I sent £70 to a Nigerian...but wasn't scammed

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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:22 pm

Hello all. Fairly new to the forum but obviously been aware of it for sometime. Always found 419 fascinating and been giving it a bit of a bash.

Yes I have sent money to a Nigerian. Western Union no less. But I did it sometime ago, in a one off payment. Never felt duped. Never regretted it. Its kind of a unique and personal set of circumstances. I would be interested to see what 419 baiters think and if I can offer insight. Drop a post if anyone is interested, no worries if not.

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:27 pm

Any chance you can elaborate on this?

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:45 pm

Ok so I will try not to ramble as this was like a life defining experience for me and I could write a book about it. Basically, aged 24, I had just finished University and I had a little bit of money to support myself so I did this international volunteer thing (charity work). It was three months abroad in a destination chosen by the charity. We would be paired with a host volunteer (from the nation) who would stay with us (basically 24/7) and we would be put up by a host family (so no hotels). I got placed in...Nigeria! The city was Illorin (which is fairly good compared to places like Lagos, or the East, but not the best).

Like I said, I could ramble about the whole experience for hours, the people, the culture, the living conditions...for a country bumkin from rural England who had never been out of Europe, it was a complete mind F. It was seriously like another world. Absolutely insane.

Cut a long story short, my host family were the highlight of the experience. The conditions that they lived in...I mean their house was basically a glorified corrugated shed. Chickens used to come into the kitchen from outside! Mental. But they were just amazing. So welcoming. They literally made me a member of the family. I had my birthday out there and they threw me a party. I gave them sum N because they were spending money on it and I felt a bit guilty given how obviously poor they...and everyone was. They brought me a cake and native suit! I was just bowled over. My brain couldn't (and still can't) comprehend their kindness and desire to give. Anyway...after the party, my 'host sister' (who had planned most of it) said that 'she had never been thrown a party like that'. I asked when her birthday was and said that I would send her something. She never asked for it, she never led the conversation to it, it just seemed like the right thing to do given how kind she (and they all) were. We kept (and still keep) in touch to this day and I sent her the money as promised. Job done.

Pleased to say that I still keep in touch with many of the Nigerians I met out there by Whatsapp and phone. It makes me smile to hear some of the audios on here sometimes, not because of the baits, but because some of the subtle 'things' that remind me of Nigeria. Things like the accent. I remember hearing 'Mr Pr1cky' talking to a lad once and there was a massive clap of thunder over the phone (in the background). Used to flash thunder all the time over there. I was once speaking to one of them on the phone and I heard a goat yelp in the background! Again, so Nigeria. It really is another planet, kind of semi-medieval, and it is hard to even picture what it is like...even now for me.

I hope some of this has been of some interest. Like I say, for me the whole thing was a very personal and life defining experience and it will stay with me forever Smile

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:56 pm

Thank you for the interesting story and please don't worry about rambling as as it gives me (and others I trust) insight into a world that is definitely foreign but not without its own unique charm.

Cheers!

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:58 pm

Here's what I think:

All Nigerians are not scammers and all scammers are not Nigerian. There are nice people in this world that do nice things for people. Sometimes for people a world apart, or people they have never meant.

I also think the premise is meant to invoke something it shouldn't.

Going back to not thinking now.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:11 am

I appreciate the comments and I am glad to have shared it. I do remember feeling a bit conflicted about 419 baiting immediately afterwards. Scammers are scum and they are not necessarily Nigerians and not all Nigerians are necessarily scammers. But you could almost sense the fear out there, like the chaos of it all. I mean there was literally no welfare, no pension, no child support, no waste collection, no running water...let alone running drinking water. Everyone had to buy a 10c polyethylene bag of chlorinated water every time they wanted to drink...in 30C+ heat. It just boggles the mind that people can live like that. Its like you have to be mentally sturdy and savvy to survive...everything is about the 'hustle'. 24/7.

I am in no way trying to bash baiting. Scammers are scum. Wherever they are from. I guess its okay to understand what may lead to that situation without actually condoning the action itself.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Ivasmallone wrote:

no welfare, no pension, no child support, no waste collection, no running water...let alone running drinking water. Everyone had to buy a 10c polyethylene bag of chlorinated water every time they wanted to drink...in 30C+ heat. It just boggles the mind that people can live like that

Have you ever been to Canada?

