Subject: 419 scam

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
@

 @grahamcluley.com
 / grahamcluley

Hold on to your popcorn everybody, because what I’m about to say might shock you.

Sometimes, scammers aren’t that bright.

Yes, shocking isn’t it? But it’s true.

Take the fairly typical Nigerian 419 scam I just received on my BlackBerry, for instance.

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Image of Blackberry with 419 scam

“Mr Johnson” writes to me from his Mobile Me address, but unfortunately he’s placed the meat of his message about the $14.7 million he would like to share with me in the subject line of his message rather than the body.

You would have thought a “Manager/Financial consultant” would have been a little more careful when sending such an important email.

Or maybe he thought that putting so much detail in the subject line would encourage the unwary to do business with him?

Whatever the scammer was thinking, it’s failed on this occasion. I’m not biting, and I suggest you don’t either.


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and hosts the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on LinkedIn, Bluesky and Mastodon, or drop him an email.

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