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A Day in the Life of a Nigerian Scammer

Posted by Zonk on from the lots-of-badly-typed-email dept.

prostoalex writes "The media made a Nigerian scammer's career look too easy. Get online, introduce yourself as a corrupt government official willing to take the money out of the country, and wait for the wire transfers from victims to start rolling in. So, the Associated Press takes us through a day in life of Nigerian scammer. It's a life that takes place in Internet cafes with aged screens and free Webmail accounts. However, by the end of the article the AP talks about some people who have made a good career out of it - three cars, two houses. That is, until the next crackdown comes along."

8 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. Anyone by HUADPE · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anyone who would open an e-mail with the subject line "Congratulation! You Are Our Lucky Winner!" and then proceed to send that person $5000 sight unseen deserves it.

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    1. Re:Anyone by ultranova · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Anyone who would open an e-mail with the subject line "Congratulation! You Are Our Lucky Winner!" and then proceed to send that person $5000 sight unseen deserves it.

      No, he doesn't. Being stupid doesn't make one deserving of being cheated, any more than being small and weak makes one deserving of being mugged.

      People who fall for Nigerian scams, on the other hand, tend to know that they are dealing with criminals - either the email is fake, in which case they're dealing with a con-man, or the email is genuine, in which case they're dealing with a mass murderer - and deserve to lose some money; maybe it will make them less eager to deal with scum in the future.

      Regarding your later post, I'm not offended. I simply find it sad and unfortunate that this attitude of "survival of the fittest" is still a part of human society. People don't deserve to have bad things happen to them just because they were too weak/stupid/clumsy/whatever to keep them from happening. Thinking that they do is what lets various human-shaped predators justify their evil practices to themselves. I really hope that we will grow out of this kind of pitilessness.

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  2. who the hell reads news on iwon.com??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's an AP story, foolio.

    take yer pick.

  3. Lameness filter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    How the hell did you get past the lameness filter? It always tells me I'm 'shouting'...

  4. Who is the thief? by cowboy76Spain · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's see:

    1.- A honest person from the First World receives an email from the empoverished nation of Nigeria. 2.- The email states that if the honest person helps someone to deal an big amount of money from the poor country, he will get a share. 3.- The honest person agrees to help in the theft, and is scammed.

    Morally, I could not care less for the scammed. He was scammed because he tried to steal from someone, not because he wanted to be involved in a legal bussiness.
    From anoter point of view, this is Darwinism at work: people so stupid to get involved would probably have its money lost in other ways.

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  5. Re:Scammers... by pyrrhonist · · Score: 2, Insightful
    This page hit a note with me though as two weeks ago I got a phone call from "Miami/Dade County Correctional" at any rate out of curriosity I accepted the collect call and some one potraying themselves as a police officer said that some one was in the hospital yadda yadda yadda and tried to get me to dial a number *76 something something LOL

    Did you call the police? I'm sure they'd be interested in a person at a correctional facility who poses as a law enforcement officer and attempts to defraud people using prison phone facilities.

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  6. Re:DEAR SIR by rcamera · · Score: 2, Insightful

    i didn't pay 10-25% either. i decided to be generous and pay closer to 35% last year. this year, i'm planning to pay closer to 40%.

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  7. Hell, I don't look down on the scammers... by Hosiah · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They know one thing most of us don't: To ensure your continued success, all you have to do is build upon the foundation of inexhaustable human ignorance. Works in business and politics!