Scams

[garydaw]

I have been trying to find the most relevant forum for this and this is the nearest so far.

Thung is I get about 200 junk emails a day and a small percentage (say one a week comes from people -loose term I know-trying to reel me into a scheme where I am persuaded to hand over money.

I have dutifully deleted these for the last 5 years or more but wonder if I haven't worked out a defence to this and would be pleased if anyone might share their opinion on the efficacy of the method and also whether it might be seen as a bit unethical.

So this is my cunning plan (and amusement).I answer the scammers from a virgin address in Hotmail and pretend to be interested in their offer.Like that I have my anonymity and with luck and stupidity on their part who knows if I can't fool them into giving enough information to even alert the police and get them picked up.

I worry of course that if there is a lot of money involved they may be able to track me down (the hunter and the hunted!) by means of hacking into to computer of my ISP or even if I make a stupid slip of the tongue.Remember they have initially sent me (and thousands of others no doubt) their scammy email and so they will have me on their mailing database and who knows how focused their mailing database might be.

Of course it is really entertaining to to be stringing them along like this but could it be unwise?

[turetzsr]

I have been trying to find the most relevant forum for this and this is the nearest so far.

...Looks to me as if you chose exactly the correct forum -- thanks for that effort!

Thung is I get about 200 junk emails a day and a small percentage (say one a week comes from people -loose term I know-trying to reel me into a scheme where I am persuaded to hand over money.

I have dutifully deleted these for the last 5 years or more but wonder if I haven't worked out a defence to this and would be pleased if anyone might share their opinion on the efficacy of the method and also whether it might be seen as a bit unethical.

<snip>

... who knows if I can't fool them into giving enough information to even alert the police and get them picked up.

<snip>

Of course it is really entertaining to to be stringing them along like this but could it be unwise?

...Doesn't seem unethical to me and it is probably not unwise but, IMHO, not worth risking even the smallest chance just for a "defence" (which it really isn't -- you won't be stopping the scamming) that is "really entertaining." Since you are wise enough to not fall for their schemes and therefore will not be seen as having lost anything, I do not believe the police will be much interested. However, you could forward the spam e-mails to appropriate parties (see Marjolein's Ban spam page - includes reporting addresses), found in the SpamCop FAQ.

...Good luck!

[Telarin]

You might check out http://thescambaiter.com, many people there doing just exactly what you propose. Some of them even going so far as to ship junk to the scammer at the scammers expense. The theory being that the more time, effort, and money the scammer is spending on the baiters, the less he has to spend on real victims.

[garydaw]

You might check out http://thescambaiter.com, many people there doing just exactly what you propose. Some of them even going so far as to ship junk to the scammer at the scammers expense. The theory being that the more time, effort, and money the scammer is spending on the baiters, the less he has to spend on real victims.

Yes I discovered that site (actually http://www.419eater.com/html/baiting.htm) about an hour ago -after I posted my message.

I love that idea of shipping them out stuff at their expense.I am sure the possibilities are endless.

[jongrose]

Just my recommendation from personal experience:

You don't get paid for fighting spam.

It can be a very time consuming process and there can be a lot of work and effort involved, and it can get to be where you are working with so many tools and utilities that you can get burned out on it easily. There are many dedicated spam fighters out there who have the same and similar ideas. But, I've had my best luck just reporting email to SpamCop and using some of the tools like Complainterator.

Hope that helps.

[rconner]

Just my recommendation from personal experience:

You don't get paid for fighting spam.

I wholeheartedly agree. It is tempting to want to "save the world" from scammers like these, but I know that there is very little I can do from where I sit to make the Nigerian police (say) pick these people up and put them out of action. Also, these are not nice people, and may well have friends in your area who aren't nice either (if you get my drift).

I figure my duty is to report the mail that I get to the relevant providers, and that's about all I personally can be expected to do unless someone wants to pay me and give me international police powers.

Working very hard on a couple of these rackets with no results, and then giving up entirely, may contribute less in the long run than just steadily plugging away at reporting your own spams.

-- edit added --

I forgot to note that one important part of reporting these 419 scams is to report the reply e-mail address used. This address (or addresses) may be included in the body of the mail itself (e.g., "use my private address bozo[at]freemail.foo") or else may be in the From: or Reply-To: fields of the visible header.

Unlike most spam, where these addresses are stolen or forged and should be ignored (pace uwecboi21), the addresses in these "personal" mailings are usually valid (or were meant to be such) so that the scammer can get replies. Reporting these addresses promptly puts the provider on notice to disable them before the scammer gets many replies. Of course, he'll just get some new addresses (probably from the very same providers) for his next mailings, but we might as well not spare him this chore.

-- rick

[jongrose]

I forgot to note that one important part of reporting these 419 scams is to report the reply e-mail address used. This address (or addresses) may be included in the body of the mail itself (e.g., "use my private address bozo[at]freemail.foo") or else may be in the From: or Reply-To: fields of the visible header.

On that note, here is a website that lists abuse contacts for most of the free email providers so you can report them to have those accounts shut down when you see them. I just include a little note saying "The sender of this 419/lotto scam is using a [insert Email Provider Here] email as a contact address. Please close this users account to prevent individuals from falling prey to this scam. Thank you."

[Farelf]

On that note, here is a website that lists abuse contacts for most of the free email providers so you can report them to have those accounts shut down when you see them. I just include a little note saying "The sender of this 419/lotto scam is using a [insert Email Provider Here] email as a contact address. Please close this users account to prevent individuals from falling prey to this scam. Thank you."

An extensive resource for the bookmarks. I've just given hotmail.uk the tip about andersonclark001[at]yahoo.co.uk ("We are Diplomatic Corp that holds special and valuable consignments for reputable clients that are honest and trustworthy."), notwithstanding the extreme confidentiality requested, not to mention my sacrifice of "30% of the total amount of money which is equivalent to US$22.5 Million".

You know, people with a gambling addiction (or something like it) probably find these things irresistible - a good reason, for their sakes, for any of us who are able to take an extra step or two if it just might help shut the latest one down.

[rconner]

I've just given hotmail.uk the tip about andersonclark001[at]yahoo.co.uk

Wow! 001? The birth of a new dynasty.

-- rick

[barnford]

Talking of scams - a marriage made in hell:

China has successfully launched a communications satellite for Nigeria. The aim of the satellite is to improve phone and internet links across the country and the wider region. Nigeria has been experiencing a communications revolution. Only a few years ago there were no mobile phones, landlines barely worked and there was no internet.

[rconner]

Talking of scams - a marriage made in hell:

China has successfully launched a communications satellite for Nigeria.

Hmm, China + Nigeria + improved wideband communications...

AAAUGH!! Run for your lives!!

-- rick