SCAMPATROL

[stuka]

hey guys, first post here.

i was nearly scammed by a south african lottery scam, but i was lucky because i checked up on the scammer's email addresses and found them on a a 419 blacklist, so i didnt fall for it. and whats more i have relatives in south africa who checked up on the street adresses they gave and of course they were fake.

ever since i have been baiting scammers with tips from site like scambusters419.co.uk and from the 419eater.com.

i've found out that baiting scammersis an amusing hobby but it stil doesnt deter the scammer from hooking real victims! everytime i hear about honest hard-working people getting crooked out of their money i boil inside, it simply makes me so angry and sick.

is there absolutely no way that we can take concrete action? it makes me even more frustrated that nothing can be done againts these low-life scumbags other than raising awareness (which is already a great step forewared).

will there ever be a major world-wide fraud combating unit? because this is a bloody world-wide issue and lets face it: the scamming comunity isnt getting any smaller.

i'd like to hear any suggestions about fraud combating.

cya

[mirakl]

Not all police forces are interested in taking action and it's difficult to track down these scammers. South Africian Police are the only major police force to show real interest in catching and jailing scammers. They host www.419legal.org

[stuka]

yes, but interpol should be leading this kind of thing, since they opperate world wide, yet they dont seem to be making a big enough effort.

scammers are like a disease, a virus. when any virus theatens to spread arround the world, world-wide measures are taken, yet scamming is kind of set asside.

i have heard authorities just saying: 'well, ignore the emails and they will go away'. this is an example of the sloppyness of the police forces because it hasent affected them yet.

[SolitaryMan]

I think we all share your sentiments stuka. But if there was an easy way to take action against scammers world-wide - believe me - we would lead the charge. The Interpol is not an international police force. They have no authority to take action on their own. It is merely a cooperative body to share information. We all have to do our little parts. Baiting and closing down fake banks like the good people at 419Eater do is one important part. It helps raising the awareness, which is the only long term thing that will end fraud. Here at ScamPatrol we try to help victims and potential victims through various means. 419legal is run by the South African police and takes the most hands-on approach by arresting scammers. Help out where you can, with what you can. You will make a difference, even if we can't solve the entire problem at once.

[Old Coaster]

In a democracy, we are responsible for the actions of our national police forces, since we elect the government that tells them what to do.

If you really want to make a difference, grill all your political candidates about what action they intend to take on stopping scammers. Then vote for the one who sounds mostpositive about this. If everyone did this, anti-scammer action would rapidly become the norm.

OC
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la terre n'est qu'un seul pays

[stuka]

yeah, good point coaster, but my problem is this: here in portugal politicians seem to use the papers from the balot boxes as toilet paper after the elections, and each one of them is worse than the one before. i've lost faith in politics and politicians because they're all just a bunch of liars. democracy works if it is taken seriously. do you think that any minister or senator would be indiferent about fraud if it happened to someone they cared about? i guess they wouldnt....

but its pointless just to complain, and i'm probably already anoying you, so i guess i'l lay low in this thread.

i'de realy like to hear more suggestions

[Former Member2]

There is also the problem of jurisdiction. When someone sits at a computer in Africa and cons money from someone in Great Britain, the crime is committed in Africa and the UK police cannot take action against the scammer because no crime has been committed on UK soil.

The real way to stop this is for the governments and police forces in various African countries to act against the scammers but, with one outstanding exception, that just is not going to happen.

[Old Coaster]

Politicians treat their election manifestos like toilet paper, because the vast majority of the electorate think like you do Stuka and we let the bastards get away with it.

Democracy works only when the electorate holds the politicians to account. In the UK, only around 60% of those eligible vote. Which means that all members of parliament are elected on a minority vote.
For example, a politician elected on 60% of the vote, receives his mandate from perhaps 35% of the electorate which means that some 2 voters out of 3 did not support him.

If we all act forcefully, we can get rid of these self-serving liars and start to build a better country.

IT IS UP TO US!!! ONLY IF WE GET INVOLVED WILL THINGS CHANGE.
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la terre n'est qu'un seul pays

[kwae]

And out of the 60% who voted, how many of us actually take the time and effort to put questions to the MPs?

How often do we actually sit down and draft those questions that are important to us as individuals, burning issues that relate directly to us as people, as tax payers, as homeowners and as parents?

When was the last time an MP's surgery was filled to the brim with his constituents waiting to get some enlightenment regarding party policies and how they affect each member of the public?

And when was the last time that any of us wrote to our MP asking what was being done about this, that or anything else that we feel strongly about?

As OC says, MPs are there because we allowed them to be there, whether by voting for them or being apathetic and not bothering. Too many people think that they won't or can't make a difference, but that's simply not true. We, as voters, do have the power!

Apols for the blatant politics.
[/soapbox] [/threadjack]
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Fraudwatchers - Monitoring for Fraud
Baiting - the new Internet Blood Sport

[MikCisco]

Although the sugestion of Interpol being proactive in this is a very good one. The problem with Interpol is that it is a cooperative organisation amongst the various police organisations.

The only way that Interpol could be effective would be if the Nigerian Law Enforecement agencies were effective and more importantly interested.

It is difficult to get local police interest for a potential crime originating from a country where the local police may not be interested.

[Hamm On Wry]

[GrassyK]

^^^^Thank you for that! It's been a rough day and I needed a good laugh

You should be in talk radio.

Don't be too negative stuka, every now and again luck does run out for these guys. Although not often enough, I have heard where scammers have gotten arrested.

My idea: Every now and then I get these forwards from people I know and some from people I don't know quite too well. You may know what I'm talking about...

mails with subject "FWD:fwd:frwrd:Please send this to all of your friends!!!! you won't regret it!"

Then the letter will say something silly at the end like "if you send this letter to 10 people, you will get a thousand dollars sent to you in the mail"

I see those things and put'em in right in the trash. However, the last one I got gave me an idea If people are actually falling for these silly spam shuttles then maybe we could make one as a means for recruiting people who obviously have nothing better to do?

If they are in the habbit of forwarding those messages around then, I'm sure they get 419 letters. Why not convince them that if they report at least 10 scam emails and phone numbers to www.scamchecker.com they'll have good luck for the next seven years.

Maybe it would work? I dunno? I'll have to come up with a worthy "FRWD to all your friends" letter?

What do you think?

[Former Member2]

I think that there is enough spam doing the rounds without us creating any more, no matter how noble the objectives.

I also think that old threads should be allowed to rest in peace. If you want to discuss this any more, please start a new one.

[mirakl]

^^^^^^^^^^^

What Fungus said.