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Conversation with a Scammer 07.12.09
In the last week, I’ve been looking for somewhere to live in Sydney when I go across there for a design contract. Whilst I’ve had a fairly good experience with most of the people offering their flats, I’ve had some other ‘interesting’ responses… including the below from my newest friend, Jennifer Olsen:
We’d already had a few conversations about the accommodation prior to this, then came a demand from ‘Jennifer’ that I provide a scan of my passport. Being a sane person, I asked that she send a copy of hers first… here’s what I got:
The conversation that followed:Me:
Yep, here’s a link to my own passport – http://shrt.st/al2
(Note: I did a Google image search for “UK Passport”, then did an ‘Exact size’ filter)
Jennifer:
what passport is this?
Me:
Had you done a little research on me first, you would see that I am a graphic designer. I would be pretty bad at my job if I didn’t notice STRAIGHT AWAY that your passport is a direct clone of http://shrt.st/al2.
Apart from the fact that your passport looks NOTHING like a genuine UK passport, there are some things that I’d like to point out:You can’t have black and white photos on your passport – they’re quite specific about that here
The number at the bottom actually represents your date of birth backwards, which in this case… doesn’t actually match
A real passport has all kinds of holograms, watermarks and extra jazz on it… all of which is mysteriously missing in this case
And… despite the rubbish quality of the ’scan’ – your photo has remarkable clarity
Jennifer:
Well that was then, everything has changed now and that is my passport.
Me:
Oh, OK brilliant – my mistake entirely.
I will transfer you the money now, plus a little extra so you can buy yourself an updated copy of Photoshop.
Jennifer:
You should stop kidding. Are you the first person to find a scam out? After all i am not the first to practice this… find me a job and i will stop doing this!
Me:
Bob (I’m assuming you’re not called Jenny, so Bob seems like a good name for you),
You’re absolutely right – you deserve nothing but compassion. After all, you only tried to steal my passport AND my money… but I’m sure you’re a great person and you should be very proud of yourself.
With regards to finding you a job… as you have a basic understanding of computers and a loose grip on the English language — perhaps you could be a rocket scientist or a highly paid politician. You certainly deserve the break! If any of these work out for you, then you could transfer some money to me as thanks… $1000 or so would be great.All the very best, and my warmest regards.
Hey!
HeyBuzz is a collection of musings, learning's, tips and inspiration... mostly about digital stuff, as observed by Buzz.
Buzz is a freelance digital designer working in and around London (studio). See more of his design work on his portfolio
Buzz is also a skiier, sailor and surfer who enjoys referring to himself in the 3rd person.
2 Comments
Ha ha ha that’s brilliant! This is still my favourite ’scam-bait’ ever:
http://www.419eater.com/html/joyce_ozioma.htm
and there’s some superb scam baiting in other sections of the site.
Mon 7th December 2009 reply
Hah – I love that. I considered forging my own version of her passport… but then I realized I had better things to do with my time. Was still fun though!
Mon 7th December 2009 reply
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