# What's the deal with run-on sentences and random capitalizations in Nigerian scams? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201 "2009-04-07T01:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/21 "2009-04-08T17:33:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The comparison to Indian English is a good one. Nigerian English branched off in colonial times. Thank you. That’s exactly the kind of informed answer I was hoping for. Dare I ask how you know this? What did you do over there? (And I’m not sure what Cameroon is… is it a city in Nigeria?) > [@Mijin](#): > > The grammar errors aren’t that bizarre. > The capitalisation isn’t that random, for example, it’s just a few nouns erroneously capitalised. That’s exactly what’s bizarre about it: that it’s not just generically crappy English of the kind you see in US schools, but mostly-OK English with a few very distinctive types of errors. Whoever taught them to capitalize certain improper nouns but not others? What’s the logic behind capitalizing every Business Type and Financial Amounts? Who writes 50 bil. like “US Dollars Dollar Fifty Billion Dollar”? And I wasn’t talking about the newlines, but actual run-on sentences. The original should really be 3-4 sentences, not one ubergush of words. > [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > When I was working in Nigeria in the mid 1960’s many villages had a “professional” letter-writers who would compose any formal correspondence that was needed by the locals.. Most of these were old men, probably educated in the midst of the colonial period. Hence the formal and slightly old-fashioned style. Very interesting. Did their writing styles reflect the kinds of errors you see here? I would’ve thought colonially-educated professional writers would have much better grasps of English… does this lend credence to the deliberate errors theory? > [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](#): > > I hope this isn’t a hijack, because it’s a serious question and, I think, pertinent to the topic. > > Are there ‘bots that write scam letters? I can’t really give you a cite for this (not being a spammer myself), but the answer is “almost certainly”. It’d make no sense for them to hire 10,000 people to individually modify little bits of emails when a simple script could do 100k a second. I worked briefly in the anti-spam industry and much of what makes anti-spam technology work _is_ precisely the identifiable, decidedly un-human-like modifications that these scripts make. You get enough sample junk messages and you can start bunching them together into piles, even to the point where you’re actually able to separate them into distinct, individual mass mailings campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/22 "2009-04-08T17:40:07Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > T(And I’m not sure what Cameroon is… is it a city in Nigeria?) Cameroon is a different neighboring country. > [@](#): > > That’s exactly what’s bizarre about it: that it’s not just generically crappy English of the kind you see in US schools, but mostly-OK English with a few very distinctive types of errors. Whoever taught them to capitalize certain improper nouns but not others? What’s the logic behind capitalizing every Business Type and Financial Amounts? Who writes 50 bil. like “US Dollars Dollar Fifty Billion Dollar”? A lot of English speakers in U.S./U.K./etc. make bizarre capitalization choices. Ever read a legal document? (… this Court …, … we find for Plaintiff …) And those are on purpose. A lot of people aren’t quite sure what the line is between proper nouns and common nouns. > [@](#): > > And I wasn’t talking about the newlines, but actual run-on sentences. The original should really be 3-4 sentences, not one ubergush of words. Again, this kind of thing is common among English speakers. The majority of people are not good writers. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/23 "2009-04-08T17:51:14Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](#): > > Does this happen with the Nigerian scam letters? “I am (lawyer/widow/gov’t official) of (firm/family/agency) with a (deal/proposition/offer) for (you kind sir/discreet business partner/new friend).” Are there ‘bots that just mix & match and send ‘em out? Not in my experience. Although there may be similarities between some letters, I don’t recall ever receiving two that differed only in a “fill-in-the-blank” manner. The kinds of differences I have seen strongly suggest that people are just re-writing a somewhat standard format manually. Really, these guys are not so technologically sophisticated as to be using a bot when they can just re-write them. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/24 "2009-04-08T23:00:10Z")
I taught computer science (raising the next generation of scammers!) in North Province, Cameroon for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Cameroon is the country just to the east of Nigeria, and is culturally quite similar. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/25 "2009-04-09T02:05:10Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’ll never forget walking on to my school campus in Cameroon and a teacher asking me if I was planning to “invigilate” exams. We looked at each other in complete confusion for a while until I realized that was the word for “proctor.” I’ve heard this word before. I think the University of Ottawa calls head proctors “invigilators”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/26 "2009-04-09T02:48:48Z")
