Why most email scams come from Nigeria (OPINION)
Jul 5, 2021 11:27:48 GMT
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Post by Captain Nigeria on Jul 5, 2021 11:27:48 GMT
As a Nigerian, I have been asked this question by many people. I will give an extended version of the answer I gave in one of the SBC livestreams.
It is all about the numbers
The reason most people think all email scams come from Nigeria is just a function of its population. The fact is that there are A LOT of people in Nigeria (200 million+) and If you look at the population of Nigeria versus the remaining countries in West Africa, you will understand how possible it is to generalize the entire region as "Nigeria."
(click to visit article)
Language is also a factor. Most wealthy nations speak English and Nigeria is the second most populous english speaking country in the world(third if you classify India as one); only behind the USA(A wealthy nation).
Going back to the previous image, most of the countries in West Africa speak French. If we isolate the English speaking nations, we will find out that Nigeria contains a whopping 80% of the English-speaking people in West Africa.
Another interesting thing about the population of Nigeria (most countries in Africa actually) is the average age, Nigeria has an average(median) age of 18 years (It is 29 in India, 38 in the U.S, and about 40 in the uk.) The point is that the vast majority of the Nigerian population are young people.
Things are also really bad in Nigeria. Nigeria has the highest unemployment rate and the highest number of PEOPLE living in extreme poverty in the world(even more people than in India, who already has a high poverty rate and about 5x the Nigerian population).
As this brilliant quora post puts it, Scams are commonly associated with countries that have: a high population and sub-par levels of law and order. There are also many scams in India as we all might know, the type of scams commonly run there are the call centre type scams; which require a high level of skill and resources. Most Nigerians are not skilled enough to set up Javascript pop-ups or a run remote PC software; Even if they had the skill, the environment and high costs would not allow it, especially if you consider the issues of power supply, poor internet connection(which I can sadly attest to) and others which are common in the country. All it takes to go into email-based advance fee fraud is: time, a mobile phone/laptop, an anonymous email and a marginal amount of internet data.
Nigeria is a country with many unemployed young people in a very poor environment with little to no opportunities. The law and order condition of Nigeria is also doesn't help reduce the level of scams.
A person in Nigeria can commit crime locally without the law enforcement doing anything about it, but there is also a risk of getting caught and having to face jungle justice; which is worse than whatever the law enforcement would do to you.
The anonymity provided by the internet and the distance from the western countries (along with the resultant jurisdiction issues) acts as a shield for the scammers. It makes it more of an attractive option for the desperate because even if they are caught, the worst that could happen is a closed email account or an encounter with a difficult "client".
Addendum
It is also important to consider the value of the Nigerian currency. As at today (July 5, 2021), One Dollar is worth 500 Naira and what might seem like just $50 to a westerner is about N25,000 to a Nigerian. 60% of the country's population doesn't earn up to that in a month. It is a really lucrative opportunity for the people involved and it is why some less greedy scammers are content with stealing $150, and would go through great lengths to fight for that "little fee."
It is all about the numbers
The reason most people think all email scams come from Nigeria is just a function of its population. The fact is that there are A LOT of people in Nigeria (200 million+) and If you look at the population of Nigeria versus the remaining countries in West Africa, you will understand how possible it is to generalize the entire region as "Nigeria."
(click to visit article)Language is also a factor. Most wealthy nations speak English and Nigeria is the second most populous english speaking country in the world(third if you classify India as one); only behind the USA(A wealthy nation).
Going back to the previous image, most of the countries in West Africa speak French. If we isolate the English speaking nations, we will find out that Nigeria contains a whopping 80% of the English-speaking people in West Africa.
Another interesting thing about the population of Nigeria (most countries in Africa actually) is the average age, Nigeria has an average(median) age of 18 years (It is 29 in India, 38 in the U.S, and about 40 in the uk.) The point is that the vast majority of the Nigerian population are young people.
Things are also really bad in Nigeria. Nigeria has the highest unemployment rate and the highest number of PEOPLE living in extreme poverty in the world(even more people than in India, who already has a high poverty rate and about 5x the Nigerian population).
As this brilliant quora post puts it, Scams are commonly associated with countries that have: a high population and sub-par levels of law and order. There are also many scams in India as we all might know, the type of scams commonly run there are the call centre type scams; which require a high level of skill and resources. Most Nigerians are not skilled enough to set up Javascript pop-ups or a run remote PC software; Even if they had the skill, the environment and high costs would not allow it, especially if you consider the issues of power supply, poor internet connection(which I can sadly attest to) and others which are common in the country. All it takes to go into email-based advance fee fraud is: time, a mobile phone/laptop, an anonymous email and a marginal amount of internet data.
Nigeria is a country with many unemployed young people in a very poor environment with little to no opportunities. The law and order condition of Nigeria is also doesn't help reduce the level of scams.
A person in Nigeria can commit crime locally without the law enforcement doing anything about it, but there is also a risk of getting caught and having to face jungle justice; which is worse than whatever the law enforcement would do to you.
The anonymity provided by the internet and the distance from the western countries (along with the resultant jurisdiction issues) acts as a shield for the scammers. It makes it more of an attractive option for the desperate because even if they are caught, the worst that could happen is a closed email account or an encounter with a difficult "client".
Addendum
It is also important to consider the value of the Nigerian currency. As at today (July 5, 2021), One Dollar is worth 500 Naira and what might seem like just $50 to a westerner is about N25,000 to a Nigerian. 60% of the country's population doesn't earn up to that in a month. It is a really lucrative opportunity for the people involved and it is why some less greedy scammers are content with stealing $150, and would go through great lengths to fight for that "little fee."
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Top work, Capt!
