I think you're looking for "Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?" by Microsoft Research. http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id

I think you're looking for "Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?" by Microsoft Research. http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=167713 http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=1677... Edit: Here's a particularly illuminating quote: "By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor."