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[personal profile] 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?

Date: 2010-08-24 12:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 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.

Date: 2010-08-24 01:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 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.

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