HN Explorer

Pranksters who sent a Nigerian scam artist on a wild goose chase 1,400-miles (forum.419eater.com)

1 points by bluep ↗ HN
In 2008, the radio program This American Life ran a story on some anonymous pranksters who sent a Nigerian scam artist on a wild goose chase that spanned 1,400-miles into war-torn Chad for a promised cash payout at a local Western Union branch. And they convinced him to do this while carrying an anti-Muslim/pro-George W. Bush note, which stated his intention to rob the Western Union. Their entire plan was spelled out on this website, dedicated to turning the tables on Internet con artists (Warning: contains Not Safe for Work language). You can listen to the episode of This American Life in the form

1 comment

[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 9.7 ms ] thread
bluep
Remembering that Chad is majority Muslim, we had to think of a sign for our lad to hold that would make him stand out to our local missionary. Well, see for yourself:

Quote: DEAR XXXXXX, THIS IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF YOUR MESSAGE,THE CONTENTS OF YOUR MAIL IS WELL UNDERSTOOD. PLEASE THERE IS A MISTAKE I HAVE ONE WAT TICKET NOT TWO WAY TICKET PLEASE.I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I WILL START MY TRAVEL ON MONDAY TO MEET YOU IN CHAD. I HAVE NOTED THE SPECIAL CODE THAT I WILL HOLD TO MEET YOU IN CHAD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR MUTUAL COOPERATION,GOD BLESS YOU. BEST REGARDS, ADAM

Attached is a file that he made up himself with the following code, so that I can recognize him:

Quote: LOOKING FOR THE TWAT MUHAMMAD

SIGN:ADAM

I imagine that he will have a warm reception with that sign.

So, we will post updates here. This is going to be an interesting trip to say the least.