Bill Ralston: The nose on your face

The most obvious things can be invisible if your eyes aren’t open.

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13th July, 2012

Occasionally you read something so counter-intuitive yet so gobsmackingly obvious when you think about it, that it takes your breath away for a second or two. Recently, I read a blog called TVHE (The Visible Hand in Economics) by a New Zealand economist entitled, “Why do Nigerian scammers admit they are from Nigeria?” And it is true: a quick search of my spam file reveals that many do not hide their West African origin. Yet, despite all the media coverage of Nigerian email fraudsters, some people are still suckered by them even when they know the approach is from someone in Nigeria. Attacking ...

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