Sydney 419 Scammer Jailed 193
kjots writes "The ABC is reporting that the Sydney District Court has sentenced a disability pensioner to more than five years in jail for his part behind a Nigerian email scam. One down ..."
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Sydney 419 Scammer Jailed
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"The only way for a reporter to look at a politician is down." -- H.L. Mencken
Interesting... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Interesting... (Score:2, Insightful)
You would actually hope for a sleazeball?! Its that kind of thinking that make all Arabs terrorists, all programmers basement dwelling trolls, and all righteous policies reasonable.
After all your either with us or against us!
Re:Interesting... (Score:2, Insightful)
Wishing that people behave in consistent ways is not wishing that they lived up to stereotypes. Wishing that a person who engages in horrible scams is the kind of person who engages in *OTHER* morally questionable activity is wishing for consistency. It the equivalent of wishing that all Arabs are at least partially of Arabic descent, and
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Yes, well.....
Re:Interesting... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Interesting... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Interesting... (Score:5, Funny)
The yank goes up to the bar to buy a round and the bartender says "You see that guy at the end there? Thats Jesus"
The Yank says "Godamn if it aint, get one for him while your at it!"
A short time later the Pom goes up to the bar and the bartender tells him about the distinguished guest.
The Pom said "Good lord, so it is, make sure the good chap has a fresh drink will you"
Then its the Aussies turn, same deal, Jesus up the end,
"No shit mate" give him a pot of ya best.
Not long after that, Jesus finishes his drinks and heads over to the 3 at the table
"You 3 have shown generosity and kindness when obviously you have dificulties of you own, so I would like to do something for you"
He then touches the Yank on the head and his cast falls off, arm fixed.
He touches the Pom on the head and his legs are fixed.
He reaches out for the Aussie who jumps up screaming
"Dont touch me!!! I'm on compo!!"
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting... (Score:3, Informative)
Compo, would have to be welfare-money ; Or a 'dole-bludger' (sp?) (by lack of a better word)
Re:Interesting... (Score:4, Informative)
Compo is short for compensation. I don't have any experience with it myself, but I'm assuming its like the dole but with a bit more money, since you won't ever be able to get a job.
The dole is unemployment benefits/Social Security.
Incase anyone is interested (like, someone from a country without proper social security), I'm on Youth Allowance. I get paid money because I'm studying and my parents don't earn enough to support me (If my parents did, then I'd have to prove my independance from them).
Currently while I'm studying, the university costs are also paid for by the government via HECS. Basically its an interest free loan. Currently our goverment is trying to get rid of this system, not exactly sure why, probably don't want low-income earners to become educated.
By the way, regarding compo, it makes Australian's sound like they have the laziest workforce. Infact, we don't, I think we are close to the top when it comes to workhours. In the old days Australia was considered to be workers paradise, with extremely short working days etc, certainly isn't the case now, but some people seem to think it is.
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Schizophrenia (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Nigerian/nige
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
His disability is schizophrenia so it's not likely to be a scam and it certainly won't affect his sleazeball status.
Re:Interesting... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting... (Score:1)
Re:Interesting... (Score:3, Informative)
No no, it's right the way it is.
A "disability pensioner" is someone who receives a pension due to their disability.
"Disabled pensioner" would be someone who receives a pension due to their age and just happens to be disabled.
Cheers
Stor
Here's a little more info on Nick Marinellis (Score:5, Informative)
One of my favourite anti-spam sites (including the name) is What's the bloody point?? [whatsthebloodypoint.com] I especially like bait number 8 featuring Miss Maureen Adje Charlse only surviving daughter v Norman Gorman Smith-Bidet III & Gonad McDangle.
While I'm at it, here's some more (Score:3, Interesting)
Got Mike [geocities.com]. Mo meets a pretty woman is a classic.
Scan-O-Rama [scamorama.com]
Insolitology [insolitology.com]
Tastes like gold [geocities.com]
Ebola monkey man [ebolamonkeyman.com]. Well worth a read, very funny.
Quatloos, The Brad Christensen Exhibit [quatloos.com]. Check out ROSEMARY KABBAH -- Romancing the Pickle Taco.
and last but not least 419 Eater [419eater.com] which has a personal recommendation on the front page.
Enjoy!
Re:Interesting... (Score:2, Insightful)
> you hope for
Is it ever a stereotype? Usually it's a human being. You should be thankful that he was simply taking money from extremely stupid, greedy people, and not mugging/shooting/burgling people.
