Although quite academically this is an interesting article. http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/167719/WhyFromNigeria.pdf Basically, the aim of the scammer is not to make the most believable scam he or she can, but to make the scam as unbelievable as possible to sort recipients and make sure only the most gullible (and hence most likely to part with actual funds) respond. This then means less effort needs to be expended on actually getting cash. The scammers aren't as dumb as we think.
Depends on the environment and cultural upbringing of the targeted people. Also depends on age, though even the older folks know something is up and normally do not respond, but still query a "WTF IS THIS FOR REAL" now and then. Anything released from Microsoft has to be scrutinized for bugs.
Well why do they do incredibly dumb things in the hope of a payday? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzwZtSnzOs[/youtube]
That's quite interesting, i didn't consider it from that perspective If you don't know of it yet, there's an activity called 'scam baiting': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam_baiting Basically, people scam the scammers - for fun and as a deterrent i guess. It's hard to be morally objective about it so I won't try to. If you google '419 scam baiters' you'll see a bunch of website that have forums detailing their activities. Some of it is pretty hilarious.
JulieW, I do not doubt we can both find far more examples of any western nation that will resort to perceived desperate acts for money. However, I acknowledge there is less exposure of desperate acts coming out of poor nations due to the small number of image capturing devices available to the average (such as iphones or camcorders). Feel sorry for the 'scammers' living in hardship, cause we would do the same if exploited, resources snatched away and blatant government corruption where even the Red Cross or Salvation Army are pillaged. Fair enough, the 'scammers' maybe involved/linked with assumed global criminal syndicates, but I doubt they would even consider such immoral activities if they merely had a decent standard of living (conditions) in the first place. How can you expect exploited nations just lay down and perish silently? We consumers are to blame for their standard of living, since we support the companies and nations that exploit them. .
W & F I can agree, and as they say you can't cheat an honest person, but poverty doesn't excuse fraud and exploitation in the opposite direction just because they are exploited by their circumstances. I find these scammer baiting tricks tragically funny, for the same reasons that you state, but I hope that word of the scammers being scammed might cause some to hesitate in following others' examples. Now if only I could convince a few bankers to create worthless assets and then ..... oops already done.
Another example of you having no compassion for fellow mankind. And here you are. Love the double standard hypocritical idioms you pull out, spandex. If only you can see your own actions. The only fool here is you Sir. Unlike you, I shall not follow your lacking sympathy on the exploited. PM me if you really have a Honda for sale. I might be interested next month. $10 is cheap for anything Honda, even if broken. I agree. Two wrongs don't make a right. So, they should then just lay down and perish... Most of you have not experienced true hardship. Most of you have not even seen the inside of a prison cell. Most of you have not had everything you loved taken away from you. Blah blah blah blah blah blah... I would love to see what you all really become like once certain conditions have been met, testing and questioning your sanity, morals, and judgment. In desperate situations people tend to do desperate things. As the expression goes, easier said than done. .
W&F Given my meagre experiences compared to yours I would hazard that except for the true dipsh**s (which are only a minor portion of the population) most people would STILL not resort to the extremes you are talking about. Reacting against people who have committed force, fraud or violence against you by committing similar offences against them is essentially justifiable and happens a lot in any society (and more so in societies where the power-brokers are actively screwing with your life). However, committing these same offences against your completely innocent neighbour is being dips**. In difficult circumstances some people cross the line sooner than others. A great relatively recent example (just one of many, but one I can remember) is the genocide committed by Stalin (ironically justified as simply a necessary step in creating the "communist utopia"). In the winter of 1932-33 Stalin deliberately and actively starved over 7 MILLION Ukrainian peasants to death by stealing their grain supplies (around 25% of the entire population). Although cannibalism did occur (as you seem to expect) including parents eating their children (which I have some distasteful "justifications" for), it did not occur in any great numbers compared to the number of people dying.
