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TITLE: (don't keep me) Scamming on The Telephone!
SCAMMER NAME: Lucas Kabongo (AKA Frank Kabongo)
SCAMMER LOCATION: Lagos, Nigeria
MISC: Claims to be in South Africa at first.
SCAMBAITER: Shiver Metimbers

 

Lucas Kabongo attempts a typical 419 scam. In his opening letter he claims to be in South Africa, but it transpires he is actually in Lagos, Nigeria.

Frank shouldn't have contacted me - he's now down by $283+ in cash and shipping, and God only knows how much he's spent on international telephone calls

 

From: Lucas Kabongo
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 1:28 PM
Subject: mail from Mr.Lucas Kabongo

From Mr.Lucas Kabongo
20 SILVER CRESCENT,
Johannesburg,South

Greetings,

My name is Mr.Lucas Kabongo, I am a consulting auditor with one of the prime banks here in South Africa. I am writing in respect of a foreign customer of my client bank who perished with his whole families on 25TH JULY, 2000 in CONCORDE PLANE CRASH [Flight AF4590] with the whole passengers on board.

During the course of my auditing work with my client bank, I discovered an account opened in the bank in 1998 by this great late INDUSTRIALIST who died without a written or oral 'WILL' attached to the account. Since his death, I further investigated with keen interest to see if I can get any relative of the late industrialist but all has proved abortive as no one has come to claim his funds and no other person knows about this account or anything concerning it. The account has no other beneficiary and until his death he was the CEO of his company.

The total amount involved is $36,000,000.00 USD.[Thirty Six Million United States Dollar]. We wish to start the first transfer with $10,000,000.00[Ten million] and upon successful transaction without any disappointment from your side, we shall re-apply for the transfer of the remaining balance to your account.

I have secretly discussed this matter with a close confidant attorney whom I must involve in order to assist us produce legal back-up documents which would substantiate your claims and also enable us have a smooth and successful transfer of the fund to any foreign bank account which you are going to nominate. On this note, I decided to seek for a reliable foreigner who will act as the foreign beneficiary of
the fund from the deceased by providing his/her bank account where the fund will be transferred.

The banking ethics here does not allow such money to stay more than six years without claim hence the money will be recalled to the government treasury as unclaimed after this long period of dormancy.

In view of this I got your contact through my personal search to see if you can assist by providing your safe bank account for the transfer or find a reliable person who will be capable of receiving such amount in
his or her personal account. At the conclusion of the transfer 65% of the fund will be for me, I will give you 20% of the total transfer sum, 10% for charity both in Africa and in your country while the remaining 5% will be set aside to settle expenses both parties might incure during the transfer process.

Upon the receipt of your reply, I will send to you a detailed information about the transaction. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this business is 100% risk and trouble free and that you should not
entertain any fear as all modalities for fund transfer can be finalized within 7 to 9 banking days, after you apply to the bank as the beneficiary of the fund from
the deceased.

When you receive this letter. I look forward to your earliest reply through my private emai address [email protected] and telephone number +874-763-591XXX. Fax number+874 763 591XXX. Just add your international dial out code number and you will get through.

You should also include your private fax and phone
numbers for easy and safe communication.

Respectfully yours,

Mr.Lucas Kabongo

OK, so it's your standard 419 fodder, however, I have been planning what to do with my next 419 scammer in advance, and so Lucas is led into a 'accidentally sent message' trap. Time for an explanation of what a 'accidentally sent message' is! Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin:

The accidentally sent message setup works like this: You reply to the initial scam email by pretending to have accidentally contacted the wrong person. Of course, as we are dealing with scammer, it is only right to use money as bait!

In fact, the scammers themselves were probably the first people to try this technique, contacting potential victims 'by mistake' to tell them millions are waiting.

I am about to reply to Lucas, pretending to be a victim who has already sent money to another scammer. Thinking that I have already sent a few thousand dollars to a scammer, I am hoping THIS real scammer will of course be even more compliant to my requests, as he will assume I have already been dumb enough to send cash and so am an easy target.

I reply to Mr. Kabongo's email pretending that I have emailed him by mistake assuming he is the same (fake) scammer I have already sent money to. My email also includes a couple of totally fake previous correspondences between myself and my fake scammer.

Here's my reply to Lucas, but for the purposes of this scambait I will change the name from Lucas to Frank. Let's see if Lucas takes on my fake scammer's identity. I'll give you all one guess!

