The daily t-shirt project goes on!

I’m a city dweller from Stockholm, Sweden. Looking out my window it’s really difficult to imagine that there are huge animals like the Elk (or moose, whichever you prefer) at large out there. In autumn every year there are reports about elks in peoples gardens, elks wandering in to roadside restaurants, and tame elks hiding out on farms over the yearly hunting season.

It’s no fun at all to collide with one of these giants. I’ve seen what cars look like afterwards (yes, even Volvos). And the Elks seem to keep crossing large roads, especially at dusk and dawn.

So, our roads are lined with these Elk/Moose warning signs, and still, I have only once actually met one out in the woods. It’s not up to me to say if this sais something about how common they are, or about me needing to get out more, but this traffic sign has almost become a Swedish national symbol. The warning signs vanish from our roads in thousands each year, especially in Småland, in southern Sweden.

So when i managed to find a free image file with this popular traffic sign, my t-shirt making addiction jumped in. I just couldn’t help but open a Cafépress store with it, and put it on just about every item i could in there.

Theres all kinds of t-shirts, hoods, hoodies, but also aprons, mugs, lunch boxes, and postcards. Check it out!
Click here to see my moose/elk warning t-shirts!
www.cafeshops.com/moosewarning

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The lottery scams seem to grow in popularity. Just as with the 419 scams, they attract their victims by the promise of a large sum of money, wrongfully earned, and just as non existing. Since you never actually bought that lottery ticket, you are less likely to presss charges when it turns out you have lost a lot of money (in commissions and administative fees) to the scammers. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’m not exactly sure about the reson for the recent exposion of new kinds of iscams in my inbasket. Either there is a new croud of iscammers, or I have been sloppy when updating my Mail.app Junk filter.

Richard Dewar is a new name to me, and his mail is one of the classic “I discovered an abandoned account” setups. The prose is much better than in most of these mails, and the story of Swissair Flight 111, is in fact true. In fact, if I didn’t get som many of these mails, and if the email address hadn’t been one of my spam traps that get no other mail other than spam and iscam propositions, I would have looked closer at this mail. As it is, there is no doubt in my mind that it is nothing but another iScam. Read the rest of this entry »

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If Jonas Savimbi’s all sons are going to send me the same kind of Nigerian 419 mails, I will soon have a genealogy of quite a large precentage of the Nigerian population…

I know the stories about President Savimbi’s promisuity, but how big a family can a person have, and isn’t it kind of strage that all of them choos to contact me, even though I always publish all of their secret and shady business propositions…

Right, I forgot. They are spammers. So if you receive a mail like the one below, just trash it and forget about it. There aren’t any million dollars waiting for you. Just a pack of Nigerian 419 scammers waiting for the fish to go for the bait.

From: “Aroujo Tao Savimbi” taosavim67@phantomemail.com
To: a lindqvist.com adress that I never used
Subject: HELP RECOVER OUR FAMILY FORTUNE
Reply-To: taosavim67@phantomemail.com

From: Aroujo Tao Savimbi

Good day,

I have to first of all apologise for taking you unawares by the contents of this message. I had to send the message straightaway because of the short time involved in what I demand of you. Please treat this message with utmost seriousness and swiftness.

Apart from the fact that you will be adequately rewarded, I will forever show my gratitude.

I am Mr. Aroujo Tao Savimbi, son of the late Angolan Leader Jonas Savimbi who was killed last year. I got your contact details from the internet because I really have no time and I needed an anonymous person abroad whom I hope I can trust. I pray I am not making wrong judgement by coming to you.
You can visit these websites below to get more info about my father:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/0223/angola.html
http://www.rnw.nl/humanrights/html/vitoria1020814.html
http://www.zzam.org/…/History/Angola_History_Leaders.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/…/01/99/angola/264228.stm

Jonas Savimbi deposited a large sum of money with a security vault in Europe that is my late fathe. The movement of members of his family (including me) is restricted. Our movement are monitored but I have managed to enter South Africa where I intend to lie very low until I complete this transaction with you.

Other members of my family and I do not have access to any of these deposits with banks in Angola and Europe so you can see how desperately we need your assistance.

Both government officials and fraudulent relatives are trying to get their hands on my father s wealth by claiming that the wealth was gotten through arms smuggling and illegal sale of diamonds. His wealth is estimated to be over US$1billion and my mother,being the only one with some of the documents has aided me to sneak into South Africa refugee Camp and conclude this transaction with any one I choose.

I have spoken with the security company and the operations manager has agreed to release the two trunk boxes in their possession to whomever s name I issue a power of attorney as the new beneficiary of the deposit. This security company has US$50,000,000.00 each and precious materials which my father lodged in their safe keep in Europe before his death so I will give you their contact and relevant documents including power of attorney to allow you access to the two trunk boxes of money. The whole idea is for you to receive this money physically, set up bank accounts in Europe and transfer in bits into your home bank accounts before my government even knows what is happening. My father was a rebel leader in Angola before his death. You must follow my instructions as stated above the transfer of the funds because it will be difficult for the Angolan government to trace my father s money to an individuals account moreso, when you have no prior relationship with us.

