How many nigerian princes are there

Videos have circulated of the accused men engaged in lavish displays of wealth, such as throwing a party where guests danced on a floor covered in dollar notes and having a "champagne bath", drenched from top to toe in the expensive wine.

Also in circulation are photos of some of them posing with top government officials. One man on the FBI's list was on the inauguration committee of a newly elected state governor barely three months ago. The BBC has not verified the authenticity of the videos and photos. The mocked government officials were quick to deny any close association with the accused.

But the truth is, that sometimes it turns out that the fraudsters are known to us. They are our brothers' friends, friends' husbands, dates, or relatives who genuflect as they smile sweetly and say to us: "Good morning, Auntie. These fraudsters flash their lavish lifestyles in our faces.

We attend their ostentatious weddings and parties. They are the special guests at our events. Our community and humanitarian projects benefit from their largess. But we feel immensely ashamed when their names feature on FBI lists or when they are arrested.

They become a national disgrace. The prince: The year-old grew up in Britain, but is a member of the Imperial House of Osman, the former ruling dynasty of the Ottoman Empire. And, well, this is unexpected — Osmanoglu is actually a standup comedian and he's pretty frickin' funny.

Don't believe me? Check out his Twitter. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. By making their story so implausible, the scammers focus their effort on the people most likely to make them a profit.

So maybe next time you get an email from a Nigerian prince, consider stringing them along for a bit. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. After building up a level of trust with the victim, the fraudster will then start to make requests for money to be sent via wire transfer. These will usually start small so as not to arouse suspicion, and will be for items like new pieces of equipment or a credit card for off-base expenses.

Typical targets will be lonely women in their late 30s to late 70s. Romance scams often go hand in hand with the aforementioned military scam but cover a much broader target market.

Scammers will leave comments, or message Facebook users out of the blue, honing in on those with single relationship status.

The scam has elements of a honey trap, as beautiful women will pretend to be attracted to young men, claiming they want a relationship. Many use fake or stolen pictures and will send hundreds of friend requests per day in the hopes that users are drawn in by a pretty face. Then, once accepted, the fraudsters will use the same sort of begging tactics of other scams, claiming they need funds transferred for various expenses, always dangling the chance of a meeting to keep victims interested.

An evolved form of the old email scam, the classic inheritance scam is still with us, and people are still falling victim to it. In this Nigerian Facebook scam, elderly and lonely victims are often the intended targets and will be sent messages claiming to be holding on to an inheritance. Scammers are getting a little more sophisticated these days and are setting up fake profiles of family members of the intended victim in order to extract funds.