 

 

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

I have emailed you three times already, but it seems that there may be some problem with your email as I have not yet received a reply and now your old mailbox no longer seems to work. I found another letter in my inbox which I am sure was from you so I am trying this email address also. I can't understand it. Your telephone number no longer seems to work either.

I have withdrawn the $15,250 payment from the bank as our agreement requires, and I am ready to send it to you by Western Union Money Transfer as before. Before I send it to you, of course we need to follow our agreed procedure:

 

1. Again you will need to send me in cash the amount of $200 via postal courier to my business address as a "guarantee fee". As before this will of course be returned to you.

2. I need the name and details of the person you want me to transfer the $15,250 payment to.

 

One receipt of the $200 guarantee fee (by fast courier in in cash as before), I will then transfer the full amount of fifteen thousand two hundred and fifty dollars to your designated representative.

Please remember that I cannot make the $15,250 payment until I receive the $200 guarantee payment.

One final thing Nelson, my new private telephone number is (UK) +44 7017 414 XXX

I very much look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Take care my brother,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


[Now come the fake email exchanges between "Frank" and myself which I include in this initial ASEM]

>----- Original Message -----
>From: Frank Kabongo
>Sent: Wednesday, Sept 1, 2004 12:10 PM
>Subject: PAYMENT HAS BEEN RECIVED THANK YOU
>
>
>FROM THE DESK OF
>DR. FRANK KABONGO
>N N P C.
>
>MY DEAR FRIEND WILLIE
>
>I WOULD LIKE TO THANKS YOU VERY MUCH FOR SENDING ME THE $3,270 DEMMURAGE PAYMENT WHICH MY PARTNER MR. FRED OBINNA COLLECTED TODAY FROM
>THE WESTERN UNION OFFICE. THE MONEY HAS NOW BEEN PASSED TO THE TRUNK HOLDING COMPANY AND NOW ALL WE AWAIT IS THE FINAL FEE PAYMENT. >THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR FOR SENDING THE PAYMENT SO QUICKLY.
>
>AS YOU KNOW THIS PAYMENT WAS THE FIRST OF TWO PAYMENTS DUE IN ORDER TO PROCESS THE TRANSFER OF THE $23,000,000. THE SECOND AND FINAL >PAYMENT OF $15,250 IS DUE BY FRIDAY THE 3RD OF SEPTEMBER. I TRUST THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS PAYMENT ON THE DUE DATE AS YOU HAVE >PROMISED. I SHALL AWAIT YOUR REPLY AND THEN I WILL FORWARD DETAILS OF THE PERSON YOU WILL NEED TO SEND THE WESTERN UNION PAYMENT TO.
>
>OF COURSE AS I HAVE PROMISED TO YOU I WILL FIRST FORWARD YOU THE $200 GUARRENTEE PAYMENT IN CASH VIA COURIER TO YOUR PRIVATE ADDRESS AND AS BEFORE >ON RECEPT YOU CAN THEN FORWARD THE $15,250
>
>PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR RECIPT OF THIS EMAIL AND I WILL MAKE IMMEDIATE ARRANGEMENTS TO SEND THE SECOND $200 PAYMENT TO YOU.
>
>GOD BLESS YOU MY GOOD FRIEND.
>
>FRANK KABONGO


>----- Original Message -----
>From: Willie Stroker
>Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 09.13 AM
>Subject: Payment sent - receipt attached
>
>Willie Stroker
>Managing Director
>Creature Heaven Butchers
>www.creatureheaven.com
>
>
>Dear Frank,
>
>Thank you for the $200 guarantee payment. I can confirm to you that your $200 payment arrived at my Bolton offices this morning. Thank you for sending it so >quickly.
>
>As I promised I can now confirm to you that as your instructions requested I have sent a payment of $3,270 to your representative via Western Union money >transfer. As I promised I have also returned the $200 guarantee payment you made to me as well. I have attached a photocopy of the western union payment receipt >as you requested. If you are asked a security question, the answer is "1942".
>
>I shall prepare to make the second and final instalment as soon as I receive confirmation that you have received my $3,270 payment.
>
>Please let me know as soon as possible when you have received the $3,270 payment.

>As you have requested I have also attached my passport to this email.

[The reason for attaching the passport was to try to add a little more realism for Lucas AKA Frank!]

>God bless you.
>
>Willie Stroker
>Managing Director
>Creature Heaven Butchers
>www.creatureheaven.com

Don't know why, but when I wanted a picture for Willie Stroker's passport, George Michael was the first name that came into my head ;)

 

As you can see, a also created a fake company website www.creatureheaven.com to add some extra realism to the scambait. It's nothing special, just a single page, but that's all you need to fool these dumbasses'.

