December 17, 2004

Seems my little counter-scheme for the Nigerian photo scammer worked.

Dutifully, he got back to me today with this email:

Simone,
Got your mail. I will be needing about 50 to 80 pictures. Really, it depends on the amount. I have a budget of about $1,000 for the project, whatever i can make of that. Yes, you will get paid before you send the pictures. I don't understand that paypal thing, but he head school will be sending you a certified check which will carry our end of the year pay just as i explained below. when you receive the check, you deduct your fee and help send the balance so that we can use it for the other programs before us. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Otherwise, send your name and address so that i can forward it to the head-school and they will send the check to you directly.
Thanks.

Good one. Note, that he doesn't seem to understand "this paypal thing", but he's sophisticated enough to know all about certified checks and Western Union transfers.

Interesting is also that he not once mentions anything about licensing rights for the photographs, and has obviously no clue about pricing, for $20 for a photograph is beyond cheap. Which heavily tips you off right there, that this transaction is not really about buying photography, but rather about the money.

What I find most hilarious however is that he advertises sending me a check for *more* than the $1,000. What would prevent me from just cashing the check (given that it was real, which of course it never is), and never sending the remainder onwards? Which person in their right mind would gamble on sending a stranger a bunch of cash, trusting that they would pass on the remainder via Western Union to some African Country (not to mention paying for the hefty fees Western Union charges for wire transfers)?

Well, I'll be playing along - wasting the sucker's time as much as I can, and hopefully getting a good laugh out of it.

Anybody else want to play along? ;-)