Case Study Internet Scam

FACTS: In this first case study we have three guys who go by the names Professor So and So, Jojobean and YeaWhatever. They spend part of each day running elaborate cons on Internet scammers. They consider themselves enforcers of justice, even after they send a man 1400 miles from home, to the least safe place they can bait: the border of Darfur. These three guys are telling their story to a radio show. They are vigilantes that bait conmen to do embarrassing things such as, naked photos, get tattoos, or travel to other countries to receive promised money. They state that the conmen on the Internet can scam honest people out of an average of $2000.00 each before the person knows that they are being scammed. The scammer do this by stating there is money waiting in a bank and in order to get this money the person has to send a cashier’s check to cover the cost of the transaction. The three men feel that this is wrong and they want to scam and bait the conmen to keep him from scamming others on the Internet.

They tell the story of a man who lives in Nigeria named Adamu. They tell him that they have $200,000.00 dollars for him if he joins their church and goes to Chad, Nigeria. Also the man is to take no clothes, money or food as a missionary from the church will meet him and help him with all his needs. Adamu gets to Chad and no one is there to meet him, he contacts the three men and they tell him he has missed the missionary. He will now have to go to Abacha, Darfar to meet the missionary. This is a very dangerous country and the three men tell him to find the western union and they will have a missionary meet him. Adamu goes to Abacha with his brother and they wait for 21 days there to meet a missionary while the three men are conning him to believe he is there to start a church and get $200,000.00. While there, his brother is hurt and Adamu is begging the three men to meet him or send him money. The three men continue to bait him and tell him his mother had...