Teach a Man to Phish and Feed Him for a Lifetime
August 29, 2018 2:48 PM   Subscribe

While scam e-mails from deposed princes and long-lost heirs are almost a punchline at this point, the scam itself has been around for hundreds of years. Known as the Spanish Prisoner scheme in centuries past, swindlers promised untold fortunes through the mail as they impersonated incarcerated royalty or wealthy businessmen.

With a false sense of urgency, an appeal to protect the virtue of a darling daughter, and just plain old promises of gems and cash, French police estimated nearly 20% of these letters got a response. The advent of fax machines launched advance-fee fraud into the computer age, and with e-mail on its heels, the results are predictable. It seems some of us still don't want to believe something is to good to be true.
posted by mike_honcho (10 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
They used to mention the Spanish Prisoner Swindle in 18th Century books and I never knew what it was. Thanks!!
posted by wenestvedt at 5:51 PM on August 29, 2018


I don't remember where I heard the idea that all con artist tricks can be analyzed as forms of 4 or 5 fundamental scams, of which this is one, but I think that is really fascinating.
posted by thelonius at 6:54 PM on August 29, 2018


David Mamet’s 1997 film “The Spanish Prisoner” starring Campbell Scott and Steve Martin is a terrific thriller.
posted by EarBucket at 8:10 PM on August 29, 2018 [10 favorites]


EarBucket x 1000000. I saw that film kinda by accident in theaters when it came out and I loved it. I don't remember the plot of the movie that well -- there was a complicated scam involved; I don't remember it being the scam described in the OP but it's possible that my memory isn't totally trustworthy after 20 years. Great post, and thanks for the reminder to watch that dang movie again!
posted by capnsue at 8:47 PM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]


That's the one with Keyser Söze, right?
posted by acb at 3:32 AM on August 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


One of my favorite variations is the Amsterdam Fortune -- it could literally have multiple, simultaneous targets who can corroborate and amp up interest, because the scam is "I'm a lawyer who represents a bank in Amsterdam, who is fulfilling the terms of an old will, and your great-great-great-great-uncle had an account worth billions due to three hundred years of interest, send me $10 to file paperwork to claim your portion" -- because it was so convincing that newspapers all over the place fell for it too. When people got their letters, news got to the newspapers, who were always looking for amazing local news and they published stories about how local second cousins Jane Smith and Roger Anderson both found out they're super-rich! People literally went to Amsterdam to complain about how their lawyer must've filed the paperwork (because he had been paid of course) but the dumb bank is dragging their feet on paying out. Even after it was clearly a scam, they sent their money and never heard back, people continued to believe because it wasn't just them, their uncle and a cousin and possibly some other guy they didn't know they were related to all got notified so it must be true!
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:26 AM on August 30, 2018 [2 favorites]


I've seen a slow down in the Spanish prisoner type scams, but I'm seeing a huge uptick in the "we have hacked your computer camera and have video of you masturbating, so send bitcoin or i release this video to your friends".

Since I have no cameras in any system, I just ignore them, but I am sure some scammer is making a fortune with this routine.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:53 AM on August 30, 2018


I've seen a slow down in the Spanish prisoner type scams, but I'm seeing a huge uptick in the "we have hacked your computer camera and have video of you masturbating, so send bitcoin or i release this video to your friends".

If someone has video of me masturbating and they want to make it public, I'd think they owe me royalties, not the other way 'round...
posted by xedrik at 7:10 AM on August 30, 2018 [5 favorites]


...but I am sure some scammer is making a fortune with this routine.

Because all bitcoin transactions are public record we can see how much has been paid, as of a couple weeks ago it was about a quarter of a million dollars, this more recent one says it's up to a half million.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:38 AM on August 30, 2018 [3 favorites]


I did not know that, Azrael, thanks.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 3:12 PM on September 1, 2018 [1 favorite]


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