Scam
Scam, or the Confidence trick refers to the attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence.
Such an activity often includes
1. providing some false information.
2. promise of some benefits to the people who believe this information.
The primitive fraud may use the junk messages distributed through the email or internet portals, forums. promising some benefits to anybody who may be interested. Often such benefits include the intents of transferring of some megadollars to the victim's account.
(in the example below, the amount 4.5M$ is mentioned.
Perhaps, such fraud messages are distributed either by robots or by a primitive people without any phantasy; the typical patterns reproduce identically from one message to another. An example of such patterns is provided by the site "bittenus" [1]; even the misprints are reproduced from one message to another, for example: .. I wish to share with you in confidence that before the incident took place, there was a certain amount of money totaling $4.5 M US Dollars ( fOUR million five hundred thousand US dollars)...
Similar tests are reported also by other sites [2]/
Such a trolling may be dangerous for users who cannot distinguish robots from humans chatting; the exchange with polite sentences transfers no specific (nontrivial, scientific) information may give an illusion of chatting with a real human. There is no general algorithm to distinguish human from robot [3].
Dealing with scam
Several practical advices about scam are formulated by M.Young [4]. The safest ways are either to ignore (and delete) the scam message, or to report it to the anti-criminal authorities.
Those brave individuals who dare to deal with criminals may consider to answer the scam message(s), playing some kind of game against robots or even against the real gangsters. (In the last case, the potential victim should reveal no personal information to the scammers).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
http://419.bittenus.com/10/1/irenesonko.html , Updated 30-Jan-2010.
.. As a matter of fact my mother died when i was barely 4 years old according to my late father and the type of love he had for my mother made him to remain un-married till he left the ghost..
So after the death of my father as a result of poison, his brother (My Uncle) who is the purchasing and marketing sale manager of my late fathers company named..
As a matter of fact i wish not to stay here again; rather i want leave here immediately.
Therefore I wish to share with you in confidence that before the incident took place, there was a certain amount of money totaling $4.5 M US Dollars ( fOUR million five hundred thousand US dollars), which my late father deposited in one of the leading bank out of my country which i am the next of kin before he meet his untimely death.//
Moreover, i wanted to facilitate this agreement by myself but due to i am not capable now, i wish to seek for your assistance of a long standing relationship of your help in transferring this my late fathers money into your account in your country pending my arrival to you to start a new life over there.
Perhaps I disclosed this to you alone with love and trust which i deposed in you and wish the same from you.//
Therefore, I shall give you the bank contact and other necessary information in my next email if you will only promise me that you will not/never betray and disclosed this matter to anybody, because, this money is the only hope i have for survival on earth since I have lost my parents.
Moreover I have the FUND PLACEMENT CERTIFICATE and the DEATH CERTIFICATE here with me, but before I give you further information, i will like to know your full data //
1. Your names //
2. Your contact and residential address. //
Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "iren" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "iren" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8086&p=26817 Ryan Hains. Pahali Rosa Sonko. Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:53. .. will like to know you more i can send you my picture and my detail's I am waiting for your mail to my email address above. please don't chat me here just send me mail and i will get back to you with love.. // My Dear,// How do you do over there? I hope you are doing well?..
- ↑ http://zhurnal.lib.ru/k/kuznecow_d_j/sexrobot.shtml D.Kouznetsov. Sex with robot. (2010)
- ↑ http://419.bittenus.com/whattodo.htm Miss Young. What should I do if I receive a Nigerian 419 email? June 19, 2011.