(no subject)

[fpb]

If Nigerians spent half the time they spend trying to find weak-minded Western bank customers, in building up stable businesses, Nigeria would be one of the great industrial countries. I actually feel sorry at all the ingenuity and knowledge wasted on these penny-ante and degrading attempts at swindles. I get, literally twice or three times every day, well faked bank letters in Italian, which is not a West African language or very easy to learn. Somewhere there are Nigerians or similar who have learned Italian to an excellent level - and use it for no better purpose than to try to fleece a few weak-minded internet users. Don't you agree that it is a sad waste?

Comments

[pathology-doc.livejournal.com]

You've certainly got a point there.

Oddly enough, most of the Nigerian Scam letters I get have gross failures in spelling and grammar (particularly capitalisation), while their style guide sounds like it was outdated in Enid Blyton's time. It would seem that the people who are trying to hit you up for money are a class or two above the clumsy idiots who think they can pull one over on me.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

Yes, the errors in capitalization are rampant to the point of humour in the scam letters I get. The errors in spelling mostly seem like someone who put all English varients together (British, American, Canadian, Australian/New Zealand, South African) and never got them sorted out again, but of course, there are also some doozies that are out and out mistakes. The style does remind me of the way I have heard Africans speak English, so I really can't fault them on that. They are probably writing the way they hear the language spoken.

I do agree with FBP that it is a sad waste, though and I had never thought about it that way before.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Probably they think they know English - after all, it is the national language - whereas they know that they don't know Italian. However, that is not to say that there aren't the occasional hilarious specimens.

Off-shoring?

[joetexx.livejournal.com]

For some years I've suspected that a lot of this stuff is not Nigerian in
origin at all. A cousin sent this along recently:

"There has been a serious decline in the quality of Nigerian emails. I suspect they're off-shoring the work to Somalia these days.:
******************************************************************************************************
FedEx
Plot 8, Ahmed Bello Way
Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria.
Direct Line: +234-709-3743-942
E-mail: johnwest@deliveryman.com


Customers' Service Hours--Monday To Saturday 24/7:


We are hereby to disclose an important note to all our valuable customers to be very careful while presenting their receivers Residential address to avoid wrong delivery along the delivery process. This Email is from FedEx regarding your package that was suppose to be delivered to you from Mrs. Alice Fert, along the delivery process there was a problem between her and the Nicon Insurance Company in regard of some certificate which covers the security of your package and it happens to be the cause that your package was hold from delivery for long .Meanwhile we are happy to inform you that our management has sort it out and the Issue has been finalized with the company,so the management which is the company organization has released four valuable packages to be delivered to their owners Therefore be informed that your package which contain an ATM CARD worth of $2.5 million dollars is among the listed package now on our desk ready to be delivered to you once we receive your addr
ess because we lost your file

Meanwhile consider that the senders of this parcel Mrs. Alice Fert still owes this company the sum of $90 dollars before the problem occurred, furthermore I want you understand that this company has spent out their incomes in the process of recovering back your package, so dear Sir/Madam we once again appreciate your patient in our favor. Therefore as the rightful beneficiary of the ATM card, you are necessary to pay the cost of delivery which is the sum of $90 dollars to our payment section via Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram so that your parcel can be delivered to your residential address before it accumulate a demurrage after one week, temporarily I hope you recognize that your parcel is not just an ordinary package also I assume that you understand what it means by accumulating demurrages which you will not allow to happen to your recovery parcel that was almost lost.

For that reason we assure you that your package will arrive to your location in 2working days after the day of payment confirmation and it will get to your door step the second (OR) third day as soon as this office receive the balance of $90 dollars left, Consequently be informed that once your payment is been received as required by the management your tracking Number will be sent to you via e-mail to enable you track your package online to know the arrival date to your resident because we operate in trust and loyalty in your favor. Moreover our management is hereby to inform all their customers to be careful with their email communication to avoid been a scam victim.

HERE IS OUR WESTERN UNION/MONEY GRAM PAYMENT INFORMATION
=============================================================
? RECIEVERS NAME------OKORIE STEPHEN
? RECIEVERS COUNTRY----Plot 8, Ahmed Bello Way Lagos Nigeria
? TEXT QUESTION------------I TRUST IN
? TEXT ANSWER---------------.GOD
? AMOUNT TO BE PAID---------$90


Once the payment is been made as required quickly forward the below information to us via our Email:johnwest@deliveryman.com

SENDER'S NAME -------
SENDER'S ADDRESS-----
MONEY TRANSFER CONTROL NUMBER (MTCN) -----

FedEx is one of the world's great success companies, that start-up with delivery of packages and information. In the past 30 years, we've grown up into a diverse family of companies FedEx that's bigger, stronger, better than ever.

Sincerely

John West

I mean, a 2.5 mil carrot for a 90 simoleon swag. C'mon!