I see a future in writing 419 scam letters in colloquial American English. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/27 "2009-04-09T02:56:01Z")
I see a future in, ahem, CHAINSAW VIGILANTISM AND EXECUTION BY WEBSTERICAL CRUSHING. How’s that for subtlety? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/28 "2009-04-09T03:03:31Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How’s that for subtlety? It completely lacks subtlety, even compared with a method quite-obviously intended to separate mildly-intelligent people from their money. In the future, please leave chainsaws and executions for the footnotes. We are trying to promote BUY-IN from those whom we intend to fleece. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/29 "2009-04-09T03:09:32Z")
Ooh, me _likey_! I provide the chainsaws, you provide the safe haven and poetry readings. I get the profits, you get many pats on the back. It’s a deal!! ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/30 "2009-04-09T03:16:40Z")
I have to pitch in to back up **QED** here. I have prosecuted cases involving Nigerian scams (not the Nigerians themselves but others who took the Nigerian scam and turned it into a scam of their own). As a result I have seen the capacity the Nigerians have to generate all sorts of documents throughout the life of the fraud, including the most formal. I am sure the Nigerian English that comes closest to standard English still has some elements that are a little odd to our ears. My point, however, is that the people who compose these documents demonstrate a mastery of a wide range of “voices” in Nigerian throughout the life of the fraud. The first pleading letter is very clumsy; later letters from pseudo bankers, politicians, lawyers etc show an increasing sophistication in the use of language, up to and including near-perfect facility with English. Since all these letters are generated by essentially the same person or small group, it seems clear to me that the reason for the greater clumsiness in the initial letters is to persuade the target that he is dealing with someone to whom he can feel intellectually superior. The mark is thus put off guard. So while there are differences between standard English and the English used in Nigeria, that is not the reason behind the hilarious manglings of the original begging letters. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/31 "2009-04-09T03:21:39Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > I have to pitch in to back up **QED** here. I have prosecuted cases involving Nigerian scams (not the Nigerians themselves but others who took the Nigerian scam and turned it into a scam of their own). As a result I have seen the capacity the Nigerians have to generate all sorts of documents throughout the life of the fraud, including the most formal. > > I am sure the Nigerian English that comes closest to standard English still has some elements that are a little odd to our ears. My point, however, is that the people who compose these documents demonstrate a mastery of a wide range of “voices” in Nigerian throughout the life of the fraud. The first pleading letter is very clumsy; later letters from pseudo bankers, politicians, lawyers etc show an increasing sophistication in the use of language, up to and including near-perfect facility with English. > > Since all these letters are generated by essentially the same person or small group, it seems clear to me that the reason for the greater clumsiness in the initial letters is to persuade the target that he is dealing with someone to whom he can feel intellectually superior. The mark is thus put off guard. > > So while there are differences between standard English and the English used in Nigeria, that is not the reason behind the hilarious manglings of the original begging letters. Oooooh, _very_ interesting. So the little old letter-writers actually write in-character as different personas? Sophisticated. Wonderful. Brilliant. Why can’t more spam be interesting like that? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/32 "2009-04-09T14:05:53Z")
What are you saying? “U cum click and look at my wet teen PX$$y” is not in character? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201/33 "2009-04-09T14:21:54Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Indians also tend not to learn typing, because it’s still considered a low service/non-professional skill, so when they keyboard themselves, they tend to be sloppy and not pay much attention to things like proper spacing around punctuation marks. Must agree with this. I have two cousins who are software developers in Bombay/Mumbai (well, dozens, actually, but only two who I correspond with). One is in his forties and cannot type _at all_. His e-mails are invariably punctuation- and capitalization-free, because he types with two fingers. I have no idea how he gets anything done at work, although I don’t think he writes code. The other is in his late twenties and can hit 90-100 words per minute when he’s in a hurry. Both read and write English at least as well as I do, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-run-on-sentences-and-random-capitalizations-in-nigerian-scams/492201.md?page=1)