Scamming the Scammers

June's edition of The Atlantic (yes, I've only just got round to reading it) has a great piece by Ron Rosenbaum on the 419 Eaters. 419 scammers are those Nigerian princes, or widows of royalty, who write to you asking to use your bank account to launder some money in return for which you get a slice of riches beyond your imaginings. The name 419 comes from the number of the section of the Nigerian criminal code that applies to fraud. Apparently some people still fall for this. The 419 Eaters are a group who dedicate themselves to scamming the scammers, playing them along and turning the tables. So far so good and all power to them, but as Ron points out there is a tinge of racism around the site which undermines an otherwise laudable enterprise - particularly on the "Trophy Room" photographs of the scammers doing something ridiculous that they've been tricked into sending in...

Ron Rosenbaum is a really interesting writer. His "Travels with Doctor Death" following up the conspiricists in the US is a classic and great holiday read if you're looking for one.

Comments

[Ed]

Hi, I found you via Authority Blogger Forum.

Yours is the second blog by a pro media person that I have read this week, and I realise that you guys in the media write with such authority compared to the average blogger.

You don't necessarily discuss topics we know nothing about, we all get to see the TV, but there is an air of balance and clarity in everything that you write.

Good writing isn't the preserve of trained professionals, and we should all be able to express ourselves in blogs if we so desire, but, like the houseowner who decorates their lounge, most online writers do OK until their work is put up against a professional - then you see how it is lacking.

Looking around at the standard of writing generally on the internet, I think that if anyone wants to go beyond a Youtube video and 3 words of wit explaining it, there should be a requirement to sit a media writers exam or something and you can only blog if you display a badge in the header saying you have passed.

Call by my blog next Sunday morning, I would love to include you in the MyBlogLog Sunday mini reviews. I actually manage to cram quite a lot in 4 short lines, so inclusion shouldn't be too eye-rolling an experience

cheers

Ed