Scams and lies

Readers respond to articles on Nigerian fraud literature, Jayne Mansfield's branding techniques and statements Beatles producer George Martin never made.

Aug 10, 2001 | Read "I Crave Your Distinguished Indulgence (and All Your Cash)" by Douglas Cruickshank.

Being a Nigerian, I hate, detest "419" fraud schemes -- both their perpetrators and the suckers who fall for them -- because of the victimization of the 100 million other innocent Nigerians that suffer from the embarrassing distrust the schemes engender for us in international commerce. Consequently, I have written frequently about "419" and found absolutely nothing funny about it -- until Douglas Cruickshank's article!

From the article, I finally get an impression that the letters are deliberately written to be "syntactically challenged," so that the gullible ones who get suckered elicit less sympathy than those who would have been caught by letters constructed by a more sophisticated-sounding crook.

Even after reading the article -- and laughing harder than I ever have -- I still believe that my country's government should take this international crime more seriously than it seems to have.

Furthermore, it should be prepared to pay my medical bills now that my ribs are cracked!

Thanks for the article. I shall ensure that as many Nigerians as possible read it. I hope that many potential scam victims read it too.

-- Mobolaji E. Aluko
Professor and chair of chemical engineering, Howard University

I was appalled by how patronizing Cruickshank's article was. I found his efforts at literary criticism of these fraud letters to be nothing more than an attempt to transform these crooks into some sort of African Amos and Andys. What he tries to pass off as a literary criticism of these 419 letters is really a vapid and transparent attempt to mock people who have turned to scams to make up for the lack of opportunity resulting largely from decades of colonialism. What's next, a fashion critique of 18th century slave trader wear? Or perhaps a charming review of the poetics of Ebonics? With this piece, this otherwise great magazine has hit a new intellectual low.

-- G.T. Gobena

You haven't even begun to encounter the incredible dynasty of Nigerian royalty. At least, not until you receive a marriage proposal with the promise of untold fortune as your dowry!

Not a week goes by that I don't receive some impassioned plea from no less than the son or nephew of Abacha. Of course, with such a plethora of proposals, I have been inclined to incite a bidding war amongst my suitors -- he with the largest purse would win my hand. Alas, none have chosen to respond to my overt greed.

In all seriousness, I appreciated your humorous rendition of the notorious Nigerian scam. But I must say that you underreported the longevity of the endeavor. As a college student in 1980, I first began receiving such proposals -- albeit by mail and fax. (As technology has progressed, so has the medium been exploited. Of course, the ROI must be greatly enhanced as e-mail is free, thus eliminating the overhead of "snail mail" letters and faxes -- and greatly increasing the audience these con men can reach.)

To be honest, my tongue-in-cheek responses to these urgent pleas always include an apology for the culpability of U.S. policy regarding the plight of that unfortunate country. It is a huge embarrassment to me that U.S.-based multinational corporations are responsible for the rape of Nigeria's resources. It's appalling that a country with the world's fourth-largest oil reserves should find itself in such dire, excruciating poverty. Between the corruption of its own officials and the greed of the Exxons and Shell Oils of the world, those poor people haven't a chance. (That's the real, untold story you should be telling!) I find myself regularly admonishing my African suitors to use their obvious creativity toward changing the circumstances of their nation, rather than trying to bilk hapless, gullible Americans.

I did enjoy your article and hope that you'll take a moment to contemplate the "back story" of the Nigerian dilemma.

-- Pamela Reamer Williams

I cannot begin to tell you how disgusted I am with the so-called 419 morons. I have received several of the same pathetic e-mails, and have on several occasions told these people to get a life. I'm a Nigerian by birth and I guess that sort of gave me a little exposure to know what kind of people are writing these letters, and what their intention is: to drain the life out of anyone that falls victim to their scam. Wole Soyinka, one of Nigeria's greatest authors, said it best in one of his television interviews: "We are dealing with very clever people."

Indeed, we are dealing with clever people that should have put their cleverness into foreseeing and building a better Nigeria rather than using their cleverness to corrupt it even worse. I applaud this article; reading it was as if you were reading my mind when putting this into writing. I plan on sending a message to these people next time I receive such a message in my mailbox. I will make sure the sender receives the same copy of e-mail 500 times. I wish and hope that one day these people will pay, and I mean dearly. But then again, I blame the victims -- I mean, how stupid do you have to be to fall for such stupid schemes?

-- Paul Orejimi

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