Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Its only Nigeria we hear about, but I would assume fraudsters from other countries do this same thing, they are basically immune from any consequences, if they are in another country, nothing that US law enforcement can do about it.
People in the US could do the same thing to victims in other countries too.
Once the money goes overseas, its GONE for good.
It's NOT NIGERIANS doing this. (See the white guy from the US busted recently lol)
The scams are from all over the world.
This particular scam just says "Nigerian Prince" but it could be from "Lord of Mars" because the scammers can type whatever they like.
For the love of money, people will steal from their mother
For the love of money, people will rob their own brother
For the love of money, people can't even walk the street
Because they never know who in the world they're gonna meet
For that mean, oh mean, mean green
Almighty dollar, cash money
For the love of money, people will lie, rob, they will cheat
For the love of money, people don't care who they hurt or beat
For the love of money, a woman will sell her precious body
For a small piece of paper it carries a lot of weight
For that mean, mean, mean, mean, mean green
Why would a high-ranking Nigerian official need some kind of financial assistance? lol The basis of the ruse makes no sense.
I got one of those emails once at work. They were going to send me an ATM card from which I could withdraw $10.5 million if I just sent a small shipping fee of a few thousand dollars. The most hilarious part was that the email was supposedly from Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State.
If someone fell for THAT, they deserved to lose every cent.
Sadly, it's greed mixed with stupidity. I used to know a guy who monitored an air cargo email for a major airport. He would get emails from people who were waiting for a shipment to come in...and when he called them and pressed for information, it turned out they had fallen for one of these scams and thought a trunk of cash was coming into the country for them.
I am shocked that people are still falling for it but I guess with the aging population these problems are going to continue as retirees represent easy targets in the internet age.
I am not sure if it is really aging or just lifelong stupidity and naivete.
My mother, who is now 89, was so angry last year when a woman in her church about ten years younger was wringing her hands during coffee hour over the fact that the IRS had called her and said she needed to pay $5,000 or she was going to jail.
She said, "What is WRONG with you? Do you really think the IRS is going to send you to jail if you don't give them $5,000? Or that you owe them $5,000 for no reason? Don't you read about these scams in the paper?"
She gets upset because this kind of non-thinking is what makes it seem to others that seniors are idiots to begin with. I doubt that this lady was any brighter at 30, 40, or 50, though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
