Why Nigerian Prince, Catfish & Other Scammers Are Actually Pretty Clever

Some of the biggest lies in the world are related to scams. What exactly is a scam? According to Cambridge Dictionary a scam can be defined as something illegal and involves the trickery of other people. A few common types of scams include insurance scams, credit-for-sex schemes, identity theft , others which involve romantic disenchantment and perhaps worst of all — those that threaten a person’s physical health or that of his or her family members . Yet, the truth is that these people are bloody smart.

Why is this possible? Well, simply because no amount of Crimewatch can adequately prepare a victim for the potential psychological damage and trauma they can inflict. Similar to how Ransomware hackers infiltrate an entire company’s database and retrieve confidential information about an organization (N.B. a recent meat-hacking incident), individuals who eke a living out of scamming somebody else use three common techniques: Credibility, Authority and Time.

Credibility refers to the way these people impersonate both its victim, his or her friends or close relatives to gain a kind of relationship with said person. Secondly, these individuals tap on their supposed authority as government officials to try and obtain monetary or other rewards. Finally, these individuals prey on the scarcity of a certain product or claim that it will only be available by a certain date and time to obtain this victim’s favor.

“So the next time you find yourself on the receiving end of a doubtful message, perhaps you will know how to retaliate!”