Dave Kone Replies
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1343 hrs
I received two replies from Dave Kone, one yesterday and one today. Here's his first reply:
[SNIP]
DEAR uncle Max,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY.
THE MONEY IS GENUINELY EARNED BY MY FATHER BY HIS SWEAT AND HARD-WORK THROUGH
HIS COCA FARMING AND MERCHADISING ON AGRICULTURAL TOOLS AND AQUIPMENT. YOU SEE
IN A WICKED WORLD FULL OF EVIL LIKE OURS, PEOPLE GET ENVIOUS OF OTHERS PROGRESS
AND THAT WAS WHY THEY KILLED MY FATHER.
I KNOW THAT GOD IN HIS INFINITE MERCY WILL HIMSELF TOUCH YOUR HEART TO HELP ME.
SIR, I JUST WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE MAJOR REASON WHY I CANNOT TAKE THIS MONEY
MYSELF AND WHICH IS WHY I NEED YOUR HELP.
1. MY FATHER GAVE ME THE COMPLIMENTARY OR BUSINESS CARD OF HIS FOREIGN
FRIEND HE SAYS I SHOULD CONTACT TO HELP ME IN TRANSFERRING AND MANAGING THE
MONEY TILL I AM MATURE ENOUGH TO HANDLE WHATEVER INVESTMENT MADE WITH THE MONEY,
UNFORTUNATELY, I LOST THIS CONTACT DURING THE BURIAL OF MY FATHER AND
I HAVE SEARCHED FOR IT EVERYWHERE WITHOUT SUCCESS. NOTE HOWEVER, THAT MY DAD
ALSO GAVE ME PERMISSION TO GET THIS MONEY TRANSFERRED AND MANAGE BY ANY OTHER
PERSON THAT MY SPIRIT DIRECTS ME TO IN THE COURSE OF MY LIFE'S JOURNEY. THIS
PROBABLY IS WHERE MY FATE IS TAKING ME TO NOW.
2. MY AGE IS TOO YOUNG FOR ME TO TAKE THIS MONEY, BEACUSE I AM 19 AND THE AGE OF
ADULTHOOD IN COTE D'IVOIRE IS 25 YEARS. I HAD PERSONALLY TRIED TO SEE IF I COULD
TAKE SOME MONEY FROM THE ACCOUNT BUT THE BANK MANAGER REFUSED AND SAID THAT I
COULD NOT BEACUSE I AM 19 AND ADVISED MY TO GET MY GUARDIAN WHO WILL CLAIM AND
MANAGE THE MONEY
FOR ME, AFTER OBTAINING A COURT ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION FROM THE COURT HERE IN
ABIDJAN TO ORDER THE RELEASE OF THE MONEY. THIS IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE
BANKING RULES AND REGULATION, I CANNOT TAKE MONEY FROM MY FATHER'S ACCOUNT
EXCEPT WITH THE ORDER OF THE COURT.
WHAT THE BANK MANAGER DID WAS RATHER TO DASH ME MONEY FROM HIS PERSONAL POCKET
JUST TO HELP ME AND HE HAS BEEN DOING SO FOR SOME TIME NOW BUT I THINK IT IS
TIME I CLAIM MY INHERITANCE AND LIVE A MORE CONFORTABLE LIFE.
I THEREFORE BEG YOU SIR, IN THE NAME OF GOD, TO DO ALL YOU CAN TO
HELP ME IN GETTING THIS MONEY TRANSFERRED TO YOUR ACCOUNT AND INVEST
IT IN A PROFITABLE VENTURE SO THAT IT CAN YEILD INTEREST WHILE I STUDY
IN A GOOD UNIVERSITY IN YOUR COUNTRY. PLEASE I ALSO WANT YOU TO PROMISE ME THAT
YOU ARE GPOING TO TAKE ME AS YOUR OWN CHILD IN EVERY RESPECT WHEN I COME TO MEET
YOU IN YOUR COUNTRY AFTER THE MONEY IS TRANSFERRED.
PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL MANAGE AND INVEST THE MONEY TILL
WHENEVER I AM MATURE AND EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO HANDLE THINGS MYSELF, THIS SHOULD
BE SOMETIME AFTER I MUST HAVE OBTAINED A GOOD
UNIVERSITY DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OR MARKETING MANAGEMENT. AND I KNOW
THIS WILL TAKE ME ATLEAST 4 YEARS.
