by Uchenna Ihejirika

Created on: November 14, 2009

Scamming in plain terms is an act of propositioning to obtain favors and or material benefits with the intent to deceive and defraud; a practice that is as old as humanity. The reason and motivation for this behavior is however perceived and interpreted differently by various social behavioral experts. To some, pervasive appetite and greed for power and material possession is the major reason and motivation to engage in scams and other economic crimes. To others, the reason and motivation is to be located in poverty and deprivation, compelling people to explore every imaginable avenue to overcome poverty and lack.

From whatever perspective it is viewed, scams have in recent times assumed an overwhelmingly outrageous notoriety. Like every other criminal activity, it has grown in sophistication, become more organized, raking in billions in assets with networks, cells and cartels spread all over the world. Despite concerted efforts by national and international agencies to curb this crime, it has continued to advance and device means of evading the radar of law enforcement. This is largely due to the increasing technological advancement and the development of various computer software and programs with multi-tasking capabilities.

With no prospects of totally eradicating this crime, the burden therefore is on individuals to take proactive steps and measures to safeguard and secure themselves from falling victims. It is also important to understand the mindset of the scam artist and be in a position to make fast assessments and judgments of potential associates and acquaintances based on observable character traits. The scam artist is driven by the desire to enjoy the good things of life. Propelled by insatiable quest for luxury, the con artist is prone to living large and above means. This is usually a bait to lower the guards of the potential victim by leading the victim to assume that he or she is dealing with an endowed and well established person and therefore would not have any need or desire to dupe him or her. With good impression made, the victim now sees the fraudster as some good natured compassionate fellow who is out to render some help. The fraudster as a matter of necessity and survival is trained to easily pick out possible victims. The reality being that most victims set themselves apart for easy recognition. A scammer does not waste valuable time prospecting an individual unless there are pointers and indicators that the target will serve the

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