Why so many scams originate in Nigeria

It is almost impossible that you have an email but never have gotten mail from a woman whose husband is an African prince or king or a political leader who must flee the country and secure his wealth. So the sender wants your help with some bank operation in exchange for a lucrative share of the fortune.

We believe you never fell for such scams, but many do, and interestingly this has been happening since the pre-internet era.

Most of these scams originate from the African oil-rich country Nigeria, and some (jokingly) say it is the second largest industry in the country after oil.

If you hear the number 420, what comes to your mind? Fraud, right? It's because Article 420 of the Penal Code of Bangladesh deals with fraud and deception. The same is true in many other former British colonies such as Singapore, India and Pakistan.

Interestingly, the number 419 is more well-known on the Internet, because in Nigeria, another former British colony, this is the criminal code article which handles fraud.

There is even a website that works on creating awareness and putting up resistance against Nigerian scams, which refers to the number 419 (www.419eater.com).

In 2020, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported nearly $2.5 billion in losses tied to cybercrimes originating in Nigeria. Besides, the US Treasury Department in 2022 had six Nigerian criminals on its Most Wanted cybercriminals list.

Apparently, 51% of all scam emails originate in Nigeria, while 34% are in some other West African country, according to a 2012 Microsoft study by researcher Cormac Herley. Also, it is understood that many scammers pose as Nigerians although they are not.

But why and how has Nigeria gained this 'reputation' as a source of so many, industrial-scale, scams?

According to Nigerians discussing the topic in online forums such as Reddit and Quora, the joblessness of educated people is the main reason behind many youths resorting to scamming for a living. Former Nigerian scammers and citizens attested to this theory in a CBS report. 

Nigeria has a very large population – 175 million – outnumbering  Russia, Japan and Mexico.

Back in the 1980s, Nigerian groups made popular what is called 'advance-fee-fraud.' Back then, they used fax and later adopted email technology. In such cases, you'll be required to send some money in advance but you'll never see any money, of course.

Later, Nigerian fraud became something like a 'pop culture,' and scammers from other countries also started claiming to be from Nigeria.

The modern-day romance scams, or phishing, are conducted mostly online, via email and messaging apps. In this case, an 'attacker' adopts a fake online identity, and continues chatting with him/her to gain the victim's love and trust. The scammer then uses the relationship to manipulate and steal money from the victim.

Several factors facilitate a lot of Nigerians becoming scammers.

Being a former British colony, English is widely spoken in the country and it is the language used in government offices, education, communication and trade. This is how the scammers are fluent in English, an essential communication skill.

Nigeria is fairly interested in technology as well. The country has launched five satellites into outer space, assisted by others. The country has better Internet connectivity than most other African countries, in case one wonders about the Internet literacy of the scammers.

A BBC report found that the first wave of Nigerian 419 scammers were mostly uneducated.

The latter groups comprised young, educated men who were frustrated by the lack of formal jobs in an economy ruined by a series of military dictatorships and years of mismanagement, the report added.

These factors put Nigeria into a "sweet spot" for the scammers.

"Fraud is their second largest industry, after oil," one Reddit user wrote.

Although like any other country in the world, scamming is illegal in Nigeria and law enforcement agents consistently go after scammers, there is a level of social acceptance of scammers in Nigeria, a Nigerian Quora user named Yinka Ayinla wrote on the platform.

"Scammers don't necessarily hide their occupation here in Nigeria. They are openly welcomed in nightclubs and bars. They are sought after by many women due to the image of excess free money. In fact, successful scammers could be considered local celebrities in some regions," he added.

"This is quite different from other countries I have lived in where scammers have to be extremely cautious and hidden. Being known as a scammer generally means you are ostracised from society. People generally avoid all contact and relations with you," Yinka stated the obvious.

"This social acceptance in Nigeria leads to many youths being inspired by scammers, thus further increasing the proliferation of scamming," the Reddit user observed.

As a result, many young Nigerians consider scamming a career path and they do not question the source of income.

There are even training centres in the country to help young enthusiasts build a career in scamming. One such school was raided by Nigeria's anti-corruption agency a couple of years back.

Yinka also said that it is quite a similar situation in the country with corruption as well. 

He mentioned that not all scams necessarily originate from Nigeria. Ghanaians, and other non-Nigerian groups also scam under the guise of being Nigerian, he said.

Ashraful Haque. Sketch: TBS

Nigerian scams are reportedly waning slowly. Now similar scams are arising from China and Hong Kong. Or maybe the new scammers from the latter countries are overshadowing those from Nigeria; hard to tell.

In the meantime, Nigerians continue to suffer due to the trust issue created through the prevalence of scamming from their side of the planet.

"The website I work for no longer allows signups from Nigeria because they are literally only ever fraudsters. It's like they know just enough to try to make scamming into a living so that's what they do," another Reddit user discussing Nigerian scam wrote.