Blogisthenewblog

The 411 on 419

I just thought I sold an item on eBay (my broken iPod *sob*) and then I get this e-mail from someone wanting me to ship it to Nigeria before they pay me. I am so sick of this crap as well as those stupid e-mails promising me millions from some lottery winner inheritance or some shit. Read up on this never-ending menace here or maybe even here. It is sad that some have actually fallen for these scams that are so transparent to most. I have seen it so much that it is nothing but annoying and wondered why it always involved Nigeria. Well, now we know. I thought they just used that country as a random choice because most aren’t familiar with it, but I did notice that none of their communications had anything close to proper English. Check out this scary victim info from Wikipedia:

• Some victims have hired private investigators in Nigeria or have personally travelled to Nigeria, without ever retrieving their money. There are cases of victims being unable to cope with the losses and committing suicide. ^[13]
• One American was murdered in Nigeria in June 1995 after being lured by a 419 scam.
• In February 2003, a scam victim from the Czech Republic shot and killed Michael Lekara Wayid, an official at the Nigerian embassy in Prague. ^{[14] [15]}
• 29-year old George Makronalli, a Greek man, was murdered in South Africa after responding to a 419 scam. ^[3]
• Kjetil Moe, a Norwegian businessman, was reported missing and ultimately killed after a trade with Nigerian scammers in Johannesburg, South Africa (September 1999). [1]
• Mary Winkler is awaiting trial over the shooting of her pastor husband on March 22, 2006, after allegedly being taken for $17,500 in a 419 scam.^[16]
• Leslie Fountain, a senior technician at Anglia Polytechnic University in England, set himself on fire after falling victim to a scam; Fountain died of his injuries.^[17]

That is just scary and sad. I guess I should suck it up if it is just annoying to me since I am far from setting myself on fire. Actually, I do kind of have urges to set myself on fire but that is completely unrelated to this discussion. Hey, I learned something today and it didn’t involve Britney Spears shaved head or Anna Nicole Smith (okay, so I did learn a few things about them today too but I won’t torture you with any more of that).

UPDATE: Ebay e-mailed me this morning saying I have to relist my item since the account that was bidding was not being used by the proper owner. I can’t believe these bastards are ruining eBay now too. All hail eBay for being right on top of it though with a quick response to what is happening. I heart eBay forever.