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[deleted] t1_j8msyrf wrote

Well how could they turn him down when he stopped sending emails and the Nigerian prince shows up in person?

126

ktaphfy t1_j8mvjp8 wrote

If he owns a black Ford explorer he tried to run me down twice while crossing the street on the west side. Only missed once bc my little dog in his carrier on my back on 35th Ave. The second leaving Costco to go home, crossing indianschool on a rain slick day I had the green, looked to the EB center most lane and saw him not slowing backed up he went flying through. Always wears rastafari crap.

−11

lifeonachain99 t1_j8mwbxm wrote

How horrible do you have to be to do these kinds of things? I can sort of understand if you're starving but 3 million?

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jackanape7 t1_j8myoma wrote

Apparently scamming is a huge business in Nigeria, and a lot of developing countries by the way. This happens A LOT.

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alexbutton t1_j8n2vfo wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,817,468)

These scammers generally prey on the vulnerable, elderly, etc.

Blowing your rent on slots is not the same as a widow hearing all the things she misses hearing from her deceased partner, falling in love, and sending him money for x reason (say for an airplane ticket, sick kid, etc).

Not everyone is as online as the average redditor and has seen the signs/these stories before.

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ShakeMyHeadSadly t1_j8n3xaa wrote

"They’re being preyed upon. They’re desperate. They are either widowed, widowered, they’re lonely, and they’ve finally found someone who gives them positive attention," Windish says.

Possibly. Or a simpler explanation is that they are just fucking stupid.

−15

DiamondBurInTheRough t1_j8n5ir0 wrote

I moderate a Facebook group for sports tickets and the amount of fake profiles that request to join that have Nigerian roots is astounding. They’ll have a traditionally American profile name and their picture is frequently of a young white woman but a quick peek through their profile shows a lot of their friends live in Nigeria or their “likes” are Nigerian pages.

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Modern_Bear t1_j8n6s08 wrote

I think I got an email from him once when he was a prince looking to give me money. He looks familiar.

2

PlayedUOonBaja t1_j8n88f4 wrote

I work at a financial institution and have come across a number of these victims over the years. I don't think I've ever had one that believed me when I told her she is clearly being scammed. Some will feign concern, but you can absolutely hear it in their voice that they're not going to stop sending money. No matter how much you try to convince them it's a scam, they refuse to believe it. I've even had some call with their family on the line with them begging me to convince their parent that the whole thing was a scam, but still no luck in the end.

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milano8 t1_j8n8nm8 wrote

"Sometimes, I go on dates for a free meal"

7

saeto15 t1_j8nafpx wrote

Replying to ShakeMyHeadSadly (#1,817,918)

Lots of smart people fall for stupid scams too. You can think you’re too smart to fall for it, but you’re not. We’re all vulnerable to something. I work in the disputes dept at a bank and hear about all the scams going around, and you’d be surprised at how sophisticated some of them are.

9

Jampine t1_j8nawjq wrote

Replying to jackanape7 (#1,817,528)

Not really a "Scam" per say, but farming gold in RuneScape was a big deal in Venezuela.

For those who don't know what that means, they grind events/resources on the game to earn gold, then trade that gold to people in exchange for real money.

Sometimes they set up several bot ran accounts to farm resources, then trade it to a central account to earn gold on multiple beorkds at once.

26

silvusx t1_j8nex6c wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

If they admit you were right, then they've also admit they are dumb to the public. also prob sunken cost fallacy, they feel they are too deep in it and is praying they are going to be right.

79

drkgodess t1_j8nig5x wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

The only way to change someone's mind is to make them think it was their idea. Along with the warnings you're required to give, try to plant a seed of doubt. For example, an offhand "this gentlemen seems quite popular" with no further details. She would wrack her mind wondering what you meant by that.

13

Vlad_the_Homeowner t1_j8nin50 wrote

Replying to jackanape7 (#1,818,151)

Yes, Nigeria ranks second in the world for the most reported scams, behind the Philippines. But third? Canada, with 7% fewer than Nigeria.

And that's just by the reported claims, not the amount. The country that has stolen the most money out of the rest of the world with Romance scams? United Kingdom.

Thinking that this is an issue that is predominately based in developing countries is short sighted.

11

another_bug t1_j8niqzi wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

>"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

>-Carl Sagan

Pretty sure he was talking more about superstition and pseudoscience, but the concept applies to a lot more than that. It it sure is accurate.

47

beepborpimajorp t1_j8nkv51 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,817,468)

There's a reason these scammers prey on senior citizens.

Your brain changes as you get older to a point your working memory and other functions start taking a dive unless you're aware (if you're over 35 and reading this, go look into it so you can start early) this happens and actively working to conserve them by being active physically and mentally. And even then sometimes it's not enough because stuff like early onset dementia prevents connections from being made that apply things like logic to the stuff you're thinking about.

That's why these people are so easily taken in. Add into it that a lot of them come from a generation that is not well acclimated to technology and that makes it even worse.

So I do feel bad for them. These scammers have their targets (elderly, low intelligence/no education/etc.) pinned down for a reason. It's hard to fight when it's your own brain that's making you feel compelled to do things.

Not saying you have to feel bad for them too, but comparing this to voluntary gambling is a little callous. (And gambling is, for sure, an issue in its own way.)

5

mlbmetsgoodandbad t1_j8nlm0s wrote

You know it’s bad when every other African country wants to build a wall around Nigeria to keep them in

7

Chippopotanuse t1_j8nmnxn wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

Almost 20 years ago, I was on a trial team that represented an iconic global retail brand (multi-billions in annual sales, you probably own their stuff, you’ve DEFINITELY heard of them, and it’s been around for over a century).

The CEO, who was of Swiss-French descent, fell TWICE for Nigerian Prince scams. He was very old and not very wise about the modern world.

It was both highly embarrassing (it cost him a very significant part of his net worth and was off limits by mutual agreement during depositions) and also super sad. He legit fell the second time after folks were begging him not to send the money.

14

Chippopotanuse t1_j8nn51f wrote

Replying to silvusx (#1,818,785)

Being able to admit I’m often wrong and frequently dumb is probably my biggest life skill.

And I am happy as hell in life. Also very happily married.

I always feel sad for folks who are so insecure that they can’t admit fault or wrong.

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true-skeptic t1_j8nnbhp wrote

And ignorant vulnerable women keep falling for this Nigerian bullsh*t.

−1

Chippopotanuse t1_j8nnj0b wrote

Replying to drkgodess (#1,819,087)

> “The only way to change someone's mind is to make them think it was their idea.”

Oh, then I am fucked. Because I already try that most nights:

“Babe, remember how you were thinking about jerking me off tonight?”

“No. Did you remember to set the alarm?”

9

canxopener t1_j8noh5c wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

I also worked at one for a few years too and it isn't even just old people. Young people tend to think they are too smart to fall for scams so when they are being scammed they tend to be confident that I was wrong and the situation was legitimate.

4

Chitownitl20 t1_j8ntoev wrote

If the scam didn’t produce for the last 170 years they wouldn’t be doing it.

6

WaterHaven t1_j8nxx5x wrote

Replying to Chippopotanuse (#1,819,467)

And those who can't just admit that they don't know enough to have an opinion on something.

I've sat through so many meetings where somebody stumbled through not knowing an answer instead of just saying, "I'll get that information for you after this meeting (or whenever), because I don't know that off the top of my head."

26

Ok-Control-787 t1_j8o1rs4 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,817,468)

> If I go to Vegas and spend my whole check at the slots are you going to cry for me when I can't pay my rent?

I'm not gonna cry, but I do feel bad for people who can't seem to help themselves with gambling, other addiction, or even just general stupidity. People have serious problems with willpower, in many different ways.

