#Is this encrypted message from a gang member really solved? – Klausis Krypto Kolumne

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?
Follow @KlausSchmeh

Further reading: Yet another encrypted gravestone

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13501820
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/763282653806483/