Here's my reply to those things (Score:5, Funny)
Dear DR.ONORIODE BOBOLO,
It is so good to hear from a fellow-countryman, having been raised and lived for many years in our most beautiful homeland, Nigeria. I want to send you my sincere thanks and gratitude for your kind offer of USD$25,000.000.00 (TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS) for taking part in this funds transfer transaction.
However, I am a businessman too, and I make my living transferring large sums of money from and to my friends, relatives, and business associates in Nigeria. Therefore, I know that you would agree, that in order to participate in this wonderful opportunity, I must have an advance monetary commitment from you -- a good faith gesture on your part -- in order to proceed.
Therefore, I ask that you deposit just 10% ($2,500,000) of the $25M into my PayPal account as an indication that you truly possess the funds and are actually authorized to release them. Using the online PayPal service is a very convenient and secure way to transfer funds. All you need do is access the PayPal web site -- http://www.paypal.com -- open a PayPal account, deposit the funds into your new account, and then transfer the money into my existing account, which has already been set up to receive the $25M.
You only need my email address, which you already have, to transfer the funds into my account. Therefore, the complete safety of your account, as well as mine, is guaranteed and insured unconditionally. You have asked that this matter be handled with the strictest confidentiality, and I will agree to that condition, provided that the transfer takes place in a reasonable period of time, say by Friday, 5 October.
If the money has not been received by that time, I must assume that you are not making a legitimate offer, and that you might be someone other than who you say you are -- although I can tell by the exceptional language of your email, that is probably not the case. However, if that is the case, then I will be forced to embark upon a most unpleasant course of action that I would prefer not to undertake.
Because I have so many loyal friends in the Government of Nigeria and the Military, and many close ties within the Security Service where you work, it would be quite easy to locate your office and your home, as well as learn the identities of your friends and relatives.
I truly don't believe that you would want to jeopardize their health and well-being, and your own future. I will access my PayPal account on next Saturday to verify that your good-faith payment has been made. Once that takes place, we can move forward with the final transfer.
I trust that you will not disappoint me in this matter, since the consequences for non-compliance could be quite severe. I look forward with great anticipation to working with you.
Yours faithfully,
Issa Gidada, JD, MMB,
President & CEO
U.S./Nigeria Funds Transfer Organization
Beverly Hills, CA
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:1)
As for the crip that did this in AU, as I always say, sometimes you gotta push the old lady down the stairs. Remember, you're only protecting them from the terrible secret of space.
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't do it. It would only result in more grief for everyone involved.
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:1)
Just my 2 cents on the issue, of course.
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2)
Well, I can think of at least one [theregister.co.uk].
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2)
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:3, Funny)
Agreed. I tried this too just the other day and someone sent me 25,000,000.00 USD w/ a fake credit card. I hate it when that happens.
(I'm just glad my credit card only has a 10,000,000.00 USD limit so someone can't try that with me.)
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2)
Of course, you'll need a Pay Pal account you are willing to lose.
There might be some risks to this method.
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2)
long story short: scammers claimed to never get products, so paypal gave them their money back. actual legit customer and I decide to cancel a transaction, and paypal wont give either of us the money. final result: scammer +$100 in products, legit customer -$100, me -$100 in products, paypal +$100.
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2)
Re:Here's my reply to those things (Score:2, Insightful)
Protecting the gullible? (Score:5, Interesting)
Common sense? Critical thinking? (Score:5, Funny)
lighten up... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Common sense? Critical thinking? (Score:2, Offtopic)
Actually, if you really want to go there, well over 90% of voters chose either Kerry or Bush one, so there you go. Grandparents point is made. If there is intelligent life in these parts, it's certainly not very common.
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:1)
Racist! (Score:1, Troll)
Now that's plain racist.
Try "if people were not protected from themselves, they would turn into the USA" on for size.
Next try some tolerance...
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:5, Interesting)
Well yeah, in an ideal world.
There are lots of people who are just a bit thick, but to be fair there are also a lot of people out there who are incredibly desperate, probably beyond what the majority of slashdot users could conceive of, and simply aren't quite thinking straight.
From what I understand (I'm not an expert but I've read a little), the people who these scammers appeal to often aren't the people who are simply greedy. They're the people who've been told that they need a $100,000 payment on their home within a month or they and their kids will be kicked out of the home that's been in their family for generations.
