Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

[barry99705]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

Great Thorn, now I have that song in my head.

1057

Thanks for the warning! :surprised

[LosT]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

Great Thorn, now I have that song in my head.

1057

[Thorn]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

Also: Bangagong has got to be the best surname ever written!

I'm showing my age. Google "T-Rex Bang A Gong (Get it On)" or "Power Station Bang A Gong (Get it On)". It just sounded like those names I've in 419 emails.

[moleprince]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

Note to self: Proof-read saved scam mails before I send them to Deviant.

Also: Bangagong has got to be the best surname ever written!

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

i personally love the scam attempts executed by people so bad that they can't even properly operate the do-it-yourself phishing kits that come with every possible training wheel. i occasionally get messages like this...

Hello. I am an attourney [sic] representing the estate of a mister John ##LastName## who died recently. Are you and he related? As executor of his will, I must notify you that there is a strong chance that you shall inherit one million ($1,000,000) dollars if you give me all your bank account info first. You are going to be rich OH MY GODZ0R!!1!

[Thorn]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

I hate 419 scams, more so I hate people who are stupid enough to fall for 419 scams. They should all die painfully. :-) I feel the word schmuck was created to describe these people. Fall for a 419 scam, and your reproductive rights should be removed for the sake of humanity.

xor

Greetings and Salutations Mr. Xor,

Permit me pleased to introduced myself, I am Solicitor GetitOn Bangagong, attorney at large for the Estate of the late Mr. Logical Xand, found to be a distant relative of your own true self. Mr. Xand died without direct heirlooms in this country from a fatal error in the midst of a most horrendous crash of a hard drive.

If you would send me information on all your bank accounts, I will gladly and with further delay fill them with humongous amounts of direct deposited monies.

Sincerely,
Solicitor GetitOn Bangagong

[xor]

Re: Nigerian Scam? Conn Scam? Spam? Insider Trading? Latency attack?

I hate 419 scams, more so I hate people who are stupid enough to fall for 419 scams. They should all die painfully. :-) I feel the word schmuck was created to describe these people. Fall for a 419 scam, and your reproductive rights should be removed for the sake of humanity.

xor

[TheCotMan]

I recently picked up a book The Telegraph Goes to War and have nearly finished it.
It is an edited copy pf a Telegraph operator's diary with commentary on historical events. The author of the Diary worked for the government, and military, and includes comments about telegraphs and news.

While reading through it, I found the following:

Sunday, May 29, 1864
Gold went up to[$]190 yesterday, the highest point it has yet reached.
A man named Mullarkey,⁸⁰ an operator from Louisville called on me Saturday & asked me to make arrangements as follows. A stock broking firm iin Louisville with heavy capital would buy & sell gold according as I would direct & half the profits were to be divided between Mullarkey & me. I being in a position where I could get all of the news,could tell exactly when to buy & sell.
...
He gave me to understand that I could make $50,000 by the operation, but I declined accepting it. Before he commenced the conversation he asked me to promise faithfully that it should not be divulged to his discredit.
...

Amusing. There are elements that are similar to those Nigerian spam scams, but the obvious read suggests an "insider trading based on latency in 'common' delivery of market information. On the other hand, it also sounds like an older con represented in movies like, "The Sting."

Summary-TheSting

Hooker has told Lonnegan the key to the scam is his friend at Western Union who gives him race results by phone before they're released over the wire.

Whatever it might be, I found it amusing to see such a scam, "invented," (read converted to use the telegraph) so early in the life of the telegraph in the US.

It has one of two common elements found in many successful, old cons that help the con artist to avoid being prosecuted by the law:
1) Attempt to gain the confidence of the victim (mark.)
2) The enticement for the victim provides a barrier for the victim to go to the authorities because of the victims perceived involvement.
This barrier often includes partnering with the victim in the scam which involved breaking the law, or perception of breaking the law. (People don't want to go to the police and admit they joined a scam *and* broke the law in the process, so they cut their losses and walk away.)
Another barrier is embarrassment, where the victim is unwilling to come forward because they don't want to admit being taken advantage of.

With both of the above, a follow-up to such a con can include extortion.

Do you have examples of early adoption of old scams to new media?