A crafty father turned the tables on a dim-witted conman by luring him into posing with a piece of paper naming him ‘Poodat Wontflush’ for a visa application to get into the UK.
David Walker was approached by the scammer, who claimed to be from Ghana, after liking one of his posts on Facebook and the fraudster quickly asked if he could visit him – believing him to be a woman.
Knowing that the con artist would eventually request money to complete the visit, the cunning father-of-two from Newcastle decided to play along to make a mockery of the scheme.
Hilarious images show the gullible fraudster posing with the ridiculous name on a piece of paper after 39-year-old David convinced him it was a ‘vital part of the visa application process’.
David Walker was approached by the scammer, who claimed to be from Ghana, after liking one of his posts on Facebook. He convinced the man to pose with a sign reading: ‘I am MC Poodat Wontflush’
David (pictured centre) with his children Emily, 10, (left) and Annabelle, six (right)
Once the crook said he needed money for the plane and a nude picture of his victim, David sent him a blank photo which claimed was a nude in the dark because the ‘flash had broken’.
When the naive scammer asked why he couldn’t see anything in the picture, David finally revealed his trick and said: ‘Ahhh, I understand why my photo won’t send properly. It’s because you’re a devious scamming tw**.’
David began deliberately trying to waste the time of suspected online predators after a family friend was conned into handing over thousands in an online romance.
Emergency breakdown call handler David said: ‘Once the fraudster realised he had been tricked by me I think he was more despondent than angry.
‘He was quite incredulous that he had managed to have been conned – when he was supposed to be the conman.
‘He seemed quite dejected that he wouldn’t end up getting any cash after all. Or perhaps he was genuinely heartbroken that this wasn’t a real visa and so he wouldn’t be coming to the UK after all. Bless his heart.
Knowing that the con artist would eventually request money to complete the visit, the cunning father-of-two from Newcastle decided to play along to make a mockery of the scheme
David began deliberately trying to waste the time of suspected online predators after a family friend was conned into handing over thousands in an online romance
‘It’s ridiculous that he didn’t see the play on words. But I suppose if you think you are the scammer you are not on the lookout for being scammed.
‘It was crazy really, he seemed up for doing anything to get his hands on the cash one way or the other.
‘I certainly don’t think his intentions were genuine. You can tell as he eventually says he needs a plane ticket – so he was trying to get cash from me.
‘He was definitely after more than pictures of the victim – and who knows what he would have done with nudes if he had got them. Perhaps blackmailed the victim? Who knows.’
In this prank, David convinced the conman that he was a musician and rapper and asked the man to be his rap partner once he arrived in the UK, named MC Poodat Wontflush.
The fraudster replied ‘you have a nyc idea’ and said ‘I lyk dat name’.
In this prank, David convinced the conman that he was a musician and rapper and asked the man to be his rap partner once he arrived in the UK, named MC Poodat Wontflush
David wrote: ‘OK. This is a vital part of the visa application. I need you to write ‘I am MC Poodat Wontflush’ on the paper. Hold it up and take a selfie. I need it for your visa. Make haste! The visa shop closes soon.’
Ten minutes later, the conman replied with two images of himself holding up the ridiculous note.
The conman then wrote: ‘OK dear. Poodat Wontflush needs a plane ticket too dear.’
He then requested a picture of David, who eventually sent a blank image, followed by the note: ‘Oh b***ery, the flash has broken. But rest assured, that is a nude photo of me playing with a train set.’
The scammer wrote back: ‘It’s dark and I can’t see any pic in it.’ It was at this point that David revealed his prank.
This prank is far from a new thing for David, who regularly winds up scammers in his spare time.
David, pictured, said: ‘If it hadn’t been me winding him up, it could have been a vulnerable person who he conned and ripped off for cash. This kind of thing is happening regularly’
David said: ‘I like to think by me winding up these conmen like this, it could be making a small difference. It is wasting their time for a start, which hinders them doing it to others. It might even put some off if I can do it well enough’
The father hit headlines in July this year when he talked his daughter into dressing him up in drag so that he could lure in a conman, before forcing him to beg forgiveness after he exposed his scam.
David said: ‘I deliberately joined a group for divorced men and women as I knew this would be the kind of group that conmen would be on the prowl.
‘Within minutes of me liking a post, this man had got in touch with me, so it shows that this place was a scammer’s haven. They are clearly trying to prey on lonely men and women, it’s not nice at all.
‘If it hadn’t been me winding him up, it could have been a vulnerable person who he conned and ripped off for cash. This kind of thing is happening regularly.
‘I like to think by me winding up these conmen like this, it could be making a small difference. It is wasting their time for a start, which hinders them doing it to others. It might even put some off if I can do it well enough.
Emergency breakdown call handler David said: ‘Once the fraudster realised he had been tricked by me I think he was more despondent than angry’
‘By sharing these pranks it is also raising awareness of how many of these conmen are out there and the kind techniques they use. They may seem obvious to some people, but to others who are elderly or more vulnerable, they may not spot it.
‘I get a lot of messages from people who see my scams and say they love them. Some have been victims of scams themselves and while this doesn’t help them, they like that someone is getting back at them. This makes me really happy.
‘This one really made me laugh but to be honest, some of these conmen will do anything if they think it they will be able to scam money out of you. So I just like to see how far I can take it with them.
‘My wife still has a read of my pranks and will giggle at them. But it’s her friends who tend to spot them first and tell her about them. They seem to be more into them than her.’