Note that my fake scammer agreed to send me a $200 "guarantee fee" before I sent in my fee. Lucas will see the above emails and realise a). That I DO send cash, and lots of it, and b). a guarantee fee of $200 is required. Lucas should be enormously encouraged by the fact that he thinks I really have sent some scammer $3,270 so he knows I am a guy who pays out! It may well be worth him doing something he would otherwise refuse.

 

 

[As expected, Lucas decides he's onto a winner here and changes his name to Frank]

From: Frank Kabongo
Date: Friday, September 17, 2004 4:10 PM
Subject: Is this really you?

Dear Willie,

I got your mail in my private mail account and was very happy i am very sorry that I have lost the former account which you know well.I also got your new telephone number which you sent in your mail.

Please Willie for security purposes I have not called on the new number till now because I want to be sure it is really you that wrote me and I have also gotten a new mobile number which I like you to call on as soon as you receive this mail.Here is the number 234-80-37124XXX. I awaits you call and mail on this particular email account.

Thanks once again,

Your trusted friend ,

Frank

 

 

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

I confirm receipt of your email below, and not my new number of my private villa which is (UK) +44 7017 417 XXX. You may call at anytime as if I am not home the number will be redirected to my mobile.

Please hurry with the guarantee fee. As I told you on August 20th, I am flying out to Singapore for a very important contract signing and I will be away for 8 weeks. During this time I will not be able to conclude our business. I leave in 10 days time, so it is very important that we get this deal finalised very quickly. I have now withdrawn the $15,250 and I have it here in my office in cash. As soon as I receive your guarantee by postal courier fee as before I will transfer the total amount to you immediately.

Again it is very important you act fast. I presume you still have the address of my XXXXX office to send the guarantee payment by postal courier?

[Of course he doesn't have my address. Why should he? He's stolen another scammer's victim!]

With kind regards,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com

 

 

Shortly after my email above, I get a call from "Frank" agreeing to my fee request:

Date: 17 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 300k MP3 - 2 minutes 16 seconds

 

 

[Is it really this easy to get cash from these idiots?!]

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

My address is below. Please remember not to tell the courier you are sending cash. Put the money into a birthday card of magazine as you did before.

I have the $15,250 payment here and I will transfer it the same day that your payment arrives and hopefully we can have this business completed very quickly.

Mr. W. Stroker.
Managing Director
193 XXX XXXX XX
XXXX XXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXX XXX
UNITED KINGDOM

Please let me know the tracking number as soon as you have it so that I can make sure I am in my office to receive your package. I will contact you again as soon as the package arrives.

With kind regards,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com

 

 

Frank calls again to confirm our arrangement and the sending of the cash

Date: 18 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 380k MP3 - 2 minutes 52 seconds

[Note: I edited this audio to leave out my FAX number. I don't want it broadcast all over the Net!]

 

 

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

Thank you for your email and the confirmation. Thank you also for your nice phone call, and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Of course as I have promised, I will contact you immediately that your package arrives.

Take care,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com

 

 

I receive a fax of the shipping receipt from Frank:

[Some details removed to protect my identity!]

 

 

Frank calls to see what's happening with his package.

Date: 20 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 254k MP3 - 1 minutes 55 seconds

 

 

The day after, and frank calls again.

Date: 21 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 207k MP3 - 1 minutes 33 seconds

 

 

Tracking on the FedEx site is now working, and and frank calls yet again!

Date: 22 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 228k MP3 - 1 minutes 43 seconds

 

 

The package is nearing its destination, and your guessed it, Frank calls once more!

Date: 23 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 215k MP3 - 1 minutes 37 seconds

 

 

Frank REALLY needs to know where the package is, sadly, I REALLY wasn't there to receive it!

Date: 23 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 222k MP3 - 1 minutes 40 seconds

 

 

As expected, Frank calls again just an hour later....

Date: 23 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 137k MP3 - 1 minutes 9 seconds

 

 

I'll cut things down a bit because Frank called about 7 times yesterday, and I don't know about you, but I'm getting bored of Frank's voice! Anyway, I told him the FedEx package could only be collected today (24th).

Here's Franky......

Date: 24 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 314k MP3 - 2 minutes 22 seconds

 

 

Well at last the FedEx package does arrive, however, when I opened it there was no cash to be seen at all! I'll wait for Frank to call me and see what excuse he comes up with. In the meantime, pictures of the packages are below. You can look at them whilst we wait for Frank's call, and I'm sure we won't have long to wait!

