Some folks are just too dumb to be allowed to walk free

sammyg2 · 01-17-2012, 06:53 AM

Un-freaking-believable.

Quote:

Nigerian email scam ends in real-life kidnapping
Published January 16, 2012
TechMediaNetwork

South African police have rescued a man and his daughter who were kidnapped by a Nigerian gang after the duo flew to Africa to claim their multimillion fortune promised to them in a phony email.

The unnamed victims, a 65-year-old South Korean man and his daughter, in her 30s, flew to Johannesburg last week after receiving an email promising them tens of millions of dollars, the Guardian reported.

The man was told he had to come to Africa to claim the money; when he landed at O.R. Tambo International Airport, he and his daughter were picked up by a driver (who was working for the gang), and dropped off at a house in a Soweto township. The driver managed to escape, but his passengers were not as lucky; they were held hostage for four days.

[Woman Loses $130,000 to Nigerian Cybercrime Gang]

The kidnappers, five Nigerians and a South African, demanded a $10 million ransom from the kidnapped man's wife in South Korea, which was to be deposited to an account in Singapore, Col. McIntosh Polela of the South African police service told the Guardian. The amount was negotiated down to $120,000.

The man's wife alerted the South Korean embassy in South Africa, and the police raided the home and freed the victims. The man and his daughter returned to Korea without appearing in court.

"They declined to testify because they were traumatized," Polela said. "They were also embarrassed at being lured to South Africa. This is common once victims discover they've been fooled."

No sheet.

widgeon13 · 01-17-2012, 07:00 AM

Pretty stupid for all involved. Unbelievable is right.

Superman · 01-17-2012, 07:02 AM

That $10m was supposed to be mine! I had the plane ticket and everything.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Just amazing they are smart enough to chew food.

Joeaksa · 01-17-2012, 07:24 AM

"Some folks are just too dumb to be allowed to walk free" but they sure seem to be able to have kids and vote while sucking on the govt dole...

masraum · 01-17-2012, 07:25 AM

the sad thing isn't as much that these folks got that far, the really sad thing is that they aren't the first people to get that far.

Pazuzu · 01-17-2012, 07:35 AM

Think about the poor Nigerians...

They send out e-mails, expect a few people to get scammed, but hope that they just send them their bank accounts or something. then, suddenly, this fool GETS ON A PLANE. Now, the poor Nigerians have to figure out a way to actually kidnap someone (probably wasn't in their original plans...).
Are any of you capable of planning a kidnapping in 12-24 hours? I'm not. That stuff takes some time!

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

Some people just don't have good scam-o-meters.

The sadder thing is, that we need to have good scam-o-meters.

The greedy fleecing the greedy I guess.

Baz · Baz's Garage

I love that they negotiated from 10 million down to $120K....

dienstuhr · dienstuhr's Garage

Quote:

he and his daughter were picked up by a driver (who was working for the gang), and dropped off at a house in a Soweto township. The driver managed to escape, but his passengers were not as lucky; they were held hostage for four days.

If the driver was "working for the gang", why on Earth would he need to "escape"???

d.

sammyg2 · 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dienstuhr

If the driver was "working for the gang", why on Earth would he need to "escape"???

d.

Dunno.

Zeke · 01-17-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dienstuhr

If the driver was "working for the gang", why on Earth would he need to "escape"???

d.

I think the story should have read the driver was "hired" by the gang. Since he knew the original location, he was a liability.

What, don't you watch cops and robber movies?

andyt11 · 01-17-2012, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baz

I love that they negotiated from 10 million down to $120K....

yeah, next time I buy a car I'm going to get his wife to do the negotiating!

944Larry · 944Larry's Garage

When I was working in Nigeria I always wanted to get one of these e-mails and set up a meeting. I was going to get a policeman to monitor the set-up and let them bust it. I've seen them beat people so bad over there for screwing up I've gotten up sore the next morning. Never got a letter while I was there.