Like anyone who has a computer and an e-mail account, I’m bombarded with spam. The more interesting ones (to me) tend to be the letters from people in central Africa (usually Nigeria) who have managed to get their hands on huge sums of money from a cost overrun on a dam project or whatever. And of course they want my help (!) to transfer it to an offshore bank account, for which they’ll pay me a cool million.
It’s staggering to think that people fall for these scams– some estimates say American’s shell out $100 million a year because they give out their bank account numbers and suddenly find their accounts emptied. But a new game is emerging in the cyber-culture: that of baiting the fraudsters.
That’s right, friends! You too can set up a dummy e-mail account somewhere and start corresponding with your new Nigerian friend… leading them on a humorous but eventually frustrating trail of fake information, seeing just how long they’ll continue trying to milk you for your cash.
Apparently there are groups of people who do this, and have a marvelous time doing to. I haven’t decided yet if I should play along, but it would sure be a fun adventure…