I never update this thing ...

I use Livejournal:

http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=keithbuff

There's nothing of substance on there either. Mostly just goofy websites and funny pictures. I'm addicted to it like crack and spend much of my day wasting time on there.

This one's for the ladies

Nigerian Scam on roommates.com

On http://www.roommates.com, they have this disclaimer on the front page:

It has come to our attention that a scam is being perpetrated on this website, most commonly directed towards those with a room available for rent. The scammers are typically foreign (many are from Nigeria). They will send an overpayment for a rent deposit in the form of a cashier's check. The scammer will then ask for a partial refund (their overpayment minus the deposit). After the money has been refunded, the victim finds that the cashier's check was counterfeit. Victims have lost thousands of dollars as a result of this scam. Please be cautious when receiving deposits. If someone writes you a check and later asks for a refund, call your bank to make sure the funds are securely in your account before returning payment.

The other day, Dan and I both got an e-mail on roommates.com from this lovely young lady, "Andra":



hi,i'm andra,looking for an apartment to rent...pls contact me thru my email add deandra_blk@yahoo.com, if you have rent available.hope to hear from you...
regards,
andra

I found it quite odd that she lives in Texas, and is vacationing in Lagos, Nigeria. When I think of beautiful vacation hot spots, I think of Nigeria! Why she would need an apartment in Dracut, MA was very much a mystery to me. I knew that this was a scam, but I HAD to take the bait anyways and fuck with her just for shits & giggles. How could I turn up an opportunity like that?

I immediately contacted her and got this reply:

hi keith,thanks for ur quick response...unfortunately, i'm outside the states,i'm far away in lagos,Nigeria spending my vac.i'm working with an NGO down here..but hope to be back in three weeks time..pls can i get the details and the deposit cost...if you dont mine,if i'm ok with the arrangement..i'll send you the deposit prior to my arrival to enable me secure the apartment...hope to hear from you.
regards,
andra

What "she" plans on doing here is sending me a bad check for the deposit and then immediately asking for a refund. If I were to fall for this, I would deposit the bad check and then send her a good check for the refund before the bad one bounces, therefore PWNing me big-time.

So I send her this reply e-mail:

Hey Andra,
I'll talk to the apartment management and see what the deposit fee is. This might be off topic, but you are quite lovely. I'm very excited about you possibly moving in. I was wondering if you could send me some more revealing pictures of yourself. Could you please let me know what kind of outfits you would be wearing around the apartment? Also I was wondering if you could please send me 4 pictures of your feet in different pairs of shoes. I don't know if I told you, but it's only a 1 bedroom apartment and we would need to share a bed. Anyways, I'll get back to you on that and have a good day!
Talk to you soon :o)
Keith

I thought I might have gone a bit overboard there and was very doubtful that "she" would even reply. To my astonishment, I got this e-mail today:

hi keith,
thanks for your complements you are very sweete...here in nigeria you can only access the internet through public cyber cafe...you know i can't do that in such an environment. here you pay a token to access the net in a public cafe...be patient,when i'm back you're free to get anything you want :) ....currently,i'm short of cash down here.i'll need your help...i will send you money order or bank cheque,you will help withdraw the money and send it through western union money transfer..i have to sort out things here to enable me return in two weeks time..pls i will need your contact address cos i will be sending it through courrier delivery ASAP....hope to hear from you soon.
regards,
andra.

I will be sure to reply to her ASAP!

Hi everybody

I broke my tooth biting into a granola bar. That's what I get for eating like a hippie, I guess.