Maybe they've been trying to save money and they're malnourished, or perhaps they're getting over an illness that cost a lot of money to treat. (Perhaps they desperately need money to treat it.) It's the same sort of thing as the loner or widower who's sitting at home feeling lonely, and after three months of happiness through online chit-chat, decides to send thousands of dollars to an internet "girlfriend" in another country so she can fly there to say hello, only to have "her" never contact him again.
It's easy to turn around and say that people were stupid to not be careful and give away their life savings to a stranger. But at the end of the day there are still victims and the scammar's still a con artist who defrauded people and often wrecked their lives many times more than they might've been already. If you really feel as if you have have nowhere else to go and the world seems to be falling down around you, it can sometimes illogically seem reasonable to take up an offer like this against any real common sense.
I'm not trying to suggest that everyone who responds to these things is in the same position. Some, perhaps many, probably are just greedy and/or silly, although without meeting them I wouldn't want to pinpoint who. I do think it's short-sighted to simply say that all of these people are obviously stupid, without actually looking at the situation. This is nothing against you personally, but that tends to be the general tone on slashdot and I don't think it's very fair.
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:2)
I find that that tends to be the general tone on a lot of tech sites on a lot of subjects.
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's see then. Here are some victims found by a Google search (top links chosen)
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:2, Insightful)
And she's not even batty enough that we can get a power of attourney to run this stuff. She's fine, she tells us and social services. And some days she is. Other
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:3, Insightful)
Behold, the gap between "should be" and "is".
Are people not taught common sense and critical thinking skills?
Just for the heck, I'm going to take that rhetorical question as an actual inquiry.
On the count of "common sense", presumably such a thing isn't taught anywhere. It's supposed to be innate, right? And while "common sense" may tell you there is no chance you've won an overseas lottery that you've never ent
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:2, Interesting)
I can't understand how the fool got the money in the first place!
Re:how the fool got the money in the first place! (Score:2)
Inheritance?
US Mindset... (Score:4, Insightful)
Many people realize that they aren't going to be the next Bill Gates, but they still dream. So they play on the lottery and hope that one day their dream will be fulfilled. Along comes this email promising the riches you desire.
Of course people aren't convinced at once, but they become convinced through smooth words. Why? Because they want to believe. They want to believe that their luck has changed, that they will become rich, and that everything is true. There is no critical thinking because they've already accepted the premise - that their luck has changed - and thus this offer must be real. Flawed logic at its best.
Once you live that lie, you're caught. Your life stops revolving around what is real and starts revolving around what it will be. Not what might be, what will be. And you just have to get there, do what it takes to get there. Once you do, everything will be so great that any sacrifice you make along the way doesn't matter. And so people sell all they have and believe.
When you're first on that path, it is as if you're falling and the prize is there at the bottom to catch you. You can dismiss all your friends, family, bank manager, lawyers and even the police. You will believe any lie of how getting to the prize is harder, and how they need more money. But you can't accept that there is no prize.
It is quite simply circular reasoning - because there's a price at the bottom, you're going after it - and because you're going after it, the price must be there. Most people can't see a cirular argument if it kicked their butt. (Example: God created Nature, hence Nature exists. Nature is a divine creation, hence God exists.)
Kjella
Re:Protecting the gullible? (Score:2)
No, they are not. In fact, it is almost impossible to find any form of educational institution where such things are taught.
What is taught, is rote learning. People are not taught to think, they are taught to obey. They are not taught to question, they are taught to accept what they are told.
If you would like a practical experiment in testing this theory, try this: ask any person, it doesn't matter who, to point out the flaws in democracy. M
Let me take this great opportunity to inform you.. (Score:4, Funny)
I am MR.RUFUS MUKHENZE,the first and only son of COMRADE.BORDER D.MUKHENZE,the Zimbabwean former Minister for Youth & Gender Equality who is also a businessman and politician,in the Zimbabwean political arena.My father was the famous politician who stood firm against President Mugabes idea of continuous fight in Democratic Republic of Congo and my father also stood against the seizure of white owned farms and the distribution of it to the blacks without Compesiation to the white owners.Before my father's death, in his "WILL"he specifically drew my attention to this sum of US$21,320Million,(TWENTY ONE MILLION,THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLAR)which he deposited in a safe box of a private security company in south Africa,INFACT MY FATHER SAID IN HIS WILL AND QUOTE:-
"MY beloved son,I wish to draw your attention to the sum of US$21,320,000.00(TWENTY ONE MILLION,THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLAR), which I deposited in a box with a security company in Johannesburg,South Africa. Incase of my absence on earth caused by death,only you should solicit for reliable foreign partner to assist you to transfer this money out of south Africa for investment purpose.I deposited the money in your name and it can be claimed by you alone with the deposit code.Your mother has all the document.Take good care of your mother and
sister
From the above,you will understand that the lives and future of my family depends on this money,I will be very grateful if you can assist us,we are
now living in South Africa as political asylum seekers and the financial laws of south Africa does not allow asylum seeker certain financial rights to such huge amount of money.In view of this,I cannot invest this money here in south africa,hence I am asking you to assist me transfer this money out of south africa for investment purpose.
