It always bothered me that the 419 scams in Nigeria seem to be linked to people who say that they are just playing the game of open markets. In other words, attackers ask why they should be blamed if they simply prey on others’ greed.

A new story appeared last Thursday in the Guardian that reinforces much of what was reported a few years ago:

The email scammers here prefer hitting Americans, whom they see as rich and easy to fool: maghas [slang from a Yoruba word meaning fool] are avaricious and complicit. To them, the scams – known as 419 after the Nigerian criminal statute against fraud – are a game.

A “game” that has victims rather than players, hardly can be called a game at all. Instead, it is an example of carefully crafted social engineering that allows attackers to transfer value (from victims to themselves) without proper authorization. The interesting thing about the attack, in this case, is how it uses political or even cultural prejudice to establish credibility.

I presented a report on this with Harriet Ottenheimer at the Central States Anthropological Society’s meetings in 2004. It was called “Urgent/Confidential — An Appeal for your Serious and Religious Assistance” and provided details on the attack taxonomy and social engineering methodologies.

Might be time to publish the paper to help clarify how people remain susceptible and what can be done to reduce the risk.