# Have You received a lot of Nigerian Scam e-mails lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559 "2005-10-23T21:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/1 "2005-10-23T21:16:58Z")
I have noticed that over the last few months, I have gotten at least one Nigerian Scam e-mail every few days. Why do you think there has been such an increase in them? Is anyone else getting more lately? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/2 "2005-10-23T21:25:12Z")
I have no idea why there’s been an increase in the number of mailings, but, yeah, I’ve been getting it a lot lately, too. When it first came out, I felt _very_ left out, since I didn’t get it at all. I heard about it, and I read about it on Snopes, but never once got it. The first time I ever got it was about six or seven months ago. I got it two or three times since then, and just in the last month, I think I’ve gotten it about 10 times. Making up for lost time, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/3 "2005-10-23T21:25:40Z")
Yeah, my email at work has been flooded with them. Is anyone with money actually stupid enough to fall for this shit? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/4 "2005-10-23T21:38:21Z")
I get one or two a week in my Junk Mail folder. BTW–got my first Amazon Phishing scheme letter. Even though it’s obvious, **don’t click on any links in the e-mail!** Go to the Amazon page for any problems. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/5 "2005-10-23T22:03:43Z")
I get many, mant eBay and Paypal phishing letters, but I’ve only rec’d a handful of 419 (Nigerian) scams. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/6 "2005-10-23T22:12:10Z")
I’ve been getting a lot of romance scam letters through [match.com](http://match.com) in the past two months; maybe one every other day. Here’s an example of one: > [@](#): > > I checked ur profile and i liked it so i thot i should reply… Actually, I got your words and it really impressed me so much, well, I just wanted to let you know the kind of person I am, I am a lady that is in need of real and perfect love, I need a man that can take me through, see , I have been hurt so many times by different men and wouldn’t want that to happen to me again…thats the reason why I said that I need love… I am far from a millionaire and am not out for anything but love from someone. Having someone that loves you and supports you in your life through good and bad times and won’t give up on you is what I am looking for. Honesty and trust are what makes a relationship work. I prefer to watch a movie or attend the theater rather than read a novel. I also enjoy travel, experiencing different geographies and people. My eyes are brown, and I have fair white skin. I do not smoke. I do drink on social occasions.i graduated from OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN UK… Bcos i was brough up by mom there… well Concerning sexuality, I am not a promiscuous woman. My desire is to be sexually faithful to the man I marry. If two people love each other and will communicate what they like and do not like about their partner’s sexual behavior, I believe many problems can be resolved. Moreover, I am currently working on my own cos i had to try something else after i lost almost all i had to my last relationship…i just got into the business of collecting antiques…it is a nice thing to do…i buy and sell antiques and well i am on a trip to to get some antiques in WEST AFRICA from here nextweek…it aint fun anyway but i will be back home soon(ARION)IOWA to the United States very soon, hope to hear back from you Remember, I need real love…i dont play games and i aint ready to be played…i got yahoo IM…we can get to chat there live…my IM name is sonia\_queen234…at …yahoo…dot…com …i also write poems in my spare time > sonia > ur#1 Fan > distance is not a problem…if i find the right MAN…i dont mind relocating… i have relocated before when i was in love…i dont mind during it again as long as i find the right man… > i am a very honest and truthful woman…i hate lies and deceit… > i want real love… > if u aint ready for what i said…please dont hit me back… > i am getting too old to play games… > i am a very busy one…lol…very independent…i got a few question for you… > how long have u been on MATCH?you got kids?ever married?what do u do for a living?what do u do for fun? > what are your favorite dishes…?? what interest you in my profile??? > c ya… And another: > [@](#): > > Hello > > I will tell you abit about me…my real name they call me is laura…i am the only daugther of my > parents…i moved to the states when i was 4 years of age…my dad is from liberia and my mom is from spain…my dad and mom got to meet each other in liberia and i was born there as well…but i moved to the states with my moms aunt when i was 4 years of age…my dad and mom had some disagreement…very earlly of there relationship to they both had to brake off…so my mom had to go back to spain and she took me along to spain too…but i only spent 4 months with mom there…she wasnt able to cope with me there.so she had to throw me down to her aunts place in san jose …thats were i grew up…and schooled > and went to college there too…and since i have been with my moms aunt…i never did heard from dad or mom again…i was just abandoned there and i grew up to really do love my aunt cause she was such a lovelly aunt to me…but she left me so earlly…she died when i was 17 years of age…so since then… i have > just had a life on my own…doing wat i know how to do best in honesty and living my life to the fullest…and i grew up to understand the principles of life and the truth that follows it and i have made a vow to my self and God that i will forever remain honest and truthfull to the things i say and do…cause truth and honesty is the only key to succes…but its every hard to go about…but i still try not to brake my vow…and i do seek all i want with all my heart and the truth of it… > > Right now i am on a programme in Africa…i am into Fashion desiging…Africa clothing and textile design…thats wat i am into…i have just started my career on it and its really my dream and i seek a man who will surport my dream…i just got to africa like 4 weeks ago and on planing to get back to the states soon…to complete my dream and career > > Well,i am a very sincere and honest person,am > caring,kind,social,smart,intelligent,passionate,friendlly,romantic,and i believe in the truth and honest of love…i am really a very sincere person when it comes to sharing feelings and emotions with that speical person and i realy am down to heart honest about the things i say and do cause i dont like hurting peoples feelings,cause everyone has a chance to laugh,so why do i make them sad…i am really very easy > to get along with,fun to be with and am very adaptive and communicative when it comes to conversant conversation.and my life is based on the truth and honest of self personality… > > i will tell you more about me and my personality… > email me so i can email you back with some pics > this is my id laura\_jnt at [yahoo.com](http://yahoo.com) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/7 "2005-10-23T22:15:39Z")
