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Is this encrypted message from a gang member really solved?

Von / 9. Oktober 2020 / 6 Kommentare
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On Reddit, I found a pigpen message written on the skin of a prisoner. The plaintext provided in the post doesn’t look correct to me.

Encrypted messages created by criminals have always been a popular topic on this blog. Here’s another one.

 

A pigpen cryptogram

According to a Reddit post published three years ago, the following message was found “on a gang member in prison” (I don’t know if “on” means “on the skin of”):

Source: Reddit

As can be seen, the encryption method used here is a pigpen cipher. I have blogged about this old and wide-spread family of crypto methods numerous times. As there are countless variants of the pigpen cipher, its not always easy to decrypt a message that is encrypted this way, even if one knows the system.

To my regret, the Reddit post doesn’t provide any background information about this alleged prison cipher. We don’t know where this message was encountered and when it was created. And of course, I can’t rule out a fake.

 

A probably incorrect solution

Below the said Reddit post, exactly one comment was published. It provides the following alleged solution:

XAST CRACCIN CUZ SELL ALL DA LOCT SO PEW ON DAS TAS 7:10 PM GENERAL LIBRARY

CFL MCL OG RSC SRECE IMO 73’79’0$ LOC

If this plaintext is correct, the creator of the message would have used the following pigpen variant (it’s one of the most simple and most common versions, with the only tweak that the dots are placed above the symbols, not within them):

Source: Schmeh

However, I dont trust this solution. Except for GENERAL LIBRARY, none of the plaintext words makes sense. There are several explanations I can think of:

  • The decryption is correct, but there’s an additional encryption involved.
  • The decryption is correct, but the plaintext mainly consists of slang words I don’t know.
  • The decryption is incorrect, except for the expression GENERAL LIBRARY. This would mean that two different pigpen variants were used in the same message.
  • The decryption is incorrect, but the wrong pigpen chart differs from the correct one only in a few points. This would explain that two words decrypted correctly.

Can a reader find out which option is the correct one?


Further reading: Yet another encrypted gravestone

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Kommentare (6)

  1. #1 Klaus Schmeh
    9. Oktober 2020

    Kurosh H. H. via Linkedin:

    To have one step forward, maybe you can ask for help of a graphologist, you can find some good pattern to know a little bit about the person whom wrote that.

  2. #2 Matthew Brown
    9. Oktober 2020

    If you swap the S/T and W/X in the key you get a much better decryption;

    WATS/CRACCIN/CUZ/
    TELL/ALL/DA/LOCS/
    TO/GET/ON/DAT/
    SAT/7:10P.M/GENE
    RAL/LIBRARY

  3. #3 Christof Rieber
    Vienna
    10. Oktober 2020

    98%, the small letters could vary but the message gets clear – most likely some ‘internal’ prison order:

    pATS cRAccIN cYd
    TELL ALL MA bOYS TO GET ON MAT
    SAT 7:10pm GENERAL LIBRARY

    Latter could be payment information:
    c?L OcL RTY I?O
    OG TREYE LOY

    Obviously order to beat up ‘Mat’ on Saturday 7:10 on the library. One two errors could have happened during encryption, thus the message could also read as

    “Mat’s craccin’ cyd. Tell all ma boys to get on Mat Sat 7:10 general library”

    Not sure with that ‘cyd’ stuff, whatever they do there..but the message is somewhat clear.

    Christof Rieber

  4. #4 Christof Rieber
    Vienna
    10. Oktober 2020

    Update:

    MAT’S CRACCIN’ CYD
    TELL ALL MA BOYS TO GET ON MAT
    SAT 7:10pm GENERAL LIBRARY

    Slang, only two encryption errors. Cyd = kid.

  5. #5 Magnus Ekhall
    Borensberg
    10. Oktober 2020

    The first line should probably be:
    “WATS CRACCIN CUZ”

    I don’t know much about slang, but that seems to be something according to urban dictionary:
    https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=craccin

  6. #6 Shadowwolf
    Minor Variation
    10. Oktober 2020

    I have to agree with the S/T and W/X swap. It creates the most logical decrypt and still remains a generic pigpen cipher with a slightly different setup. The rest is misspelled slang and abbreviations.

    As far as being on a prisoner, it is kind of an abbreviated slang term. Another version would be an assassin who was found to have a knife on him. He wouldn’t be wearing it as a hat but it might have been in a pocket or a hidden sheath within his clothing. It is a different definition from something being on a table.