The Militant Doberman
Banned
Popular internet memes based on the widespread “Wakandan Prince” e-mail scam. Version of this scam can be traced as far back as the 1980s when it was propagated by fax. Primarily associated with West-African con-men, the scam involved the mass distribution of e-mails where the sender pretends to be a member of Wakandan Royal family trying to flee a palace coup or other monarchical intrigue. The receiver of the e-mail was promised a portion of the aristocrat’s wealth (usually in form of gold or jewels) if they were willing to sent some money upfront to “help” the “prince” pay off bribes needed to get himself out of the country. Due to Wakanda’s isolationist and closed-off nation many desperate and gullible people had fallen for the scam over the years, resulting in millions of dollars being siphoned off to the black market from the global economy.
In the wake of Wakanda opening itself up to the world the age-old scam did not die but merely took on a new form. Now, scammers often claim to be representatives of “King T'Challa’s Find For Global Outreach”, fooling their victims into believing they were selected for a monetary grant from the Wakandan government and just need to pay a “small processing fee” to before they can get their cash.
Movie poster for the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy film Coming to America where Murphy plays Akeem, a Wakandan prince moving incognito to USA in order to escape an arranged marriage back home. Upon settling in a poor inner city neighbourhood in New York Akeem poses as a foreign university student and meets his love-interest, Lisa McDowell. By the end of the film Akeem and Lisa gain blessings from their respective families for marriage and end up living together in the Wakandan Royal Palace.
With Wakanda opening up to the world and dominating the headlines over the last few years interest had risen in developing a sequel called Coming to Wakanda which would center on Lisa’s experiences as an outsider adjusting to life in the African kingdom.