I have been dealing with 419 messages for quite awhile, and have tried to evolve some techniques to screw them up, and would like to share these, which is my reason for joining this forum. If I may, let me present some of the techniques I have been using:
1)Scammers almost always seem to ask me to use their ‘official’ or ‘private’ alternative email contacts. What I do is to tell them that this address doesn’t work, since my email ‘bounced’, even after many tries. This, I think, not only guards against getting virus from that other address, but also disrupts their script.
2)If a message comes with any attachments, I claim they could not be opened, again, after many attempts.
2a)If they persist with the attachments, I tell them that our IT team has identified traces of the “Tuxnet Worm” communication virus in the attachment, and that this infection is used by Boko Haraam to take over their computers to use them as fronts. I add that Interpol investigates all such cases and that they can be in deep trouble. Therefore, they must allow our IT team access to their machines to ‘clean them out’, free of charge. Those who have responded to this go crazy.
3)If the 419 scammer’s scenario involves a so-called third party (lawyer, banker, elected official), I totally ignore all emails from this person, then tell the original sender of the 419 that such persons are totally unreliable and must be replaced immediately to ensure the success of the transaction.
4)If a 419 gets to the advance fee stage (“storage” of boxes, “fees”, “taxes”, etc.) I tell them to front the money and then deduct it from that “humongous” amount they were promising, agreeing to double their out of pocket expense “for their trouble”.
Just a few ideas I used to mess them up. What do you think?
I do not know if 419’s are a good investment of time, they are 1 person and I imagine their conversion rate is dire.
While a call centre that puts up ads targetting elderly demographic can do far more damage.
I think BobRTC has the best potential, just need to get my ducks lines up.
That’s definitely true, the actual conversion rate on 419 scams is incredibly low as the vast majority of them are caught by spam filters, and let’s be honest; who checks their spam folder?
lol nobody does
unless if he is a scambaiter
I have used my own spam trap emails in the past, recently a couple of emails on one of my own domains started getting hit 10 times a day by 419’s some pretending to be real people. it was an old email address I used to use for ebay or paypal, sure enough it was on haveibeenpwned.
I was in middle of moving hosting and I did not want all this so blackholed the email address, this meant that all emails would bounce, I left it like that for a month then moved to the new host. They did not support blackholing so I created a redirect to an old spamtrap I had on Yahoo. Immediately the mails came back.
This is what amazes me about these idiots, they do not even know how to improve their list by cleaning it, so of course with all that bounce they are quickly put on SBL.
There are only a few email spammers who I bother to report the headers of to Spamcop, it is no good for hotmail because of way MS config HotmalOutlook but useful for getting some shut down).
Not sure what 419 is but… Hey if it works and other people do it to fuck them over too then I get ur vote on doin that … I just troll SSA OLE school over here 
… Troll hoard 2 phones 4 burners is my deal … I think any tips to help people scam bait better is good for our community:smile:
Oh okay thank you for the info … I don’t deal with that bit a lot of other scams … We need get our Gov to fund us … Give us call centers and FUND US to do it whether it’s 419 or SSA or Amazon … Tech support all the scams on here … we should start a movement for this … That’s why I wanted to have a SCAM baiters convention to come up with ideas for this and other stuff … 1000 brains together is better then 1 brain coming up with ideas and no one doing anything … Or making fun of ideas … on here …