»Rarely does a day go by when one of us doesn't receive (and immediately delete) one of those Nigerian 419 e-mail scam messages asking us to help the sender funnel funds out of a distant country. This is a tale, however, of someone who not only replied to such a message, but taught the scammer an unusual lesson.
When "Derek Trotter" (not his real name), an "art dealer" (not his real profession) received a 419 message, he replied that he had no time to help the scammer because he was busy allocating $150,000 in art scholarships. Having piqued the crook's interest, Derek proposed that if the scammer wanted to apply for a scholarship, he'd have to prove his artistic prowess by submitting a piece of artwork--something unique, like a carved wood replica of a Commodore 64. To his amazement, several weeks later he received a package containing just that (see photo). When Derek finally informed the scammer he'd been duped--there was no art scholarship--the scammer actually proposed a partnership in crime. Derek passed, but has since scammed several other scammers, proving Marshall McLuhan was right: "Art is anything you can get away with." More tales of 419 retribution can be found at 419eater.com.
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