HAVING GIVEN YOU ALL THESE DETAILS, I WILL LIKE YOU TO GIVE ME YOUR PHONE AND
FAX NIMBERS SO THAT I CAN SEND YOU THE DOCUMENTS WHICH ARE PROOFS OF THE MONEY
AND YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN WRITE A FORMAL APPLICATION TO THE BANK
INTRODUCING YOU, CAN CONTACT THE BANK OF AFRICA FOR VERIFICATION, with this
numbers they will be in the right place to asnwser you,
BANK NAME: BANK OF AFRICA(BOA)
BANK MANAGER: MR MAXWELL CARTER
TEL:22503090284
FAX:22507085575
:22507085576
email:mcboa@ureach.com
thanks and have a blessed day
yours dave kone
[/SNIP]
Uncle Max, huh? Cute. Here's today's:
[SNIP]
dear uncle you know my condition in this country i realy need your help so that
i will not die just like that or killed by those who kill my father i leave in
fear here plase help i want to go out of this country with this money with that
kind of money i will start a good business in your country i hope to hear from
you as soon as you read this mail as you know you can reach me on this phone
number anytime of the day +22507396202 i will be waiting to hear from you
[/SNIP]
If anyone calls the number, let me know how it goes. I found a website that said that 225 is the country code for the Ivory Coast.
I have yet to send my address to him, I want to first verify with the post office that they won't be able to track me down. I'm pretty sure they can't, but better safe than sorry.
I'll keep you updated.
E-mail From eBay?
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1222 hrs
I was suspicious of this e-mail as soon as I read the subject:
[SNIP]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 7/30/2003 5:35:26 AM
To: mwproductions@hawaii.com
From: "eBay Customer Support"
Subject: Change password
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear eBay user,
As stated in the User Agreement, Section 5.1, we may request you to change you password. Because of security reasons and for your saftey, please understand the situation and be so kind to change your password. Please acces the following link to change your password :
[URL]http://cgi5.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?RegisterShow[/URL]
We thank you for your cooperation.
Respectfully,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc
[/SNIP]
In fact, most companies have policies =against= this. So I visited eBay and headed right for the User Agreement. I scrolled down to section 5.1 and found the following:
[SNIP]
5. Listing and Selling.
5.1 Listing Description. You must be legally able to sell the item(s) you list for sale on the Site. You must describe your item and all terms of sale on the listing page of the Site. Your listings may only include text descriptions, graphics, pictures and other content relevant to the sale of that item. All listed items must be listed in an appropriate category. All items in multiple item listings must be identical.
[/SNIP]
I did a search for the word "password" in the UA, and it doesn't appear once. So where does that link in the e-mail really go? The URL it linked to was http://xxxx6666.psend.com/index.php and when I tried to go there to see what it was, the page couldn't be found.
A noteworthy attempt, but a failed one.
Nigerian Bank Scam
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1138 hrs
If you've used the Internet for any length of time, you've probably been exposed to, or at least heard of, the Nigerian Bank Scam (even if you already know what it is, you might want to follow this link and read the article. Trust me, it's worth it). I get these e-mails on a regular basis and, after hearing how they work, finally replied to one.
What happens is you express an interest to help the poor Nigerian peasant/immigrant/prisoner/former prime minister/whatever transfer ridiculous sums of money (usually in the millions of US dollars) to your bank account, then you give it back to them (less 10% for helping them out). Sounds like a great plan, right? Too bad it never works out that way.
My understanding of how it works is that after you reply, they send you a cashier's cheque for millions of dollars, you deposit the cheque and send another one (for the millions of dollars less 10%) back to them (I'm not sure what this is supposed to accomplish, but it's what you do). Then, a couple of days later, your bank calls you to tell you that the original cashier's cheque (the one they sent you) was no good and now you owe the bank millions of dollars.
You may be asking yourself, "Thomas, if you know this is a scam, why are you doing this?" Well, I want one of those cashier's cheques. Call it a trophy, of sorts. "But they'll never stop spamming your e-mail address." I replied using a hotmail account I created for this exact purpose. "But they'll know your home address!" That's why I'm going to have them send it to my post office box in Cheney. "You have a post office box in Cheney?" Yes. "When did that happen?" Recently, can we stay on topic? "Yeah, sorry." It's okay.
Here's a copy of the e-mail I received:
[SNIP]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 7/28/2003 3:55:26 AM
To: davekone2
From: "davekone2@libero.it"
Subject: FROM DAVE KONE URGENT PLEASE
--------------------------------------------------------------
FROM: Dave kone
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST
WEST-AFRICA
greetings,
IT IS MY HUMBLE PLEASURE AND TRUST, I WRITE THIS VERY IMPORTANT
LETTER TO YOU, CONSIDERING YOU ARE CAPABLE AND KIND ENOUGH TO ASSIST
ME IN THIS SITUATION I AM INTO NOW. I AM JUST TRYING TO KNOW IF
YOU CAN BE OF HELP,IRRESPECTIVE OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT KNOWN
EACH OTHER BEFORE OR MET FOR THE THE FIRST TIME IN LIFE. I CAME
ACROSS YOUR CONTACT VIA INTERNATIONAL PROFILE IN MY ARNEST SEARCHING
FOR A TRUTHFUL AND HONEST PERSON TO HANDLE THIS TRANSACTION FOR
ME, WHO WILL BE MY BUSINESS PARTNER, TRUSTEE OF MY FATHER'S FUND .
