The Nigerian Scams Come To Facebook Email

If Facebook is going to get into messaging in a big way as they said last week they need to stop these scams before they hit my inbox. The legacy email providers have already learned how.

I got a Facebook email from Jonas Ugwudekede today. Well, that’s what the return address said. The email was ‘signed’ by Kyrian Madunagu and included a ‘real world’ email link with yet another name. It makes no difference. Most likely none is the real name of the person who sent it.

Though the email offers $40,000,000 the sender really wants to extract cash from me. It’s a ‘419’ or advanced fee scam. Ground zero for these is assumed to be Nigeria. The scam itself is actually older than the Internet! These things used to come via snail mail.

This is the first time I’ve gotten a ‘419’ via Facebook.

To the scammer knowing my Facebook name is more valuable than knowing my regular email address. Facebook has some personal information and links to my friends you can’t easily get elsewhere.

If Facebook is going to get into messaging in a big way as they said last week they need to stop these scams before they hit my inbox. The legacy email providers have already learned how. For Facebook to have any credibility they’ve got to step up too… right now.

One thought on “The Nigerian Scams Come To Facebook Email”

  1. Oh I get these scams all the time! Especially from someone claiming to have free cash from the “Deaf Lottery” when in fact, there is NO such thing as a “Deaf Lottery.” People steal real facebook profiles and use them and their network of friends. I remember I reported a woman for that once since I mistook her for a friend I met at a wedding and forgot the gal’s name. Easy mistake. She started to talk with me a little on chat. That’s how I knew it wasn’t the same woman. The friend I spoke to @ the wedding wore a blue dress not a red one….so when I get these people I always report them. Often I wonder, does it do any good?

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