Dear Friend: Things Are Tough All Over

My spam blocker missed this apparently. Typically these kinds of scams originate in certain parts of Africa. Surprisingly, this one appears to come from Hong Kong, which has had a relatively strong economy for decades (e-mail ID redacted, in case any weak heart strings should read this):

Dear Friend,

I need your services in a confidential matter regarding money out of a beneficiary deposit for investment in your country as such I decided to establish contact with you for assistance. This requires a private arrangement, as you will receive these funds under legal claims; all legal documents will be carefully worked out to ensure a risky free claim.

I am willing to share the funds 50/50 as soon as this transaction is completed. I have all the details, which I would provide with your corresponding email. The funds in question amounts to about $30 million United States dollars. I will expect a straight answer from you. Yes or No. If yes, Kindly furnish me with your full names and telephone/fax numbers.

Please Send me an e-mail as soon as you receive this letter for further discussion and more clarification. My personal email is :########@yahoo.com.hk

Regards,
Hong Wu.

By the way, if you’ve ever wondered about vigilante movements, you can observe one in real time: http://www.419eater.com/. Some of their members were interviewed by NPR’s Ira Glass during a segment on ‘Enforcers’ last fall (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=363). Their activities raise some ethical dilemmas – for example, how much punishment should be meted out to internet scammers, if any? E-mail scammers are clearly thieves whose activities add nothing to the well being of humanity, and anyone who’s received these e-mails, or worse, fallen prey to them, will be heartened to know that a network of devilishly clever vigilantes are fighting back. On the other hand, who knows how many opportunities the scammers have to engage in more productive vocations where they are (which is primarily Nigeria, according to 419eater)? We sometimes have to remind ourselves that western democracies that provide opportunities to most or all of their citizens have historically been the exception, not the rule; and in the expanse of human existence, they’ve been around for less than a blink of the eye. Yet another concern is that, while 419eaters and their ilk can make e-mail scamming less attractive at the margin, they can’t do anything to change the space of possibilities for the scammers, who might choose even more destructive occupations, such as kidnapping, piracy, prostitution, etc. And that doesn’t improve the overall well being of humanity either. Troublesome, fascinating stuff. The vigilantes might want to brush up on their knowledge of the Pearl River Delta.