For your efforts,am prepared to offer you 25%of the total fund, while 5%will be set aside for local and international expenses and 70%will be kept by my family and me.All I want you to do is to furnish me with your entire personal phone and fax numbers for easy communication. Note that this transaction is 100% Risk free and absolutely confidential.
Looking forward hearing from you.
Yours Faithfully
MR. RUFUS MUKHENZE
"disability pensioner" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"disability pensioner" (Score:3, Interesting)
A friend of mine was on a disability pension because he is photo-sensitive. They dumped him off said pension the moment he landed a job, and wouldn't let him back on when he found that he could do the work (because he was photo sensi
Re:"disability pensioner" (Score:2)
couldn't! Doh! Murphy strikes.
Re:"disability pensioner" (Score:2)
I see. A guy scams people out of money and claims to have a disability. We doubt the truth of that, given the fact that he's a corrupt fraudster, but I guess that makes us pricks?
punishment (Score:4, Funny)
Re:punishment (Score:1)
Re:punishment (Score:1)
Re:punishment (Score:4, Funny)
Make them try calling Dell for customer support for the rest of their lives.
Twice as nasty and you don't have to relocate him at taxpayers expense to India as part of the punishment.
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN... (Score:1)
Re:ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN... (Score:1, Informative)
One down... (Score:5, Funny)
Always must mention when the topic of 419 comes up (Score:5, Informative)
Where's my pot (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Where's my pot (Score:5, Funny)
No, no, no. Trix are guarded by kids. Lucky Charms are guarded by leprechauns.
KFG
Re:Where's my pot (Score:2)
Speaking of Nigerian Scam Artist (Score:5, Funny)
OT: Red vs Blue (Score:3, Funny)
- Hi, I am Nigerian royalty, and I want you to send me money. Please disregard the fact that I can't spell Nigeria or royalty.
Greed (Score:5, Interesting)
Ideas for frustrating "419" scammers (Score:3, Interesting)
Hopefully these accounts will then be shut down before any potential victim can respond. The fact that the scammers often use a different email address in their follow-up communication indicates that these accounts are indeed often short lived.
I have thought of mail bombing these accounts until they are shut down, preferably with legit looking bogus responses that the scammers have to read one by one, wasting their time and hopefully having them pay for extra online time in their Lagos cybercafe. It would help if each of you would send a response on any scam e-mail you receive (don't use your regular email account).
Frankly I don't have the time and the talent for elaborate scambaiting (http://www.419eater.com/html/joe_eboh.htm is hilarious!), but I am interested in any other simple but efficient ideas for frustrating these scambags.
Re:Ideas for frustrating "419" scammers (Score:2)
2) enough gmail invites left for various purposes
3) have fun with a 419
4) no profit
emails on sale at MercadoLibre (eBay) (Score:3, Interesting)
Good $ in this scamming, then... (Score:1)
From a New Zealand Herald article [nzherald.co.nz]:
Although described in court as a church-going disability pensioner and a diagnosed schizophrenic who cared for his ailing parents, police said his assets included a A$970,000 house and seven other properties in New South Wales, five cars, and an office complex in the British city of Nottingham.
Seems this guy (Nick Marinellis) wasn't real smart though...
Police said they were first alerted in February last year when the Hungaria
It's disgusting (Score:2, Insightful)
This is one 419 prosecution of many (Score:4, Interesting)
This news item is little old. Many nigerian scammers have been prosecuted [google.com].
---
Company scammers who do paid-for posts on weblogs without attribution (i.e. This is a paid advertisement) are criminals and should do jail time for fraud.
US always behind on convicting... (Score:2, Interesting)
Every article you read always comes out of somewhere else.
