# Wait...  They're still doing the 'Nigerian scam'?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-theyre-still-doing-the-nigerian-scam/809546>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 25, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-theyre-still-doing-the-nigerian-scam/809546 "2018-02-25T14:53:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-theyre-still-doing-the-nigerian-scam/809546/21 "2018-02-26T17:50:23Z")

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> [@cochrane](#):
>
> There’s no evidence that P. T. Barnum ever said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
> 
> [There's a sucker born every minute - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_sucker_born_every_minute)

But every other minute, someone is born who believes he did.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-theyre-still-doing-the-nigerian-scam/809546/22 "2018-02-26T18:09:09Z")

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> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#):
>
> The victims of these scams are often people with dementia or other forms of diminished mental capacity. It doesn’t matter how well-known the scam is if there are enough potential victims who don’t have the ability to recognize obvious fraud.
> 
> The mother of one of my friends fell victim to scammers several years ago. She was a woman who once ran a successful business. Unfortunately she developed dementia, and it progressed to the point where she was an easy mark. By the time my friend discovered what was going on, his mom had lost $150,000. He was never able to get her to understand that she was being bilked, and he had to get conservatorship in order to protect her (a rather painful process). He reported it to the police, and his mom thought when the cops paid a visit that she was in some sort of legal trouble (again, he couldn’t get her to understand that she was the victim, not the perpetrator).
> 
> That’s why these sociopathic bastards keep using the Nigerian scam. It works.

I was so, so glad my Grandpa never got online. Not only did he develop dementia, he actually lived in Nigeria for some years, and made quite a lot of money on the stock market, so he was the person friends came to for financial advice… Including some from Nigeria. Scammers couldn’t have designed a better victim.

He just got old school scammed by some guys who ‘fixed his roof’ without even going up the ladder. They got a few thousand, but at least the neighbours twigged and called my Aunt, who got some form of financial guardianship in place, so he couldn’t take thousands out of the bank without them checking with her.

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-theyre-still-doing-the-nigerian-scam/809546/23 "2018-02-26T18:28:14Z")

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> [@cochrane](#):
>
> There’s no evidence that P. T. Barnum ever said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
> 
> [There's a sucker born every minute - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_sucker_born_every_minute)

> [@Abraham Lincoln](#):
>
> On, no. I assure you that Ol’ P.T. absolutely said that.

mandatory text so vBulletin will stop complaining

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