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    What Happens When People Actually Fall For Those Nigerian Email Scams

    By Alexander Abad-Santos | The Atlantic Wire – Fri, Jan 13, 2012

    Just in case you needed a couple more reasons to delete that Nigerian email scam in your inbox, how about about kidnapping and the stinging international embarrassment for falling for the scam? That's what happened to a South Korean father and daughter who thought they were cashing in on tens of millions of dollars and instead had to be rescued after being held captive by a Nigerian gang. "While most instantly hit the delete button, the unnamed 65-year-old from South Korea and his daughter, in her 30s, evidently had a trusting nature," reports The Guardian which added that the two arrived in Johannesburg last week. "The suspects allegedly tasked a driver to fetch the victims from O.R. Tambo airport. The driver and the two Korean nationals were kidnapped and kept at a house in Meadowlands, Soweto," said a South African Police Service official. What happened next would be funny if, you know, it didn't involve actual, real-life people: $10 million ransom negotiated down to $120,000, being held hostage for four days, and the South Koreans leaving town before they could testify. "They declined to testify because they were traumatised," the police official added. "They were also embarrassed at being lured to South Africa. This is common once victims discover they've been fooled."  The gang, five Nigerians and one South African, will appear in court on Monday reports said.

     
     
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    409 comments

    • Huh
      Huh  •  Los Angeles, California  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I know exactly how they feel, I own a 2 year cell contract with a data plan.
    • hulo73
      hulo73  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      "Life is tough--it tougher if you are stupid"--John Wayne
    • Independent
      Independent  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      PHEW! glad I read this, I was halfway to Africa.
    • Wing Rider
      Wing Rider  •  Concord, California  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I'm glad they're safe, but for God's sake, don't fall for these scams no matter how trusting you are. They are ALL FAKE!
    • 427 Shelby
      427 Shelby  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Just when you think ..."Hey, no one can be THAT stupid". Along comes someone who is.
    • CLARK KENT
      CLARK KENT  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Greed rids the brain of common sense.
    • PY
      PY  •  Dover, Delaware  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      #$%$ wow really? someone actually fell for this!
    • Ange
      Ange  •  Vancouver, Canada  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Well, I'm glad they're OK, but how on earth could you be so stupid?! An email from someone you don't know stating you're entitled to gozillions of dollars and you believe it? Yikes. If they had died (heaven forbid), it definitely would have earned them Darwin Awards.
    • rdhdpb0530
      rdhdpb0530  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Death sentence. I work for a bank, and trust me when I say, Americans fall for this all the time.
    • The Guffaw Conspiracy
      The Guffaw Conspiracy  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I can't wait for my eleventy gazillion dollars to get here! First I'm gonna buy Greece and change its name to PumpkinTown. Then I'm gonna invade Italy and force them all to drink Peroni until they all puke.
    • Bob
      Bob  •  Libertyville, Illinois  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I actually responded to a couple of those. I used a fake e-mail address and changed my name (I figured they wouldn't know who Ed Gein was). Had a pretty long conservation that lasted a couple weeks. It's fun, and it wastes their time.
    • gh
      gh  •  Hollywood, Florida  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I bet if the gang members were promptly executed, it would be a deterrant to others who do this crap. And even if it wasn't a deterrant, the world would still be a little bit better.
    • Kascha_Kwan
      Kascha_Kwan  •  New York, New York  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I would never fall for such a scam . I invest all my money in Powerball and Mega Lotto
    • Toya
      Toya  •  Washington, District of Columbia  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Seriously. I can't believe someone fell for this. From S. Korea to S. Africa and and out $120,000. Yeah I would decline to talk to the press too.
    • TR RINO
      TR RINO  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Greed gets them every time. I had a friend whose email account was taken over and the crooks wanted money sent to Madrid, Spain. I also won the Spanish Lotto of which I never bought a ticket.
    • TR RINO
      TR RINO  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I had a friend who was killed in South Africa for trying to expose graft at the hospital where she worked. These people were lucky to escape alive.
    • s'up cuz
      s'up cuz  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      write back to these nasty people, say something really vile, nasty and provocative, many will write back...they get provoked if the language is really vile...they get mad, its fun...
    • Kormster
      Kormster  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      It was too bad I was not at my desk but I strung one of those scams along and gave them my desk phone number and they actualy called me!
    • Jason
      Jason  •  Bangkok, Thailand  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      Yeah I'm with the posters who say string em along. Give em fake email addresses and then keep making up absurd excuses. Wastes their time. Same with the international bride things.
    • Mandy
      Mandy  •  1 mth 10 days ago
      I work at a bank and I actually had someone print out one of these scam emails and try to use it as collateral for a $100,000 loan...
     Post a comment
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