be drowned out by spam and deleted in ten days, or whenever I empty out the electronic trash.
So, if you wish to send me an email personally, send me your address by PM and I shall add you to my safe senders list so you can be sure i_like_1981 shall find your message instantly and respond to you.

Best regards,
i_like_1981