So

So, while Marg squishes Dr. Scapoli like a grape, Big Bobby chats with Freddy's friend Ahmed. This arrives:

Is a pleasure I have this opportunity to contact you online. I believe it's time that is why the opportunity comes towards my way.My name is Ahmed Oduyoye popularly known a {NAPPIN} Im a young player of 15 years.i'm a supporting striker and i also skin from the right forward{7}.
I'm here now seeking for your assistant because i believe you ca assist me to prove my skill and talent to the world by playing for your club. in our country is a very difficult and hard way to cross before you can play a professional football.
The only opportunity I have is playing in the amateur league called {LAFALEAGUE}. I also participate in some youth found competition.if you need my credentials can provide everything, my licence etc. also play {SKIDO} one of the most popular grassroots competition in {NIGERIA} founded in the year 2000.this competition is even popular than the amateur league {NFA} because it parades some stars in the pro league due to the rules in the competition that says four over-age players and it is played every end of the NFA league season was the youngest player in the competition then.my team won the cup the very first time 2000 and i won two tittles the youngest player and the highest goal scorer with 7 goals.the runner up to me then was {OBAFEMI MATHINS} of inter -milan.he played for police machine and i played for current fc. obafemi only got an opportunity that is why he is making is way in inter now.hope my requested is granted.hope to hear from you soon.and here is all the info you need about me my home address is ...1 abbey kiu crescent ifako gbagada lagos state phone# 23414821435

P.S SIR I AM SEEKING A VERY GOOD HELP FROM YOU TO GET A CLUB OR SPONSOR ME TO COME TO UR COUNTRY AND SEARCH FOR A CLUB THERE...ALSO IF YOU NEED MY PIC I WILL SEND IT TO OR MY COMPLETE DOCUMENT THAT I HAVE EARN IN LOCAL FOOTBALL.I WILL SCAN IT AND ATTACH IT FOR YOU...

Take a moment and read the letter quoted above. Does he sound like a scammer, or someone genuinely interested in making a career in football/soccer? This is the tricky part about scam-baiting. For the clowns that are actual con artists and are out to steal from otherwise innocent people, there should be no mercy. However, that doesn't mean it's okay to bait people just because they are from a country famous for corruption and unsolicited email.

Bobby proceeds cautiously.

Thank you for your email. I was a little surprised to receive it though, eh? Do you mind if I ask you where you got my email address from?

Also, while I am not promising anything at this point, what is your status in terms of contractual obligations to any teams? Will you need a parent or guardian to sign contracts for you because of your age?

If you can, call me at 206-338-2673. Sorry, I don't know what the country code is for North America. I am caring for a friend in hospital at the moment (she lost an argument with a couple of tons of snow), so I might not be able to get to my email very regularly.

Yours,

Robert (Big Bobby) Clobber

Ahmed responds, and again he could be a scammer, he could be legit.

hello Robert Clobber,i have happy to see ur reply,i also no that my email will look strange to you.i got ur email via fred gloria that is friend to 'Marg Delahunty' he was one give out your email to fred so he can contact you that u are in need of a player that u can sponsor to his career in football any where.that is why i am mailing you regarding that now i seeking help from you if you can get any club for me to inprove my career there in europe...as for the guardian..i have a father and a standby mother that can stand for me in any lenght so as for me to improve my career...psl any help that u can render for pls try and god shal help you an ur family out just try try for me ..
pls dont think of my age at all i can play a good football at that of my age pls just render ur own help for me and god shall reward u help,..i have a guardian that sign all the neccesary papers for me asap...pls email me back

Might as well proceed then.

>hello Robert Clobber

Go ahead and call me Big Bobby - that's what everybody else calls me.

>i have happy to see ur reply,i also no that my email will look strange to you.i got ur email via fred gloria that is friend to 'Marg Delahunty' he was one give out your email to fred so he can contact you that u are in need of a player that u can sponsor to his career in football any where.

I don't know if the confusion came from Marg or from Fred, but I'm not sponsoring football players. What I, and my investors, are trying to do is bring the sport of hockey to Africa, and other tropical areas.

Since hockey is understandably rare in such areas, we knew it would be tough finding suitable players. Instead, we are taking players from other sports since they already have the athleticism and teamwork we desire.

>that is why i am mailing you regarding that now i seeking help from you if you can get any club for me to inprove my career there in europe

I think Fred needs to read his email more closely. We aren't in Europe, we are in Canada - the upper half of the North American continent. Hockey is our national sport, eh?

