Spanish Prisoner
The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence trick originating by at least the early 19th century, as Eugène François Vidocq described in his memoirs.[1][2] Modern variants of the fraud include the advance-fee scam, in particular the Nigerian money transfer (or 419) scam.[3][4]
The scam
[edit]In its original form, the confidence trickster tells their victim (the mark) that they are (or are in contact with) a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain under a false identity. Some versions said the imprisoned person was an unknown or remote relative of the mark.[3] Supposedly the prisoner cannot reveal their identity without serious repercussions, and is relying on a friend (the trickster) to raise money to secure their release.[3] In this classic pigeon drop game archetype, the trickster offers to let the mark put up some of the funds, with a promise of a greater monetary reward upon release of the prisoner, and sometimes the additional reward of marrying the prisoner's beautiful daughter.[5] After the mark has turned over the funds, they are informed further difficulties have arisen, and more money is needed. With such explanations, the trickster continues to press for more money for as long as the victim can be induced to do so.
References
[edit]- ↑ "AN OLD SWINDLE REVIVED.; The "Spanish Prisoner" and Buried Treasure Bait Again Being Offered to Unwary Americans". The New York Times. 20 March 1898. p. 12. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
- ↑ Shilling, Erik (2016-08-03). "The 9 Lives of the Spanish Prisoner, the Treasure-Dangling Scam That Won't Die". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
- 1 2 3 "100 Jahre alte Web-Phänomene Diese Netz-Hypes sind älter als das Internet" [100-Year-Old Web Phenomena: These web hypes predate the Internet]. Spiegel Online, einestages feature (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ↑ "The 100 Greatest Memes Ever". Thrillist. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
- ↑ McGurk, Stuart (December 7, 2023). "To catch a catfish". The New Statesman. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Advance fee fraud at Metropolitan Police Service
- Fraud Letters Flood State (February 13, 1910), Minneapolis Tribune
- Examples of Spanish Prisoner letters
- The Spanish Prisoner, original story by Arthur Train