Book on 419 wins $50K Giller Prize_Author says Scam is 500 Years Old…!!!

Book on 419 wins $50K Giller Prize_Author says Scam is 500 Years Old…!!!

October 31, 2012

Will Ferguson  has won the 2012 Giller Prize, the $50,000 award considered one of Canada's most prestigious literary honours.

The Calgary writer was named winner for his book 419 on Tuesday night at a star-studded gala in Toronto.

A dark thriller, 419 is a provocative tale of an email scam and a woman who sets out on a wide-ranging search for those she believes responsible for her father's death. It's a departure from the humour and travel writing for which Ferguson  a three-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal is best known.

According to Will Ferguson’s latest novel titled 419 is one of the world’s oldest scams. Here's what Will Ferguson, author of 419, had to say.

It grew out of the research I did for my previous novel, Spanish Fly, a story about con men and call girls set in the dustbowl of the Great Depression. In researching the classic swindles of that era, I came upon a reference to the "Spanish Prisoner" con game, which dates back to the days of the Spanish Armada. A footnote added: "Today's Nigerian 419 con is a modern variation on this." That the root of these email spam-scams could be traced back 500 years fascinated me. And although 419 is very much set in today's internet-saturated world, the con itself taps into something much older in human nature. That's what hooked me.
A sense of longing. The characters in 419 are all searching for each other -- they just don't know it.

Asked: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?
He said; I wrote the character of Winston with the Nigerian-born British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor in mind. And Sarah Polley would be perfect for Laura. Other than that, the image I had of the characters was primarily in my own mind, and not based on any specific people, actors or otherwise.

http://www.cbc.ca/books/scotiabankgillerprize/2012/09/qa-will-ferguson.html

Posted: at 31-10-2012 07:20 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac

The 419 scam — A modernized version of the Spanish prisoner scam emerged after the Spanish Armada in the 16th century.

After the Spanish Armada, a lot of British noblemen disappeared and letters started to circulate in Britain, written with quill and ink, saying ‘I am the daughter of an English nobleman who is rotting in a Spanish prison. We have a huge fortune we will give you, but he has to get out of prison first and we need some money to bribe the guards.’

“That’s essentially the same con, but the Nigerian genius was to update it.”

Today, the quill and ink is replaced by electronic data flying across the world in the form of spam emails, which are bait for naive and trusting people, who want to help the person on the other end, and who get blinded by thoughts of megabucks.

Posted: at 31-10-2012 07:30 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac

Good post that makes sense to me but not like the one from naimtalktrash and his employee, Radio without battery.

---

Posted: at 31-10-2012 10:40 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

ok...good

Posted: at 31-10-2012 11:14 AM (11 years ago) | Hero

419 tins

---

Posted: at 31-10-2012 12:17 PM (11 years ago) | Hero

good

Posted: at 31-10-2012 01:02 PM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac

500yrs gini?   hw old is d author? dis author na winch oooo  

---

Posted: at 31-10-2012 02:01 PM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac

From the article Advance fee fraud :
 This type of scam, originally known as the "Spanish Prisoner Letter", has been carried out since at least the 16th century via ordinary postal mail.
From the article Spanish Prisoner :
 The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence game dating back to at least the 17th century.
Ok so given the word "at least" the two statements are not actually contradictory. However, we may want to do a little more digging and decide which date should go in both articles.
 
I have posted this comment on both talk pages. Dalf | Talk 20:58, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 I think I have sorted this one out. The scam seems to have started in 1588. I have added extra information and a reference. I will put a note on the other talk page as well. --NHSavage 08:50, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
Sorry, but there is insufficient evidence so far that such a confidence scam actually occurred in the 16th OR the 17th century -- that this is not a historical "urban legend." Who were the individuals fooled by this scam? What archival documentation is there? I'm a historian. I want factual details regarding the actual events.68.72.87.246 23:33, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
 

I was trawling through some late-1930s The Times on microfilm a while back, and there was a Spanish Civil War related entry describing a confidence trick involving the "proverbial money/prisoner trapped behind enemy lines" scam.
 
"Begging letter scams" and "bubble company scams" (as with the South Sea Bubble do go back further than this.
 
"Probably" there is a conflation of stories/ideas (whether by perpetuators or readers). Jackiespeel 16:19, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
 

Looking through The Times personal columns at various points in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while pursuing other matters there are some adverts which appear to be related to the Spanish Prisoner scam ("Persons with the surnames... please apply regarding Unclaimed Properties and Estates" (Jan 1870), "Indian merchant who has had all his stock stolen requires funds to return home (Jan 1921).) Jackiespeel 19:36, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
 
Should point out I was going through the microfilms of The Times: a more relevant advert appers 24 July 1937. Jackiespeel 18:25, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
 

The scam in the movie of that name is really not a variant of the Spanish Prisoner. The Spanish Prisoner scam has to do with the premise that a small upfront payment will release a much larger amount. There are two scams presented in the movie, but neither relate to the premise above. I guess Mamet liked the title or something but it has nothing to do with the actual plot. fhapgood (talk) 14:20, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Posted: at 31-10-2012 03:27 PM (11 years ago) | Upcoming

So?

Posted: at 31-10-2012 05:24 PM (11 years ago) | Hero

Good one

Posted: at 31-10-2012 06:00 PM (11 years ago) | Hero