Stupid Punts!

I received an interesting email yesterday, from a visitor to this site, which highlighted a couple of issues regarding the "Nigerian scam".

Extract of the mail:

"...Hi,

I was reading the Nigerian Scam post on your blog
site.

Some people seem to have all the luck. I have yet to
be so fortunate as to have received even one of these
scam e-mails. A couple of people I have met here in
Nepal have, though and I pointed out to them that it
is a scam. They are pretty unsophisticated here and
the one fellow, a Buddhist monk who runs an orphanage,
was pretty far into it when I showed him accounts of
similar things on the net.

Anyway, I have never had any chance to have any fun
with any of these "people" - I use the term loosely,
as the saying goes - who would steal money from a
Nepalese orphanage. I'd like to get them to waste
some of their time, and have a computer professional
friend of mine back track their e-mails, with the
software he has, to find out where they are. I don't
see why some law enforcement agencies don't do that.
The software is readily available, an my friend uses
it regularly to trace the origin or virii he gets as
e-mail attachments. At least he traces where the
e-mails come from. Could you somehow forward me one
of the scam e-mails? I know this sounds like a weird
request, but I sometimes have a lot of time on my
hands here in Nepal and in India, and would like to
play with them to see exactly what they do. And don't
worry, even if I were that stupid, as to try and do
the scam, I don't even have a bank account, much less
enough money to open one...."

I have exchanged a few more emails with the writer, and it seems that the scammers were trying to get his friend to travel to Mumbai.

I would like to take this opportunity to warn people again about these scams:

• The "newer" versions of the scams are targeting charities and churches, using heart wrenching stories; designed to con decent, trusting and charitable people out of their limited resources. I have said it before, and will say it again, people who prey on charities etc are SCUM.


I fully endorse the writer's wish to track these guys back via the net, and waste their time.


• Another issue regarding these scams, is the invitation to meet the scammers in their home country. Under no circumstance should you ever do this. Those hapless individuals who have made the trip; have found themselves robbed, kidnapped or arrested for illegally entering the country (they then have to pay a bribe to leave!).

I hope my email chum keeps us up to date with his endeavours.