James Veitch: This is what happens when you reply to spam email
ג'יימס וויץ': זה מה שקורה כשאתם עונים לדואר ספאם
For James Veitch, a British writer and comedian with a mischievous side, spam emails proved the perfect opening to have some fun, playing the scammers at their own game. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
to get through my spam filter.
but it turned up in my inbox,
לתיבת הדואר הנכנס שלי,
called Solomon Odonkoh.
I want to share with you, Solomon."
שאני רוצה לחלוק איתך, סולומון."
on the delete button, right?
I thought, I could just delete this.
שאני יכול פשוט למחוק את זה.
we've all always wanted to do.
שכולנו תמיד רצינו לעשות.
Your email intrigues me."
We shall be shipping Gold to you."
אנחנו נשלח אליך זהב."
of any gold you distributes."
with a professional.
with smaller quantity," --
going to do it, let's go big.
בא נעשה את זה בגדול.
How much gold do you have?"
כמה זהב יש לך?"
of how much gold I have,
your capability of handling.
as trial shipment."
at least a metric ton."
executive bank manager."
I've shipped bullion, my friend,
via the postal service,
to convince my company
with you on this one.
to take into the board meeting.
להראות בפגישת המנהלים.
any statisticians in the house,
you'll find a helpful chart.
צרפתי טבלה מועילה.
run the numbers.
as much gold as possible."
to tug your heartstrings,
לפרוט על מיתרי לבכם,
if the deal goes well,
אם העסקה הזו תצליח,
a very good commission as well."
What are you going to spend your cut on?"
what about you?"
30 different varieties.
and you can dip them.
my golden nugget, bonsoir."
this had been going for, like, weeks,
זה נמשך, כאילו, שבועות,
weeks of my life,
do you want to come for a drink?"
לצאת לבר?"
an email about some gold."
to knock it on the head.
to a ridiculous conclusion.
I'm concerned about security.
במילות צופן."
coming up with this code
בלפתח את הצופן הזה
in all further correspondence:
בכל התקשורות העתידיות:
Claim: Peanut M&Ms.
תביעה: M&M בוטנים.
they use, right?
שהם משתמשים בהן, אוקיי?
in all further correspondence."
בהתכתבויות עתידיות."
I thought, I've gone too far.
So I had to backpedal a little.
אז הייתי צריך להוריד הילוך.
and I am trying to blah blah blah ..."
ואני מנסה לבלה בלה בלה...."
I've ever received.
הכי טוב שאי פעם קיבלתי.
turned up in my inbox.
for the Gummy Bear --
Fizzy Cola Bottle Jelly Beans
בין של בקבוקי הקולה התוססת
as much time as could
scam emails as I could?
replying to scam emails.
לענות לדוא"ל הונאות.
who do mean things to scammers.
לאנשים שמנסים להונות.
they're spending with me
scamming vulnerable adults
and I highly recommend you do --
ואני מאוד ממליץ על כך--
and it was a nightmare.
and have a thousand emails
was a legitimate response --
any day is a good day
כל יום הוא טוב
that begins like this:
THE FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT."
הנשיא הדרום אפריקאי לשעבר."
OUT OF THE COUNTRY
מחוץ למדינה
NELSON MANDELA'S HEALTH CONDITION."
this is a letter of authorization.
written on it, it's just a shape!
זו רק צורה!
I'm really sorry to hear of this.
לפני שלושה חודשים,
as fairly serious."
you can have, not being alive.
לא להיות בחיים.
WITH MY BANKERS INSTRUCTIONS.
להוראות של הבנקאי שלי.
TRANSFER OF 3000 DOLLARS. ONE LOVE."
של 3000 דולר, אהבה אחת."
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
James Veitch - Comedian and writerFor James Veitch, a British writer and comedian with a mischievous side, spam emails proved the perfect opening to have some fun, playing the scammers at their own game.
Why you should listen
Packed full of Nigerian princes, can't miss investment opportunities and eligible Russian brides, James Veitch's correspondence with email spammers leads to surprising, bizarre and usually hilarious results. Out of this experiment came his first book, Dot Con. In 2014, his first solo comedy show The Fundamental Interconnectedness of Everyone with an Internet Connection, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe to wide acclaim. His second show, Genius Bar, focussed on his time working for Apple, chronicles his attempts to fix his relationship using the same troubleshooting techniques he’d been using to fix iMacs, iPhones and iPods. He is currently writing his third show and preparing to tour the UK.
He lives in London with his full body pillow.
James Veitch | Speaker | TED.com