The Nigerian Prince has Discovered Snail Mail!

When I started in public relations in the early 2000s, the top half of this animated image (what one might now call a meme) pretty much summed up how we all felt about email versus traditional, or snail, mail. If you remember back to those days, you will most likely also recall getting the occasional email from strangers in various countries (hello, Nigerian prince!), asking for a large sum of money in exchange for what would no doubt be a windfall of wealth back. Oh, silly email scams, and the people who fell for them back then!
Fast forward to today, when the bottom image of the animation no doubt resonates with many of us. I, for one, get so excited when I get real letters I can barely stand it. Apparently, however, this is what the Nigerian prince and his cohorts are counting on, because they have moved their email scamming ways to snail mail. Case in point, this letter than I received in the last couple of weeks! I about fell off of my chair, but as a strategic communicator I had to hand it to the writer for knowing his target audience, and how much said audience (moi) gets tickled by real letters. Well played, scammer. Well played. Too bad you weren’t a Nigerian prince, though I am guessing that letter is on its way soon enough.