>i have a guardian that sign all the neccesary papers for me asap...pls email me back

Excellent. Soon I will be sending an email with some agreements for you. After you sign the non-disclosure agreement, I will be able to make some requests of you, and share some more of the details as well.

>ahmed

Should I call you Ahmed or Nappin?

Yours,

Big Bobby

And again, reading this we get that sinking feeling that maybe we're baiting the wrong guy. Okay, so Freddy Gloria is a scam artist, but that doesn't mean Freddy didn't try to do a friend a favour.

hello Robert Clobber,thanx for the mail,i appreciate ur effort on me,i can see that u are willing to help me,now that u said u are hockey man that u dont no much about football i persume you should try and get me a good club there for me in usa that i can start my career in full space and u can be my agent,i promise any signing on fee that is giving by the club will be share between me and u bobby..pls help me out of this i need to get myself out of this country that i am coz this is country does not improve talented players until we go to another club in europe or usa.pls bobby u have the previleged to help me pls help..if u can just send me letter of invitation just for to obtain a visa from my country or u send me and i 20 from usa ,the embassy will give me visa then i can come to your country and start a new life from there...such as playing my football and doing some good things to survive my life amd take good care of my family,....bobby pls help and god that help you too..

bobby i promise when u get me a good club in usa i will not let u down u will really gain from me that u promote a good players like me ...pls invest on me and u gain alot..
u can call me ahmed and my real name is ahmed oduyoye and my football name is nappin mitose...pls bobby help and god wil help you too....
i await ur prompt response

AHMED..

So, Sister Mary and I decide to let Ahmed off the hook.

Dear Mr. Mitose:

Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, we will not be able to
extend you funding or sponsorship at this time due to some financial
problems on our end.

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this might have caused
you. Your brief resume that you sent with your initial email was
impressive, and I hope you will be able to use your football skills for
great success in the future.

Again, my apologies.

Robert (Big Bobby) Clobber

Of course, Ahmed has to go and test our resolve by sending this

dear Robert Clobber ,i am sad to hear this..but all the same i will still adapt coz i no that god tim is the best...big bobby i need small help from you and i no you can help.i am going on football trial in southafrica and the trial will be hold on the 23,28 in december.my help from you is that i dont have money for flight ticket if you an help me with just $500 to complete it coz my family hav organise $1000 for me so i need $500 to complete it i will be very gratefull to that and GOD shall reward u abundatly for the help..amenpls bobby email me back if you are willing to send m the money ..... Now that sounds more like one of the Lads from Lagos!

Surprise, surprise... We've given up on Ahmed, when a third party lets us know some interesting information about Ahmed and his connection with illicit credit card numbers. The bait resumes.

Dear Ahmed:

After a long talk with Marg, I've decided to give you a shot at the big
time.

I know you haven't signed the non-disclosure agreement yet, but we don't
have a lot of time. Here's the deal: my investors and I are starting
up a hockey league based in tropical countries, which will be called the
THL - Tropical Hockey League. We need athletes in different countries
to start building teams for us.

Since no one plays hockey there, we are mainly recruiting football
players, and then training them for hockey.

Here's what I need from you. You need to find about a dozen or so
players that are willing to join your team. You will need to pick a
name for the team, and pose for a team photo. The photo is very
important - once my investors see that you have recruited some players,
they will be willing to send money for equipment and training, $9,000
per player.

Since you don't have any hockey equipment, we will have to substitute a
few items. You should all be wearing helmets of some sort. It doesn't
matter what kind of helmet - motorcycle, military, construction... if
you can't get a helmet, use a bowl or bucket. You will also need to
hold brooms, since you don't have any hockey sticks yet.

Get me the team name, and a picture, and I'll be able to get some
funding for you.

We are short of time on this. There is a team already forming in
Abidjan, so some competition is shaping up.

Let me know how it goes, eh?

Yours,

Big Bobby

Ahmed writes back, and now he sounds more like a traditional scammer

HELLO Robert Clobber,BUT THAT IS TOO HARD FOR ME TO ORGANISED,BUT I WILL TRY MY BEST,BUT IN NIGERIA ANY PLAYERS THAT WNAT TO JOIN A TEAM LIKE THIS NEED GOOD EQUIPMENT FOR THAT,COZ THEY DONT LIKE TO RISK THEIR LIFE OVER THIS,PLS IF U CAN GET US SOME MONEY TO BUY A TRANING EQUIPMENT WE WILL BE GLAD FOR THAT.
AND I WILL NEED TO GET THE PARICE FOR YOU HERE IN NIGERIA SO AS TO NO HOW MCUH YOU WILL BE SENDING FOR THE TEAM TO START THE PREPARATION,BOBBY HOW WAS UR XMAS DOING THERE?PLS I NEED MARG PHONE# AND I ALSO NEED URS TOO FOR FAST COMMUNICATION COZ THE FORMER U GAVE ME JUST ENTERING VOICE MAIL,SO I NEED A GOOD ONE.