I am currently and temporarily living in South Africa refugee camp and I will be communicating with you on a satellite phone and GSM wuth special arrangement with the top refugee officials to avoid any kind of government interception in this transaction. I can access internet with the satellite phone.

We have to keep this transaction very secret because of the political situation in Angola at the moment. I shall send you a password and information that will include power of attorney and the contact of the security company as soon as you are ready to proceed.

Could you please send your full names, address, confidential telephone and fax number to enable me issue a power of attorney to you and refer you to the security company in Amsterdam for immediate payment.

Please reply to my confidential e-mail:taosavim67@phantomemail.com

Yours sincerely,

Aroujo Tao Savimbi

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While we where all busy taking down fake offshore banks, a new 419 iScammer turned up. From Dublin, Ireland! It’s a first for everything, and this is certainly the first time I ever saw a 419 mail from Dublin. In all caps as it should, and with the good old old-lady-without-heirs-has-died setup…

——

From: “DAVID MAYFORD JOHNSON” mrdappy@tiscali.co.uk
Date: mån maj 3, 2004 13:43:42 Europe/Stockholm
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: HELLO!
Reply-To: johnsonmayford@yahoo.com

GREETINGS,

MY NAME IS MR. DAVID JOHNSON. IT IS MY WISH TO PRESENT
TO YOU A BUSINESS PROPOSAL OF MUTUAL BENEFIT TO BOTH
PARTIES WITH A DESIRE OF TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A
POTENTIALLY PROFITABLE VENTURE.I LIVE IN DUBLIN,
IRELAND.

I AM 40 YEARS, AND HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR A BANK FOR 15
YEARS WHERE I AM AT PRESENT THE ACCOUNTS MANAGER. I
WILL GIVE YOU MY FULL DETAILS ON THE REPLY OF THIS
LETTER.THE MAIN REASON I AM WRITING TO YOU IS BASED ON
AN ACCOUNT OF $10.5M(TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSANDS U.S DOLLARS)WHICH HAS BEEN LYING DORMANT FOR
THE LAST TWO YEARS,IT WAS OWNED BY ONE MRS FIONA WATTS
NOW DECEASED. AFTER EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS, I FOUND
OUT SHE DIED ON JUNE 6TH, 2001 IN A CAR ACCIDENT WITH
NO NEXT OF KIN. I WILL INFORM YOU MORE ON HOW TO
PRESENT YOURSELF AS A NEXT OF KIN TO THE DECEASED SO
THAT THE ACCOUNT CAN THEN BE TRANSFERRED TO YOU.

ON YOUR REPLY I WILL GIVE YOU ALL PERSONAL DETAILS OF
MYSELF AND THE PROJECT. I WILL LIKE YOU TO PUT IN MIND
THAT THIS PROJECT IS 100% LEGAL AND RISK FREE.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MR. DAVID JOHNSON.

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The 5th International 419 Flash Mob is over. The site now leaves a message about how we together succeeded, in a 48 hours party, to shut down at least 17 fake bank websites! We have made our voices heard! And, I am kind of looking forward to The World’s 6th 419 Flash Mob on June 1st, 2004!
www.artists-against-419.mugus.com/FlashMob.shtml

Update in January 2007: The 419 Flash Mob site doesn’t exist anymore. But I’ll let this entry stay for historical reasons.

05/03 2004 - Flashmobs is a new way for consumers to claim their rights against fraudulent companies. And a very interestting way to battle iscammers online:

The 419 Flash Mob is a 24 hour flash mob aimed at closing down a lot of 419 iscam sites. Visit their site at
www.artists-against-419.mugus.com/FlashMob.shtml
This is the fist anti-scam flashmob I’ve heard of.

Basically the aim of The 419 Flash Mob is to shut down 53 fake company web sites in less than 24 hours!

Furthermore this online event shall make web hosting companies, the authorities and the media more aware of the problem of the Nigerian 419 fraud and particular of the problem with criminal fake websites.

The methods of the 419 flash mob seem to work quite well:

• Access their sites (and eat up their monthly bandwidth)
• Mail them (thereby clogging their mailboxes)
• Sign them up to mailing lists (keep those mailboxes filled)
• File complaints with your legal authorities.
• Send abuse complaints to their ISPs

The mother site of the 419 flash mob has lot’s of great info on how 419ers work. Many of them run fake banks, where the victims are signed up and trusted with offshore accounts filled with all those zillion dollar baits.

The site has been up for 7 hours now, and it has already been able to close some of the sites down (mostly due to filled up bandwidth at the 419 sites).

Help spread the word! This is a great initiative!

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