At first glance, the conclusion of the paper seems very intelligently plausible however I believe understanding such reasons will be more accurate from qualitative rather than quantitative research.
It should me noted that the particular format of scam discussed in this paper (the templates/models are called formats) is along the line of inheritance and criminal government officials. However, it does not address other formats such as lottery/employment/relationship scams to mention a few.
This 'reason' given in the conclusion might be one data point but far from being 'The reason' Why Scammers Say They are from Nigeria.
Thanks submitter for putting the quotation marks around Nigerian scammers because I did not see anywhere in the article that certified the letters calming to be from Nigeria were actually from Nigeria.
A final note: Scams (including those originating from Nigeria/by Nigerians) are of international dimensions; therefore assuming a scam would have to be unraveled eventually since the money MUST be eventually sent to Nigeria is false. Therefore there is no compulsion to always eliminate those that are false positives to the word Nigeria. Other false positives can be used without eliminating the very same people all the time.
TL;DR
The answer to the 'research question' would be more accurate/inclusive if got form a qualitative method than quantitative.
"This 'reason' given in the conclusion might be one data point but far from being 'The reason' Why Scammers Say They are from Nigeria."
Agree. There is certainly no discussion of any conversations with actual scammers to see if that is the reason they do what they do or what they are thinking. And as far as copycat crimes go, it would make sense that someone would mimick an existing ubiquitous scheme rather than coming up with an entirely new and unique location in the world. Most people who kill themselves of course choose a method that they've heard other people use and it is well known that there are crime waves that start with a single incident. Lastly there is no data available to show what happens if you don't choose nigeria as your location to back any of this highly academic analysis up.
Of course this paper and analysis could be used with many things. Take dating for example. Is it better to go on a first date dressed to the nines or dressed at 70% (arbitrarily picked to prove a point) your best dressed look? I could take that and get someone to write a paper which shows that you have a higher chance of getting married if you dress at 70% on your first date since you will weed out many people that aren't attracted to your average looks. But the fact that I can present an academic paper showing that doesn't make the fact true without something more to back it up.
A date has a non-zero cost. If you want to weed, do it earlier. Say something embarrassing on your online dating profile maybe? Then, when the selection is done, you go into seduction mode at the date.
It should me noted that the particular format of scam discussed in this paper (the templates/models are called formats) is along the line of inheritance and criminal government officials. However, it does not address other formats such as lottery/employment/relationship scams to mention a few.
This 'reason' given in the conclusion might be one data point but far from being 'The reason' Why Scammers Say They are from Nigeria.
Thanks submitter for putting the quotation marks around Nigerian scammers because I did not see anywhere in the article that certified the letters calming to be from Nigeria were actually from Nigeria.
A final note: Scams (including those originating from Nigeria/by Nigerians) are of international dimensions; therefore assuming a scam would have to be unraveled eventually since the money MUST be eventually sent to Nigeria is false. Therefore there is no compulsion to always eliminate those that are false positives to the word Nigeria. Other false positives can be used without eliminating the very same people all the time.
TL;DR
The answer to the 'research question' would be more accurate/inclusive if got form a qualitative method than quantitative.