 


The FedEx package


Some of the contents, but WHERE is the $200?

 

 

Here comes Frank again, and time to give him the bad news.

Date: 24 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 1.1 meg MP3 - 8 minutes 20 seconds

I have to admit, Frank does seem genuinely shocked, perhaps someone HAS stolen the $200. Still, all is not lost, it cost Frank $40 in courier fees to send this package to me!

 

 

Frank has shipped another $200, this time by UPS as promised.

Date: 24 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 305k MP3 - 2 minutes 18 seconds

 

 

[Frank emails me to confirm the UPS Tracking Number]

From: Frank Kabongo
Date: Friday, September 24, 2004 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: I have received your mail.

Dear Willie,

Just as we talked over the telephone I have sent another parcle to you with UPS courier service company here is the tracking number M101 226 XXXX you should start tracking the parcle by tommorrow because it will be leaving here this night.

I will give you a call later today.

Best Regards,

Frank

 

 

Guess what? It's back to the telephone calls!

Date: 24 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 219k MP3 - 1 minute 39 seconds

 

 

Now to save you the burden of listening to Frank drone on about nothing much, I will not bother putting up the 10 (count em!) calls Frank made in the next 48 hours.

Anyway, I had a small problem. The second package did eventually arrive on the 27th, but unfortunately I was unable to get to my dropping address for 24 hours. Frank kept on calling me ALL BLOODY DAY to ask about the parcel. To stall him I had to get my secretary to send him an email to give me some time:

From: Miss Krispy Minge
To: Frank Kabongo

Dear Mr. Kabongo,

My name is Krispy and I am the personal assistant to Mr. Willie Stroker.

Please note that Mr. Stroker is not in his office unto later this evening as he has taken an urgent trip to Coventry to sort out some problems at his new factory. Mr. Stroker has not been in the office today so will not be able to receive any of your calls until he returns.

As soon as he return I shall ask him to contact you immediately.

Sincerely,

Miss Krispy Minge, PA
www.creatureheaven.com

 

 

[Success! I now have the package and this time the $200 IS inside!]

Soon Frank will know exactly what his real victims feel like when they have been screwed over... But not yet. Lets play!

 

 

Now, I wonder if Frank will telep......

Date: 28 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 228k MP3 - 1 minute 44 seconds

Frank must be feeling so excited about the prospect of all that lovely cash he thinks he will be receiving!

 

 

Time to let Frank know the good news that there's a payment on the way...

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

I am just contacting you to let you know that I am sending my secretary Miss Krispy Minge to the Western Union office very shortly to make the first payment to you. The payment will be made around 10.30am UK time today. I will ask her to make a single payment of $9000 to the first name on the list, Mr. Kingsley Sunday.

As soon as the payment has been made I will send you a scan/fax of the Western Union payment receipt so that you know the payment has been made.

With kind regards,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com

 

 

Frank receives my email today (29th) and decides to give me a call. Sadly I can't hear him properly because I'm at the circus with my son, or so Frank thinks!

Date: 29 Sept 2004 Frank Kabongo - 293k MP3 - 2 minutes 12 seconds

 

 

Time to send Frank a scan of the payment receipt as promised......

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com


Dear Frank,

Miss Minge has now made the Western Union payment ($9000.00) and has returned with the receipt. Unfortunately my combined scanner and fax machine is not working, so I have had to take a photograph of the Western Union receipt for you and you will find the picture attached.

Please excuse the food around the receipt; I took the photograph in our meat processing plant and it is quite windy there. We have to continually circulate fresh disinfected air through the plant to keep the meat we process very clean. Because of the wind I had to use some of our meat products to hold the receipt down to take the photograph.

The security question is "Year of birth" and the answer again is "1942".

Please advise me when you have received the payment and I shall instruct Krispy to send another payment.

With kind regards,

Willie Stroker
Managing Director
Creature Heaven Butchers
www.creatureheaven.com

I attach the photo of the Western Union receipt:

I expect the shit will start to hit the fan real soon!

 

 

Well there's a surprise; Frank can't seem to be able to get the cash.

From: Frank Kabongo
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 2:36 PM
Subject: Please reconfirm

Dear Willie,

My agent has gone to the Western union office to confirm the payment but it was proved to him that the payment did not reflect in their system that we should contact you to reconfirm the payment.

Please let me know as soon as you do this.

