By Jeffrey Bloomer

Most of us know the signs: stilted English, "Dear Sir/Madam," a particular fondness for exclamation points. The occasional spam email that does make it past inbox filters seems transparently fake. And new findings by a Microsoft researcher suggest that’s exactly the point. 

The researcher, Cormac Herley, looked into so-called “Nigerian scams,” named for the African nation where the scammers often claim to reside. The emails typically seek a cash investment and promise a lofty payoff, often linking themselves to off-shore corporations or royalty. Herley’s algorithm-rich analysis found that the obvious spam clichés are a deliberate attempt to weed out potential victims who are too savvy to fall for the scheme — and in turn make the most of the human capital required to secure funds from the people who are duped.

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Source: Slate.com