James Veitch: This is what happens when you reply to spam email
James Veitch: Det här händer när du svarar på skräppost
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.
men det hamnade i min inkorg,
but it turned up in my inbox,
som hette Solomon Odonkoh.
called Solomon Odonkoh.
som jag vill berätta om, Solomon."
I want to share with you, Solomon."
on the delete button, right?
ovanför delete-knappen, okej?
Jag tänkte, jag kan radera detta.
I thought, I could just delete this.
we've all always wanted to do.
att alla alltid velat göra.
Your email intrigues me."
ditt meddelande intresserar mig,"
We shall be shipping Gold to you."
Vi ska frakta Guld till dig."
of any gold you distributes."
av allt guld du distributerars."
with a professional.
with smaller quantity," --
ungefär 2,5 miljoner dollar."
going to do it, let's go big.
låt oss göra det stort.
How much gold do you have?"
Hur mycket guld har du?"
hur mycket guld jag har,
of how much gold I have,
your capability of handling.
som en testleverans."
as trial shipment."
at least a metric ton."
executive bank manager."
jag har fraktat guldtackor, min vän,
I've shipped bullion, my friend,
och typ, "Var finns du?"
via the postal service,
to convince my company
att övertyga företaget
with you on this one.
som du kan ta med till styrelsen.
to take into the board meeting.
any statisticians in the house,
några statistiker i lokalen,
you'll find a helpful chart.
ett användbart diagram.
run the numbers.
har kollat siffrorna.
av så mycket guld som möjligt."
as much gold as possible."
to tug your heartstrings,
spela på ens känslor.
om affären går bra,
if the deal goes well,
a very good commission as well."
vad ska du använda din andel till?"
What are you going to spend your cut on?"
what about you?"
och det fanns typ 30 olika sorter.
30 different varieties.
och dippa dem.
and you can dip them.
my golden nugget, bonsoir."
this had been going for, like, weeks,
hade pågått i veckor,
weeks of my life,
do you want to come for a drink?"
jag väntar på e-post om lite guld."
an email about some gold."
måste fixa en löjlig avslutning.
to knock it on the head.
to a ridiculous conclusion.
jag oroar mig för säkerheten.
I'm concerned about security.
hela natten och skapade koden
coming up with this code
in all further correspondence:
Anspråk: Jordnöts-M&Ms
Claim: Peanut M&Ms.
som de använder.
they use, right?
in all further correspondence."
I thought, I've gone too far.
Hade jag gått för långt?
Jag fick backa lite.
So I had to backpedal a little.
är vi fortfarande på gång?
jag försöker bla bla bla..."
and I am trying to blah blah blah ..."
I've ever received.
jag nånsin fått.
turned up in my inbox.
är vad som kom i min inkorg.
for the Gummy Bear --
för gummibjörnen -
Fizzy Cola Bottle Jelly Beans
sura colaflaskor gelébönor
ska kunna starta.
la ner all tid jag kan på att besvara
as much time as could
scam emails as I could?
replying to scam emails.
på bluffmeddelanden.
som gör elaka saker mot bluffare.
who do mean things to scammers.
they're spending with me
för att lura människor
scamming vulnerable adults
and I highly recommend you do --
jag rekommenderar det varmt -
och det var en mardröm.
and it was a nightmare.
och hade tusen mejl
and have a thousand emails
was a legitimate response --
varje dag är en bra dag
any day is a good day
that begins like this:
FD PRESIDENT I SYDAFRIKA."
THE FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT."
OUT OF THE COUNTRY
45 MILJONER DOLLAR UR LANDET
NELSON MANDELAS HÄLSOTILLSTÅND."
NELSON MANDELA'S HEALTH CONDITION."
this is a letter of authorization.
står nåt på den, så är det bara en form!
written on it, it's just a shape!
jag är ledsen att höra detta.
I'm really sorry to hear of this.
för tre månader sedan,
är ganska kritiskt."
as fairly serious."
man kan ha, att inte leva.
you can have, not being alive.
WITH MY BANKERS INSTRUCTIONS.
MIN BANKMANS INSTRUKTIONER.
TRANSFER OF 3000 DOLLARS. ONE LOVE."
ÖVERFÖRING 3000 DOLLAR. ONE LOVE."
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