

Why do Nigerian Scammers Say They are from Nigeria? [pdf] - wallflower
http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/167719/whyfromnigeria.pdf

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Centigonal
You should still skim the paper (the answer to the title question is in
section 4), but here's a one-sentence summary so you're not going in blind:

"As a scammer, saying you're from Nigeria drives off all but the most gullible
(ergo, profitable) marks, allowing you to spend less time on ultimately failed
scams."

