Why do scammers say they are from Nigeria? Check out the research
B Rosen via Flickr
"Far-fetched tales of West African riches
strike most as comical. Our analysis suggests that is an advantage to the attacker, not a disadvantage. Since
his attack has a low density of victims the Nigerian scammer has an over-riding need to reduce false positives.
"By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible, the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor."
strike most as comical. Our analysis suggests that is an advantage to the attacker, not a disadvantage. Since
his attack has a low density of victims the Nigerian scammer has an over-riding need to reduce false positives.
"By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible, the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor."
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This is one of the most brilliant articles I have ever read. The intricate details of the research provided literally blows my mind. It is difficult to comprehend all the pros and cons of the "false positives," etc. It is understandable, however that those who have fallen for a Nigerian scam, may be likely to fall for the related "fraud recovery" scam. Being able to understand the mindset of the attackers is definitely helpful, although it would seem that there is no end in sight. Thank you for such an enlightening article. Every facet of it is amazing.
Interesting,yes. However,it could have been written by a Nigerian. The sentence structure and word usage in places left much to be desired.
The analysis might be giving the scammers more credit for analysis than they deserve. The scammers might be more likely to be guided by results. They use or copy the letters that get them the best results, without knowing or caring why.