Re:US always behind on convicting... (Score:3, Interesting)
Easy: Because the US is actually way ahead in its laws and enforcement regarding cybercrime, so the scammers always originate in foreign, usually developing nations where the cybercrime laws are extremely lax or non-existent, or the enforcement is so minimal that they have bigger things to concern themselves with than poverty-stricken locals trying to rip off (perc
Processing Fees (Score:4, Funny)
My effort (Score:2)
Re:My effort (Score:2)
Whack-a-mugu! (Score:3, Insightful)
Sysadmins need to be given legal authority to throw people in jail.
Hmm. Maybe [xnet.com] not [ctrl-c.liu.se].
One Down.... (Score:2)
bunch of lower case letters to increase the ratio of caps to uncaps to please the slashdot filter...
Re:fuzzy math (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:fuzzy math (Score:2)
Re:fuzzy math (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:fuzzy math (Score:1)
That would depend on wheather or not he was scamming his disability pension.
Re:fuzzy math (Score:1)
This is not the first time someone has been sent to jail for fraud.
Re:fuzzy math (Score:5, Insightful)
He has been in jail since October 2003 (according to The Register). If there is a significant risk that an alleged criminal will flee the country, then it is standard practice to deny bail. Someone who claims to have "African Brothers" throughout the world who will help him flee probably fits this description.
There is more information here [theregister.co.uk].
Re:fuzzy math (Score:1)
I know that Australia is not Poland and is at least a bit civilized, but if our judges often do 10-15 years for some simple criminal cases (well, that's usually when there is a politician involved), 13 months here is not that much.
Re:fuzzy math (Score:1, Insightful)
and later: Marinellis will first be eligible for parole in February 2008.
Do they let just anyone in Australia do the reporting?
It is generally a good idea to know what you're talking about before you mock other people.
He was arrested in October of 2003, and has spent most of the time between then and now in jail. October 2003 and Febuar
Re:fuzzy math (Score:4, Informative)
No, (Score:1)
Re:fuzzy math (Score:3, Funny)
It are sadly a common problem in many computer programs also.
Re:Excellent (Score:3, Insightful)
Bullshit. This post is another glaring example of ignorance and insensitivity.
Quite frequently, scam targets and victims are the elderly, often poor in a relative sense, sometimes desperate and lonely. They fall for the scam not out of greed, but out of need.
Sure, many victims are in fact victims of their own greed, but to paint all with the same brush is absurd and just plain wrong.
Re:Excellent (Score:2)
That isn't the way that the law works. If you think that you are too smart to be conned, you probably aren't as smart as you think you are.
Re:Excellent (Score:1, Offtopic)
No no, *this* is karma whoring (Score:5, Funny)
First, I must request your anonymous cowardice in this transaction. This is by virtue of its nature as being 'Top Taco'. I am sure and have confidence of your abaility and moderation points to prosecture a transaction of this great magniture.
I am Timothy of the slashdot editoral staff review board who is interested in the distribution of moderation points and karma points in return for never pointing out duplicate posts. These points are currently trapped in an NT4.0 box. In order to commence this business we solicit your moderation to enables us to transfer into your account said karma.
The source of this fund is as follows; during the slashdot buyout by OSTG corrupt editors setup fake usrs and awarded them insightful posts, which were grossly overrated. The present moderating team has set up a topic review panel (although as you know it is ineffective) and have identified a lot of karma poitns which are presently floating in a cardbox box underneath CmdTaco's bed.
By virtue of my position as editor I am free to ignore any emails pointing out duplicate posts but I cannot acquire the karma points in my name. I am therefore looking for an overseas partner into whose 0wn3d windoze box we can transfer this karama, to a grand total of SDK1024 (ONE THOUSAND AND TWENTY FOUR slashdot karma). I are writing this email as I am willing to share the karma points with you, 20% for you, the account owner, 70% for us, 10% to bribe people to shut up about duplicate posts.
Please note this transaction is 100% safe as we will use paypal and we hope to commence the transfer latest 7 banking days after the next topic which attacks Microsoft without ever reading the links in the topic.
Please email by return your username, password, IP address, inside leg measurement and pictures of Natalie Portman, naked, petrified and covered in grits.
I look forward to doing business with you.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
Timothy
NOTE; PLEASE QUOTE THIS REFERENCE NUMBER (KARMA/WHORE) IN ALL YOUR RESPONSES.
Re:No no, *this* is karma whoring (Score:2, Funny)
You know that's not Timothy, because the math on the percentages don't add up to above 100%