BOBBY,NOW THAT IS NOT EASY FOR ME TO GATHER A TEAM LIKETHAT FOR HOCKEY,I PRESUME U SHOULD HELP ME WITH VISA SO THAT I CAN OME THERE AND START TRAINING HOCKEY WITH YOU MAYBE I CAN JOING UR TEAM FOR THE PREPARATION THAT IS GOING ON,PLS AND PLS SPONSOR ME AND GOD WILL HELP YOU TOO....

I AWAIT UR RESPONSE PLS.

>HELLO Robert Clobber,BUT THAT IS TOO HARD FOR ME TO ORGANISED,BUT I
WILL TRY MY BEST,BUT IN NIGERIA ANY PLAYERS THAT WNAT TO JOIN A TEAM
LIKE THIS NEED GOOD EQUIPMENT FOR THAT,COZ THEY DONT LIKE TO RISK THEIR
LIFE OVER THIS,PLS IF U CAN GET US SOME MONEY TO BUY A TRANING EQUIPMENT
WE WILL BE GLAD FOR THAT.

Don't worry about that - we'll only be using top-of-the-line sports
equipment. When this starts showing up on television, the last thing we
need is our players looking like a bunch of kids playing road hockey.

>AND I WILL NEED TO GET THE PARICE FOR YOU HERE IN NIGERIA SO AS TO NO
HOW MCUH YOU WILL BE SENDING FOR THE TEAM TO START THE PREPARATION,BOBBY
HOW WAS UR XMAS DOING THERE?

Again, you would receive $9,000 per player for training and equipment.
I'm still negotiating with my investors as to how much player saleries
will be, but I can guarantee it'll be a lot more than just coffee and
doughnuts, eh?

>PLS I NEED MARG PHONE# AND I ALSO NEED URS TOO FOR FAST COMMUNICATION
COZ THE FORMER U GAVE ME JUST ENTERING VOICE MAIL,SO I NEED A GOOD ONE.

Sorry, I've been in the north of Canada lately, and I don't think I've
been receiving all my calls. Have you been trying to reach me? Sorry,
eh?

>BOBBY,NOW THAT IS NOT EASY FOR ME TO GATHER A TEAM LIKETHAT FOR HOCKEY,I PRESUME U SHOULD HELP ME WITH VISA SO THAT I CAN OME THERE AND START TRAINING HOCKEY WITH YOU MAYBE I CAN JOING UR TEAM FOR THE PREPARATION THAT IS GOING ON,PLS AND PLS SPONSOR ME AND GOD WILL HELP YOU TOO....

Well, I don't know if I'll be sponsoring anybody at the moment. Once we
get this team started, it'll be a lot easier. Canada has all the
doctors and scientists it could ever need, but we're always looking for
good hockey players.

Again, you start recruiting players, and I'll start sending money.

Yours,

Big Bobby

ps - It's a thing we do in hockey to call people we like "Big". Would
you prefer "Big Nappin" or "Big Ahmed"?

Big Ahmed it is then.

OK BOBBY,I ORGANISED SOME YOUNG BOYS FOR THE TRAINING OF THE HOCKEY AND I WILL SCAN THE PICS OF THEM TO YOU SOON...PLS AWAIT IT SOON AND ALL WE NEED NOW BOBBY IS EQUIPMENT COZ THEY LACK SOME EQUIPMENTS EVEN SOME OF THEM GET INJURED IN THE TRAINING JUST BECOZ THE LACK OF GOOD EQUIPMENT,PLS BOBBY IF YOU CAN GIVE US SOME MONEY TO START BUYING SOME EQUIPMENT IT WILL HELP US OUT IN THIS...PLS EMAIL ME ASAP SIR..AND U CALL ME {BIG AHMED}

AHMED

Just remember though, we picked up Freddy Gloria, Big Ahmed, and Dr. Scapoli because we weren't getting anywhere with Big Adam and his lawyer friend Jake. But this wasn't the only Lad we hooked.

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