What makes Nigerian scammers skilled at impersonating people? Is their success a result of intelligence or other factors?

Their relative success, despite their lack of skill, can only mean that their victims do not wish to see. Victims ignore the red flags and willingly enter a state of suspended disbelief, which allows them to enjoy the fraudster’s fictional narrative and accept it as plausible.

In my opinion, Nigerian scammers are not skilled at impersonating people. I have a long list of reasons why, ranging from their utter lack of world knowledge and cultural information to their texts in English that make grammar books weep. But in the end, nothing of this really matters. The undeniable truth is that they impersonate doctors, generals, oilriggers, and celebrities, and manage to get away with it… as they laugh all the way to the bank.

This narrative is an attractive web of words with terms such as honor, love, and cherish. It also includes trust and a forever relationship filled with intimate moments, long walks on the beach, and moonlight strolls. The fraudsters call the victim their beautiful angel, my queen, beloved princess, and darling wife. They claim that destiny brought them together as they make tender promises of marriage that they do not plan to keep.

What is one thing nice you did for someone today or something they did for you?

Little does it matter that their grammar is far from perfect. These words in themselves are sufficient to activate a frame of idealized romantic love, a beautiful tapestry of lies, which is exactly what their victims yearn for, and which is nothing more than a commercial transaction in disguise.