Thanks
Frank

 

 

I was going to toy with Frank for a few more days but I have other fish to fry. Time to end this debacle now, if only to stop having to have to listen to Frank's voice!

From: Mr. Willie Stroker
To: Frank Kabongo

Dear Frank, or should that be Lucas (or whatever your real name is).

Thank you so much for sending me the $200 “guarantee fee” but I am afraid you have wasted your money.

You have been lying to me haven’t you Frank? Don’t worry about it though because I have been lying to you as well.

You see, I know your name is NOT Frank Kabongo. If you remember, the name you like to use on your 419-scam emails is in fact LUCAS KABONGO. Of course, even that is probably not your real name.

Your email was of course a very pathetic attempt at a 419 scam. Are you starting to fee uncomfortable “Frank”? Do you remember the first email I sent to you? You probably thought that I had sent you the email by mistake, but in fact this was not the case. I just pretended that I had sent you the email by mistake to see if your greed would make you do something stupid, and of course it did!

Let me answer a few questions that may be going around in your mind:

1 - As you may have already guessed my name is not Willie Stroker.
2 - There is no such company as Creature Heaven Butchers, the website is fake.
3 - I never did send anyone $3,270.
4 - There is no person named Frank Kabongo. I was never sent a $200 guarantee fee.
5 - The emails you saw in my first email to you were all fake.
6 - I KNOW you are a 419 scammer. Your original email proves it.

You will be asking yourself why I did this to you “Frank”. Well, I am sure at this point in time you are getting a very similar feeling that your victims get when you STEAL money from them with your pathetic little 419 scam. This is the feeling I want you to remember when you next contact a real victim. Remember this feeling very well “Frank”. What I am doing to you of course is only a small version of what you and your fellow scammers do to their victims. You should be thankful that all you lost was $200, your victims and the victims of your fellow scammers lose MUCH more.

Finally there is my business address, which you sent the $200 to. Of course, as I already told you, there is no such business as Creature Heaven Butchers, and it will not surprise you to learn that the address you sent the cash to is not mine. I would not be foolish enough to give you my real address would I?! In fact you sent the $200 to a POST OFFICE 50 miles away from where I live!

So, what happens now? Well, of course you could probably email me back and make some threats, perhaps even a voodoo curse or something like that?

As for your money, well, thank you for sending it to me so quickly. I am not interested in keeping it; I just wanted to teach you a good lesson. I will probably donate it to a worthy cause. Perhaps I will give to money to a 419 victim support group.

Bye.

 

I NEVER DID RECEIVE MY REPLY!

 

Feeling sorry for Frank/Lucas? DON'T. Frank STEALS many thousands of dollars from people on a daily basis. Like most other scammers he has absolutely no compassion or feelings of guilt, and more than likely he would cut your throat for a few dollars if you were ever foolish enough to bump into him on his own turf.

 

 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Tempted to try baiting scammers out of cash yourself? Please don't.

IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS!

I would advise anyone considering "cash baiting" to think again. Not only is it extremely dangerous for inexperienced scambaiters to try, but legally you are also skating on very thin ice. Whilst morally you may think you are giving the scammers exactly what they deserve, technically you are still obtaining money by false pretences, and whilst you may just get a slap on the wrist from law enforcement officials, the greater danger is from the scammers themselves.

It is stressed on this site a lot, but again, PLEASE remember that these people have been known to beat, torture, and in some cases even murder their victims. Although most of the scammers you may read about here seem to be bumbling fools, you certainly would not want to meet up with them in person. You may feel you are safe baiting a scammer many thousands of miles away from you in another country, but remember, even though they themselves may not be prepared to go to the time and expense of flying across continents to come and deal with you, they may well have relatives or contacts living much closer to home!

I implore newcomers to scambaiting to never lose sight of the main goal; to waste the scammer's time as much as possible, to mess with their minds, to make them jump through hoops. Of all my most favourite scambaits, not a single one of them involved extracting cash - or even a trophy picture - from the scammer. It is much more satisfying to drive a scammer mentally insane over a period of weeks or months than it is to spend a week or so convincing them to send you a bit of cash. None of my own cash only baits are remotely near any of my favourite baits in terms of overall satisfaction.

Please do not send requests to me asking how to receive money from scammers. I no longer attempt any kind of cash baiting myself. I tested the waters to see if it could be achieved, now I'm looking for bigger and better ways to get these guys.

Any emails requesting information on cash baiting will NOT receive a reply.

Of course I cannot force you not to try cash baiting yourselves, but for the sake of your own security PLEASE don't do it!

 


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