We have all gotten the email. Dozens of them probably. Maybe hundreds. A Nigerian government official, maybe even a prince, needs your help to transfer tens of millions of dollars out of the country. You have been chosen to assist because of your spotless record of honesty and integrity. For this, you will be handsomely rewarded.
This scam works! The more outrageous the claims the email makes, the better it works. Why? Because the most far-fetched claims weed out everyone but the most gullible, and that is precisely the people they’re looking for. So what happens when you respond to one of these emails?
For this week’s Hump Day Hiatus, let’s look in on a TED talk by James Veitch answering that very question: