# Lawyer Suckered into Nigerian Scam - Loses License. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683 "2013-12-06T15:57:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/21 "2013-12-06T22:07:12Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Could be worse - the fool could still be licensed to practise law. :smack: This. That guy is greedy and STUPID. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/22 "2013-12-06T22:08:36Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It is amazing that people fall for this-the fractured english, the goofy stories…and the fact that it can all be debunked with a simple phone call. > I’m glad that this idiot cannot practice law. He’s much too stupid to be trusted with anything. and THIS. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/23 "2013-12-06T23:07:54Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Shouldn’t bells have gone off in the lawyer’s mind? Or is it standard for one to pay taxes on inheritence _before_ is has been received? > > If I die and have a will leaving 10,000 bucks to my nephew, does my nephew have to cough up the tax before he gets the check from my estate? Alarm bells, flashing lights, etc should have definitely gone off in this lawyer’s mind. I have no idea how Nigeria deals with estate taxes, but in my state, the heirs do not pay inheritance tax. The estate pays it, along with other claims if any, prior to distributing the assets. All I can figure here is this guy saw what he thought was the potential for a big fee and got excited enough to ignore obvious signs of the scam. My guess is that he probably doesn’t do estate work in this country, much less in Nigeria, and allowed himself to accept things at face value rather than doing his due diligence. He then compounded his stupidity by sucking his own clients into the scam…even if he believed everything else as he claims he did, he had to know that brokering an unsecured loan between his clients was an obvious conflict of interest that was very likely to end poorly for all involved. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/24 "2013-12-06T23:21:06Z")
Nelson: “ha, ha!”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/25 "2013-12-06T23:24:20Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I recall hearing on the radio that Law offices are the new top target for these scams. They actually work better there, because, unlike your average Joe with an e-mail address, law firms regularly handle transfers of assets, and accepting certified checks so getting such a request doesn’t set off the same alarm bells that it does for most of the public. I follow the dictum of if it sounds too good to be true, it is. I get at least one or two a week phishing me. Every once in a while I will get one that sounds legitimate. I send those back asking for a retainer and that I will start work on the case after it clears in about 20 days. Never hear back from those guys. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/26 "2013-12-06T23:33:02Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > -the fractured english, the goofy stories…and the fact that it can all be debunked with a simple phone call. Substitute “phone call” with “quick Google search” and you’re describing all of your own posts. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/27 "2013-12-06T23:47:09Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Substitute “phone call” with “quick Google search” and you’re describing all of your own posts. You liked to pick on the fat kid in gym class, didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/28 "2013-12-07T00:08:53Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > You liked to pick on the fat kid in gym class, didn’t you? Ha ha, don’t get me started on YOU. That would be like picking on the crybaby in kindergarten. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/29 "2013-12-07T00:17:21Z")
I generally point and laugh at these suckers myself, but these scammers _can_ be pretty persuasive. I recall a millionaire in Hawaii who fell for it. He lost a good chunk of money and could have just kept quiet and eaten his shame, but he went public in the press with what happened and endured the ridicule so others would be warned. (This was in pre-Internet days.) My favorite is the wealthy Singaporean who fell for it some years ago. After making several sizable transfers of money, he finally started getting suspicious. After telling them of his concerns, they invited him to Nigeria to see for himself that everything was aboveboard. He took them up on their offer, and as soon as he stepped off the plane, they kidnapped him and held him for ransom! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/30 "2013-12-07T22:51:14Z")
Whenever I hear about Nigerian scammers, I can’t help but remember [this gem](http://web.archive.org/web/20080501150258/http://www.thescambaiter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109) of a story. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/31 "2013-12-08T03:44:41Z")
They had other tricks before the Internet came along. I knew a wealthy Chinese-Thai businessman who was always getting snail-mail letters from Nigerian scammers back in the day. He said the thing was, the stamps on the letters were never canceled. The mailman seemed to be in cahoots with them, or at least someone in the postal service. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/32 "2013-12-08T05:14:42Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Could be worse - the fool could still be licensed to practise law. :smack: Well, he may be practicing law again in a little over a year. His license is temporarily suspended until he complies with an audit and then that temporary suspension is lifted and a new suspension goes into place for another 12 months. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/33 "2013-12-08T05:48:05Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They had other tricks before the Internet came along. I knew a wealthy Chinese-Thai businessman who was always getting snail-mail letters from Nigerian scammers back in the day. He said the thing was, the stamps on the letters were never canceled. The mailman seemed to be in cahoots with them, or at least someone in the postal service. I got a few snail-mail Nigerian letters in the early 90s. I also got a few by fax. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/34 "2013-12-08T14:31:31Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Whenever I hear about Nigerian scammers, I can’t help but remember [this gem](http://web.archive.org/web/20080501150258/http://www.thescambaiter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109) of a story. > [@](#): > > I know you will like my anus, many have before. Those are the newest anus on the block, and like I said, my anus is very very expensive, and only special customers were allowed to buy my anus. > I must add, those are a special version, my anus is black. Fuckin’ _lost_. 😃 This story is a special kind of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/35 "2013-12-08T17:23:29Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Fuckin’ _lost_. 😃 This story is a special kind of stupid. The scammer got duped enough to [make a commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeuPI_NTdHc) for “Anus” laptops as well. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/36 "2013-12-09T10:42:49Z")
What I don’t get about that thread is that the scammer or at least an agent of the scammer apparently named Pirado James resides in the UK, an English speaking nation. Why then are the emails in not only broken English, but gibberish “deaded by the clique mob” and so on. And remember here this scammer is wanting to really threaten the guy, put a real scare into him. I’ve seen a theory before that the garbled English is a feature used to filter out all but the dumbest people, but he already snared this guy or so he thinks, why continue? English is spoken in Nigeria, all Nollywood movies are filmed in English(albeit heavily accented) and people from Nigeria have assured me English is well known aside from rural hicks essentially. > **[Nigerian English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Standard_English)** > > Nigerian English, also known as Nigerian Standard English, is a variety of English spoken in Nigeria. Based on British and American English, the dialect contains various loanwords and collocations from the native languages of Nigeria, due to the need to express concepts specific to the cultures of ethnic groups in the nation (e.g. senior wife). > Nigerian Pidgin, a pidgin derived from English, is mostly used in informal conversations, but the Nigerian Standard English is used in politics, formal e... > [@](#): > > Nigerian Standard English, or simply Nigerian English, is a form of English spoken in Nigeria.[1] It is most commonly spoken in urban areas, particularly in Lagos. It is based on British English, but in recent years, because of increasing contact with the United States, some words of American English origins have made it into Nigerian English.[which?] Additionally, some new words and collocations have emerged from the language, which come from the need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation (e.g. bride-price, senior wife).[2] > Nigerian Pidgin, a pidgin derived from English, is more used in informal conversations than Nigerian English, although Nigerian Standard English is used in politics, the media, and other official uses. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/37 "2013-12-09T21:58:48Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It is amazing that people fall for this-the fractured english, the goofy stories…and the fact that it can all be debunked with a simple phone call. I think I might frame this. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683/38 "2013-12-11T21:24:07Z")
We’re all going to look like FOOLS when he gets that steamer-trunk frull of Benjamins, ya know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-suckered-into-nigerian-scam-loses-license/675683.md?page=1)