Vigilantes Turn Tables on 419 Scammers

  Scam baiters have turned the tables and started requesting small jobs from the scammers in order to get their money.

By  Kara Reeder | Apr 21, 2010
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Through the advent of e-mail, the legendary 419 scam, which refers to the section of Nigerian criminal code that outlaws advance fee fraud, became a billion-dollar business.

The Huffington Post reports that a community of vigilantes known as scam baiters has surfaced. These "heroes" entertain themselves by wasting the scammers' time with long e-mails that express deep interest in the hoax. Now, scam baiters have turned the tables and started requesting small jobs from the scammers in order to get their money.

As the article notes, there are several websites that show off the work of scam baiters, such as 419 Eater.

Nigeria has been trying to clean up its act with the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. But since the commission aims to curb not only advance fee fraud, but also corruption, money laundering, bank malpractice and other miscellaneous acts, it has had its hands full. Perhaps these vigilantes will help put an end to the 419 scam.

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