Practically every email user on the planet has gotten an email from a supposed Nigerian petroleum executive, phishing for thousands of dollars so they can get their real prize – millions. On its face, the 419 is an old, tired scam that seems far more trouble than it’s worth. But according to the Nigerian government, this flim flam game cost victims at least $500 million in 2002 alone.
Jiri Pasovsky, a retired doctor in the Czech Republic, was one of them.
That year, the 72-year-old man got a pleading email from a supposed Nigerian petroleum executive and was immediately intrigued. Pasovsky drained his life savings and even borrowed thousands of dollars from a neighbor, naively believing that he’d receive the money and be set for life.
When he finally realized he’d been had for approximately $550,000, he marched over to the Nigerian Embassy in Prague, took out a gun, and shot (fatally) the office consul. Another worker, shot in the hand, was able to escape and call police. The distraught elderly shooter then collapsed, was taken to a local hospital, and put into prison. He was on suicide watch for some time, no doubt suddenly realizing the extraordinary nature and consequence of his crime.
Apparently, before he shot the consul, he tried for a year, through the Nigerian Embassy, to get his money back. He was recently sentenced to eight years in prison for murder and attempted murder, and will spend his sunset years in jail. He will be in his mid 80s by the time he’s released.
Though the Nigerian government apparently spends millions of dollars each year to try and educate people that the 419 is nothing but a scam, a handful of people still fall for it. However, the year when no one pays a dime to this shameful play on people’s emotions, and the 419 sweatshops of thousands close their doors for good, we can all rest easy that we’ve banished this beast forever.
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