4. Most Nigerian Scammers Are Severely Impoverished
Of all the online scammers whose origins could be traced, 61% were found to reside in the United States. Only about one-tenth of that number – just six percent – live in Nigeria. In Nigeria, though, successful scam artists can make as much as $60,000 per year, an absolute fortune in a country that is so impoverished that the vast majority of the population lives on a mere two dollars per day. It should come as no surprise that a sizeable number of people – though by no means all – would resort to online fraud to try to improve a very, very tough situation.
When confronted with their actions, many scammers point to the corruption of the Nigerian government, which they believe prevents them from being able to get ahead in life. True, the governments in many African countries are unabashedly corrupt, causing millions of people to live in dire poverty. Scammers tend to claim that the government should be doing more to help the people, but since they are left to fend for themselves, they turn to online fraud. So if they can find just one or two suckers a year to fall for their scams, then they will be wealthy by Nigerian standards.