NigeriAlaska

January 21st, 2005 · No Comments

I read with amusement (and chagrin) the story of some Alaskans victimized by ‘Nigerian’ scams in today’s Daily News. This has been around so long, I feel like actual Nigerians aren’t even doing it any more. Like ‘spam,’ it’s undoubtedly giving an entire group of people an unfair reputation, though I guess they can’t really sue over it.

I’ve been saving all scam-related spam (yikes) that comes to my work address, and as of five minutes ago (“Dear Beloved, I want you to patiently read this offer. I am Dr. Juan Szabo the coordinator for PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA SA{PDVSA} National company”), I have 418 different messages in my “Nigeria” folder. One day I’ll do something with all of them – I see a big chart with all of their entreaties, their crazy names, their sob stories, their varying dollar amounts. But for now, I’ll just keep collecting them. I can say one thing for them: they’re fake…and they’re spectacular.

Tags: Alaska