BOOKDESIGN · 2014
Post aus Nigeria
The title of the book “Post aus Nigeria” (engl. “Letters From Nigeria”) could be also a plausible title for an exhibition of a letter-friendship. The letters from the Nigeria-Connection called Scam, are actually written friendly but they are only interested in “letter-friendships” to credulous people. Scam-mails are e‑mails from pretended businessmen who are trying to cozen their addressees to work with them for the transaction of a sum of millions.
The catchpenny is the generous reward for the acceptor. As soon as interest is shown the trickster gives notice that there is a trouble to finish the deal. Those troubles can only be solved with a financial aid of the business-partner. If the trickster gets paid to “solve the problem“ he enriched himself because the sum of millions doesn’t even exist.
According to statistics of the „Internet Threads Trend Report 2013” 54 millions of those have been sending daily. And each of us had already been contacted by them by checking our e‑mail-spam-account. This book deals with the background of the Nigeria-Connection and gives an insight of the variety and structure of those scam-mails with about 1000 letters.
Published on:
Design made in Germany — 07.2014
Information chapter
In the first chapter the background of the Nigeria-Connection gets explained. What’s behind it? What are the reasons? How do those people live?
II. Collection
The core of the book is the collection. On almost 200 pages 1000 letters of the Nigeria-Connection are printed off on 60g/m² paper. They give an insight into the variety and creativity of frauds. From the new-rich widow to the trustworthy pastor. Some of the quotes are highlighted in the text-boxes to make it easier for the reader to get into this topic.
How it’s done
1. Collecting 1000 Scam-Mails
We all know these kind of mails from our e‑mail spam-folder. I collected 1000 of them to analyze the content.
2. Spotting the differences
I searched for the variables that differs each scam mail. Date, greeting, confidence building adjectives, …
3. Automated formatting
By writing und using codes like this, all of my collected mails got highlighted automatically (GREP-styles in Indesign).
4. Styling 1000 Mails
Country‑, money‑, date‑, currency- or confidence-building-related text are formated with several text styles to highlight the differences.
What if …
What if scammers actually had professional help to fraud people? For the reader’s entertainment I created 10 letters that support the story of the fraud. Many fraudsters are claiming to die soon in the hospital. So handwritting on the hospital’s notepad would look quite authentic for this story …
III. Amusement
Aside of the tragically victims of fraud those letters hide a huge amount of humor. In the last chapter the fraud tricks of the Nigeria-Connection are getting busted. One example of them is “the hopeless”, who mentions right in the Scam-Mail, that this mail isn‘t scam at all.