I get several every day. I suspect the source of their mailing lists would be a factor. Assume the Nigerians get addrs from web page scraping only; then if your email was on many web pages, you would get mailed frequently. If not, then not much. I can’t envision them paying for lists, but I could be wrong. Why do they keep on doing it? Because it is immensely profitable! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/8 "2005-10-23T22:24:38Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I’ve been getting a lot of romance scam letters through [match.com](http://match.com) in the past two months; maybe one every other day. In case you are tempted to reply to one of those sexy missives, just remember that the templates are probably cranked out by the dozens by some dirty, hairy dude sitting in his underwear, smoking an old stogie, reading a _Jugs for Jesus_ magazine for inspiration and playing with himself. :eek: Of course, if that’s what turns you on, go for it. I hope you’ll be very happy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/9 "2005-10-24T13:16:04Z")
My work email has a huge firewall/spam filter (whatever you call it.) In three years I got maybe 5 spam emails. Last week I finally got the Nigerian scam. I was so happy I finally felt like I belonged to the club. I’ve been hearing about it for ages but never actually saw one. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/10 "2005-10-24T13:32:48Z")
I’ve been getting a few… including another one in Esperanto. What I _am_ deluged in is stuff in Russian. I wonder whether I can set my mail filters to toss anything in the Russian character set (KO8-I?) _unless_ it’s also written in English? ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/11 "2005-10-24T13:33:14Z")
hhmm… no I haven’t… but I just read that these Nigerian Scams are usually aimed at americans who they view as being more gullible and having too much cash… I do receive loads of silly Cialis and Viagra at very low prices… so low that anyone answering them should get a brain lobotomy. Viagra at a few cents ? Come on… at least the Nigerian scam tries to rope you in bit by bit. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/12 "2005-10-24T13:40:40Z")
How lame is that …I look at **elmwood** ’s post and find that Sonia and Laura are cheating on me. So much for my marriage plans. ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Pepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sgt.Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/13 "2005-10-24T14:33:10Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > hhmm… no I haven’t… but I just read that these Nigerian Scams are usually aimed at americans who they view as being more gullible and having too much cash… Hmm, that part makes me wonder. I’ve never recieved a Nigerian scam email, but I do get loads of penis growth emails. Does this mean that word is out among the spammers that I’m gullible with too much cash, AND I have a small penis? The implications here could be damaging. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/14 "2005-10-24T15:28:53Z")
I have been getting them a few times a week lately, and not just Nigeria but other places are getting in on it too. I am getting variations of it, including from the Netherlands and I think South America. The story is always a little different but the idea is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/15 "2005-10-24T15:41:02Z")
No. I figure the next ones will be about the plane crash. Even a real catastrophy won’t get a sympathy response anymore. Too much of the boy that cried wolf feeling going around. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/16 "2005-10-24T17:50:18Z")
> [@Sgt.Pepper](#): > > Does this mean that word is out among the spammers that I’m gullible with too much cash, AND I have a small penis? The implications here could be damaging. Ever since I got the bigger penis thing… I only get the viagra emails… 😃 So its a good investment to reduce spam received… ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/17 "2005-10-24T19:19:31Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > hhmm… no I haven’t… but I just read that these Nigerian Scams are usually aimed at americans who they view as being more gullible and having too much cash… This is why I found it hysterical that my boss got sent one while on vacation (She had asked me to sift through her email box while she was gone). She’s a financial planner. Who in gods name thought a _financial planner_ of all people would fall for that? It was so badly written it was entertaining to read. It’s hard to believe anyone could write that horrifically without _trying_ to sound that bad. I was pretty stoked to finally see it though, I’d heard about it a lot the past couple of years but never saw it. I too, felt like part of the club. Even though it wasn’t sent to me. So I of course forwarded it to select friends and family, you know, so they could feel like part of the club too. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/18 "2005-10-24T19:27:27Z")
I;ve got an ongoing thread in MPSIMS about my ongoing communication with a 419er ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-received-a-lot-of-nigerian-scam-e-mails-lately/327559/19 "2005-10-24T20:37:51Z")
[There’s bound to be even more letters in the near future.](http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/10/24/nigeria.plane/index.html)