The Scambaiters

"Greetings in Jesus' name, dear friend, I am the widow of Idi Amin." Chances are, you've received a scam e-mail like that more than once.

The relative of a rich African dictator is trying to reclaim a lost fortune, or a famous person is trapped somewhere with a billion dollar inheritance just out of reach. They need your help — OK, more specifically, a few thousand dollars of your cash — to get started.

Those e-mail cons often originate in West Africa, and are commonly referred to as "419 scams," after the applicable section of Nigeria's penal code. Thousands of American citizens fall for these scams each year, according to the U.S. State Department, and some victims lose thousands of dollars in the process.

But there's a growing online community of people called scambaiters who seek revenge against 419 scammers.

Links
Story Source NPR (link)
Original Monty Python "Dead Parrot" Sketch (link)
Nigerin Parody of same Sketch (link)