Then the casinos design themselves to take as much advantage of that lack of willpower as they can.

That said, I don't blame anyone for not feeling bad for these people. Plenty of things to feel bad about and I can't feel bad for everyone.

1

mhornberger t1_j8o56iy wrote

Replying to PlayedUOonBaja (#1,818,250)

People can't give up the flattering self-illusion that they can just tell when someone is lying. That they can read someone's character. Admitting that you can't really read people makes the world a scarier place.

I mean, Ann Rule was a former police officer and later a crime writer. She worked with Ted Bundy on a suicide hotline, and had no idea. You really can't read people. It's just in the movies where the bad person just looks and sounds shifty.

8

mhornberger t1_j8o5lal wrote

Replying to lifeonachain99 (#1,817,363)

Some people just can't leave money on the table, even if they're comfortable and don't need it anymore. I have known people who are so driven to get over on others, 'the system,' etc that they put more work into shady shit than they would have had to put in at a legitimate job.

15

mint_lint t1_j8oeugr wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,820,969)

This isn’t subjective.

Lets look past the house odds. (Which in and of itself is a scam. Most casual gamblers don’t know blackjack odds or the bet card. If this was published at the table your argument could have weight but this is obfuscated by the casino for obvious reasons).

Casinos use lights and sounds that have been designed to manipulate you.

https://neurosciencenews.com/casino-lights-decision-making-10116/

Casinos pump cold air onto the floor to keep you awake and gambling.

Vegas casinos ply you with drinks to keep you loose and gambling and have been able to successfully keep Indian casinos from being able to give you free drinks.

Players cards are designed to obtain your personal info for meager rewards.

Casinos are scams.

−3

imnota4 t1_j8oh0yd wrote

Replying to WaterHaven (#1,820,387)

This. I think sometimes we as humans have a tendency to feel bad for *anyone* who gets the short end of the stick, not really caring how they ended up there. This can sometimes lead to us doing the *wrong* thing when trying to do the right thing, like grouping together against someone who was actually defending themselves.

In this case, I think people want to see someone who got scammed as a helpless victim that needs help, when in reality almost every person I've met who has been successfully scammed by methods like this was usually someone who thought too highly of their own knowledge and opinions and *refused* to change them, which is why they ended up for lack of a better word and I do apologize for the candid vocab, dumb.

It's one thing to be confident in what you believe and stand by it. It's another thing to go against actual evidence, or actively make things up, in order to justify why you believe something.

4

another_bug t1_j8oo4oz wrote

Replying to SnakeDoctur (#1,822,309)

Hey, that's nothing like scam, it's called trickle down economics. We just need to give the rich a little more money, and then they'll give money back to us. It's totally gonna happen this time for sure!

6

KerouacRoadTrip t1_j8oqzvy wrote

He's out there scamming $3M from multiple women and my wife practically runs my credit to borrow a 20 for car parts.

−3

kottabaz t1_j8p1kvx wrote

Replying to SnakeDoctur (#1,822,309)

No, the GOP is an exercise in authoritarianism rather than a bamboozle.

Rank-and-file Republicans know that, in exchange for being tread upon by the owner class etc., they will be receiving underclasses that they're allowed to tread on with impunity. They consider this not only fair but the rightful way of the universe.

6

black19 t1_j8q2rix wrote

Relax. His Uncle is a Prince.

3

DarkBrandonsLazrEyes t1_j8qu1an wrote

Replying to imnota4 (#1,821,906)

I repair pcs and deal with people in these situations often enough and you are right. Many don't listen, and they think they are too smart to be scammed. Not true for all of them but some of the racist ones get scammed by the people they are racist against and I believe it is because they don't think they can be fooled by the people they hate, so they follow their directions in the scam....

You can get out of so much trouble just by knowing you are capable of being fooled. By knowing things that sound too good to be true, probably are. And above all else, do not fall in love with people you havent met. Everybody should know that, but unfortunately that's a tougher for some.

2