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:26 am

Removed full quote from above ^ PF

Haha. No. Europe and Nigeria...that's it. I know there are F'd up places all over the globe and it probably says more about me and my limited experiences. It was just a shock that's all. Much of it was like being trapped in an Oxfam commercial on repeat. People with polio begging on skateboards, police clearing a path for the Kwara state governor by attacking and hitting the nearest black person with sticks (something I actually witnessed), knowing a volunteer or meeting a Nigerian who had caught malaria every few days. Just insane and messed up. Had some limited exposure to 419 too.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:33 am

^
Stop touting newbies for lifts PF. Will & Kate will send you a postcard signed 'Wish you were here'.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Ivasmallone wrote:

Had some limited exposure to 419 too.

That would be of great interest here, please share.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:58 am

Haha so it was fairly limited.

1.) We had to take turns in studying and doing 'presentations' to the group of volunteers. Like comparing issues (e.g. environment) from a UK and Nigeria perspective. We needed computers and the internet to prepare this in our own time. Is was 2013, so a couple of people (like the employed team leader) had a laptop with their own wi-fi dongle (which usually didn't work because of the coverage). The rest of us had to use internet cafe's. Crazy to think that in 2013, most Nigeria's didn't have computers in their homes. Part of me thinks this is obvious, but part of me thinks how many dodgy old blocks with windows 95 are knocking around? Surely they could get hold of one of them? But apparently not...and to be honest...one thing I did notice was that their mobile phones were like 5 years behind. Touch screens were (fairly widely) available in the west when I was there, yet Nigerians seemed chuffed to get an obscure Nokia from 5 years ago. That was like top of the range for them. But maybe things have changed now...I digress. Even if they could have computers...there was rolling blackouts (because of the rubbish electricity board) so 50% of the time the household had no power (and my Nigerian host family would loudly curse NEPA...the energy board, every time it cut out. It was almost like a ritual, like how British people complain about the weather). There was definitely no Ethernet.

So the internet cafes were rubbish. They had window 95 style computers, you had to pay for an hour/half an hour and the attendant usually had to sort out an issue with the computer before you could actually get to work. Everyone (and I mean everyone) in there looked shifty and (as bad as it sounds) uncomfortable when we were in there. There were A4 printed Word signs all over the walls saying "NO 419"..."you will be fined" etc. And both the team leader and my counterpart volunteer advised me not to access banks using them, because in all likelihood, there were key loggers loaded on the computers in the internet cafe's, by the owners, specifically to target users.

2.) Roughly every other litter strewn street you walked down, there was a building with "NO 419" or "this building is not for sale" written in white paint on a wall or house. Some businesses even incorporated this into their signs! Eventually I struck up a conversation about 419 with my Nigerian counterpart volunteer.. Before going there, it was practically one of the only things I knew about Nigeria and our pre-departure leaflet even stated this fact (and explained that it was a generalisation). My counterpart was a safe dude and he looked a little embarrassed whenever I brought it up, but he seemed to appreciate that I was just interested and he explained that the graffiti was because of a Nigerian scam where they try and rip off other Nigerians. A scammer will take a picture of the front of someone else's house and post it for sale online! When the new tenants have paid and turn up, they find out that it was never for sale! The owners therefore deface their own property with "NO 419" graffiti to prevent a reliable picture from being taken and posted. Very clever..although part of me does want to emphasise how unremarkable this was to my counterpart. Obviously please don't forget I am posting this on a forum about 419. This was just an off the cuff comment and I am fairly certain that me asking about it would be like him asking me why someone had drawn some male genitals on a London pub's toilet wall. To him it would be remarkable, much in the same way that "NO 419" signs are remarkable to me. It was outside of my reality and notable, but for him it was just something that exists and whilst it was clearly widespread, it (in my opinion) does not come close to encompassing Nigeria and what 'it is all about' (if that makes any sense).

That's about it.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:12 am

Welcome to Eater! I have also sent money to a Nigerian, but I didn't have an experience anything like yours. The Nigerian worked at a computer company in England. I sent several hundred dollars (which of course were converted to pounds). He sent me two computers. Both are still working fine. Neither runs Windows. One runs Linux and the other runs DragonFly BSD.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:49 am

Thank you for sharing with us a very different kind of experience.

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