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Why 'Nigerian Scammers' Say They're From Nigeria

Posted by Soulskill on from the hello-sir-madam dept.

angry tapir writes "'Nigerian scams' (also known as '419 scams' but more accurately called 'advance fee fraud') continue to clog up inboxes with tales of fantastic wealth for the recipient. The raises the question: Do people still fall for this rubbish? The emails often outline ridiculous scenarios but promise millions if a person offers to help get money out of a country. The reason for the ridiculous scenarios seems obvious in retrospect: According to research by Cormac Herley at Microsoft, scammers are looking for the most gullible people, and their crazy emails can help weed out people who are savvy enough to know better. Contrary to what people believe, the scams aren't 'free' for the scammers (PDF): sending an email might have close to zero cost attached, but the process of getting money out of someone can be quite complicated and incurs costs (for example, recruiting other parties to participate in the scam). So at the end of the day, the scammer wants to find people who will almost certainly fall for the scam and offer a good return."

5 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. Waste their time by Martin+S. · · Score: 5, Insightful

    is therefore a good tactic, perhaps when we get these we should make a response, to lower their average rate of return.

    1. Re:Waste their time by HyperQuantum · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But having to do that would also waste our time. Are you willing to do that?

      --
      I am not really here right now.
  2. Trick question by hairyfish · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The real answer is because they are actually from Nigeria. I think the researchers are over-thinking this problem.

  3. Maybe I missed it but... by Dave+Emami · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The article didn't explain why Nigeria, instead of (say) Kenya or Uganda -- or Sri Lanka or Bolivia or Uzbekistan.

    --

    "The Greens lynched a hacker in Chicago. Last month, but I think the body's still hanging from the old Water Tower."
  4. Re:NSS by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It could be the same phenomenon that causes Intelligent Design advocates to exclaim - "My gosh, it's inconceivable that it wasn't deliberate!" ; 419 scams are just a successful phenotype (or memotype?) that happens to fit a niche. Their total incompetence selects a very particular kind of credulous idiot that previously would not have been available in such numbers, but the internet produces a global village, with a ready supply of village idiots. Interpreting it as being an intentional tactic may be reading too much into it.