The other time, I could not help venting anger at some of my
folks in Nigeria who have made a profession out of scamming other people across
the world, and mostly, the United States.
It’s important however to point out the culpability of the
victims. The scourge of the Nigerian scam is largely fueled unnecessarily by
the greed and prejudices of Americans. In this piece, I intend to discuss the
aspect of greed while the issue of prejudice will be discussed at another time.
The first major victims of the Nigerian scam are the Americans
who want to reap where they have not sown. A typical Nigerian scam artist is like a
fisherman. And when he/she is “fishing”, all the rules of engagement apply.
Here is an example:
Michael Coventry (not real names) logged-on to his computer
one morning to see an e-mail. It was from a Nigerian who informed him that her
deceased father’s fortune (running into $20 Million) was stuck in the nation’s
central bank. The woman went on to state that her father died intestate and for
this reason, the Nigerian apex bank was in the process of giving his entire
fortune to the state. In a bid to avert this injustice though, a top official
of the bank informed the family that the only alternative left was the remittance
of the funds to an American bank. So, it was in view of this factor that the woman
pleaded with Coventry to allow the huge funds to be deposited into his bank
account.
Michael Coventry sent a reply in which he wondered why the
woman and her family trusted him (a total stranger) so much as to try
depositing such a large sum of money in his bank account. But in her prompt
response, the woman stated that her family had been left with no other choice
but to trust the American or else the entire fortune would be forfeited to the
Nigerian government. That was Coventry’s first mistake. The first rule for a
potential victim is NEVER SEND A RESPONSE! But as Coventry sent a response, he did not only confirm the existence of his e-mail address but also now appeared to be like a fish showing interest in a bait.
Persuaded by the pathetic story and the promise of a 40% cut,
Coventry agreed to send his bank account information and phone number. This was
his second mistake. It showed that he was about to swallow the bait and so was
vulnerable to the scam.
A couple of days later, the same woman called to say the 40%
cut would have to be reduced to 25% because of some unexpected expenses that
arose in the transaction. Coventry agreed. This would be his third mistake as
it showed that the man was too greedy to negotiate for a fair share in the deal.
For the next couple of weeks, the scam artists did not make
any contact with Michael Coventry. Then the man called the number given him by
the woman to ask what was going on? He complained, saying it was over two weeks
since they last talked and wanted to know why the money had not been remitted.
This was the fourth mistake because it was a sure indication that the victim was
now desperate and would definitely swallow the bait.
Now, the woman (on the phone) began to sob. When Coventry asked
why she was crying, the woman explained that the bank official was demanding
for his $25,000 fee ahead of the remittance. According to the woman, the family
could only afford $15,000. So, could the American please send the $10,000
balance to enable the family “settle” the banker? The woman quickly reminded
the man that he stood to receive a whopping sum of $5 Million for “all his
efforts” anyway and the requested $10,000 was like a “chicken change”. For a
few seconds, Coventry was silent. Then he asked for time to get the cash.
Michael Coventry wired a sum of $10,000 to the woman and
therefore became a “mugun” (a dumb fellow)!
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