Here's a brilliant example of a scammer that got his come-uppance... this is genuine, and I scanned it from the Manchester Evening News (UK) a few weeks ago...

MINNIE MOWSE OUTSMARTS PRINCE JOE

How tables were turned on conman

BY DON FRAME

A COMPUTER conman got a taste of his own medicine when he tried to trick a Manchester man out of cash.

The fraudster, calling himself Prince Joe Eboh, and falsely claiming to be the chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, made contact by email.

He said that if the man would agree to store £13 million of 'surplus cash' in his bank account, he would be rewarded with an interest payment of £2.5 million.

It's a well-known trick which has led to many Britons revealing their bank details and losing thousands of pounds in "processing fees".

What the conman didn't realise was that his intended victim was actually a Manchester computer wizard willing only to be known as Mike — who has set up his own website dedicated to humiliating the Nigerian tricksters.

And in a counter sting, Mike posed as a clergyman called Father Hector Barnett and conned the conman into sending HIM cash for "the Holy Church of the Order of the Painted Breast" which he then promptly gave to charity.

"Fr Hector" outsmarted Prince Joe, fabricating the bizarre religious order complete with nonsense prayer and initiation sign. He told the conman he could only do business if he first joined the church. And he demanded proof of initiation by asking for a photograph of Prince Joe with the order's logo painted on his right breast.

He even told him he was appointing a guru to look after his spiritual wellbeing - a Father Shiver Metimbers.

Prince Joe eagerly responded to all requests - sending back a photo of himself as requested and promising to set up a branch of the church in Lagos. But having become an initiate, the conman then set about trying to fleece his new "church", saying that before he could transfer his millions, Fr Hector would first need to pay a £10,000 processing fee.

'Fr Hector' replied to say that as the money was not going to be used for church purposes, a clearance certificate would have to be obtained to withdraw the cash from the donation fund.

The document would cost £50 and Prince Joe would have to pay. And pay Prince Joe did. He quickly coughed up the £50 and paid a further £25 for it to be delivered by courier. But instead of receiving the £10,000 processing fee from the church, he got an email from 'Fr Hector', "confessing" he had had a crisis of faith following the death of close friend "Minnie Mowse" and had quit the church to join a circus.

He said his circus pals had convinced him he would be better off keeping the church's £10,000 for himself. Two clowns, The Great Tossini and Koko the Klot, wanted him to invest in their snow export business.

Mike said: "The initial contact from Prince Joe was a classic scam and I decided to make him jump through a few hoops."

don.frame@men-news.co.uk