I AM Dave kone, THE ONLY CHILD OF LATE MR AND MRS.Kone, MY FATHER
WAS A VERY WEALTHY COCOA MERCHANT BASED IN ABIDJAN, THE ECONOMIC
CAPITAL OF IVORY COAST BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS
ASSOCIATES ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS.
WHEN MY MOTHER DIED ON THE 21ST OCTOBER 1984, MY FATHER TOOK ME
SO SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM MOTHERLESS.
BEFORE THE DEATH OF MY FATHER ON 29TH JUNE 2002 IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL
HERE IN ABIDJAN. HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME
THAT HE HAS A SUM OF US$ 9,000,000 (NINE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS)
LEFT IN A DEPOSIT ACCOUNT IN A BANK HERE IN ABIDJAN, THAT HE USED
MY NAME AS HIS ONLY SON FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE FUND.
HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT
HE WAS POISONED BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES. THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR
A FOREIGN ARTNER IN A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER
THIS MONEY AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE, (SUCH AS REAL ESTATE
MANAGEMENT).
SIR, I AM HONOURABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.
1)TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO
2)TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND SINCE I AM A BOY OF 19 YEARS
3)TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR ME TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY AFTER
THE MONEY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED.
MOREOVER, SIR, I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 10% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS
COMPENSATION FOR YOUR EFFORT/INPUT AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER
OF THIS FUND TO YOUR NORMINATED ACCOUNT OVERSEAS.
FURTHERMORE, YOU CAN INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING ME AS
I BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN SEVEN
(7) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY INTEREST TO ASSIST ME
ANTICAIPTING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS
Dave kone
[/SNIP]
Note that he sent the e-mail to himself. This is probably to hide the fact that he BCCed a ton of people. And really, would you honestly fall for this? I wouldn't read past the first couple of sentences due to how bad the spelling and grammar are. And look at the case of the names compared to the case of the rest of the e-mail. It's obvious that he either added the name himself or had a program do it. Otherwise, why wouldn't they match?
So I replied:
[SNIP]
Mr. Kone,
Truly a heartbreaking story. I would like to help, but you can understand
my reluctance in giving access to my bank account to a person I have never
met. Is there some way the transaction could be completed without giving
you direct access? I would very much like to help.
[/SNIP]
And I signed it Max Fischer.
Junk Mail?
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1049 hrs
As some of you know, my e-mail carrier is Hawaii.com. I was nosing around their site yesterday and found out that there's some "special" members-only section. Apparently, however, I wasn't a member. So I signed up and started earning points (what they're good for, however, I have no idea).
Like most automated programs online, this one sends you a generic welcome e-mail. The e-mail from Hawaii.com was sent to my Hawaii.com e-mail address and ended up in my "junk mail" box. You'd think Hawaii.com would automatically filter all their e-mail into my inbox, but I guess someone just wasn't that clever.
The Speeders
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1922 hrs
I think we can all agree that 5 mph over the speed limit is "acceptable." Anything over that and you're pushing your luck.
What really pisses me off are these people who zip around going at least 10 mph over the speed limit and never get in trouble for it.
I saw one such person today, and she was kind enough to have her phone number painted on every window of the vehicle. You see, it's this white mini-van that she's trying to sell. The price painted on the window was $2000 O.B.O. Her phone number is 509.216.7555.
So I called and politely informed her that the speed limit for the road on which she was driving was only 20 mph. She was, of course, indignant.
I suggest that everyone who reads this should do the same. Call 509.216.7555 and hassle them about their speeding habits. Lecture them on why they're stupid to break the law in a vehicle that has their phone number painted on the side. Get creative with it. I was thinking it would be funny to call and claim to be someone conducting their civil engineering master's thesis on driver's habits. You could tell them that their number was "chosen at random" from a list of Spokane area drivers. One of the survey questions could be, "Would you say that you speed egregiously?" To which they would most likely reply, "No." You reply could be, "Well that's not what I heard!" And hang up.
In any event, if you do happen to call them, post a comment here and let us all know how it went.
Me In Fifty Years
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2029 hrs
So I'm driving along today and I end up behind this old man in a Cadillac El Dorado convertible who is completely unaware that he's driving with his turn signal on. It was perfect.
