I only came across this now, but that was very entertaining
Also, there has been some more events finialising the story:
http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/index04.html
1) The scammer responded to Jeff's e-mail by sending him a virus:
Date: Mon, 17 May 11:28:43 -0800
To:
mbbq@bootsix.net
Subject: Re: Thank you!
From:
scont06@yahoo.com
Message-ID:
bbq@bootsix.net
See attach.
For security purposes the attached file is password protected. Password 27735
The file "attach" was the W32.Beagle virus, which is easily caught by Norton AntiVirus. It would have been easily caught by a third-grader with brain damage. It was a pretty lame attack, but it did verify that the scammer had received the package.
2) Next, the scammer orchestrated a denial of service attack on
www.p-p-p-powerbook.com, the Web site that Jeff had set up to advertise the prank. While the hacker succeeded in taking down the site, this story had already spread, AIDS-like, across the Web, so it didn't really make a difference. Am I the only one that finds it strange that this hacker could organize a DoS attack? It's hard to believe that a guy who writes sentences like "acces your account with the uzername that you have and if the transaction isOk with you please accept it" could do anything more complicated than operating a salad fork.
3) Finally, and most disturbingly, Jeff was not heard from again. I personally e-mailed him for permission to run his story on ZUG, but after an initial response, I never heard from him again. All of his Web sites have come down, and he is nowhere to be found.
Jeff, wherever you are, this P-P-P-Powerbook's for you.