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Nigerian Email Scams
Nigerian scams turn your own greed and desire for wealth against you and into a way of emptying your bank account
You've probably been courted by the Nigerian scam, also known as the 419 scam (named after the section of the law pertaining to it). It comes in e-mail or letter form and may
start, "Dear Sir, I got your information from a confidential source.... " The letter then goes on to tell you a story of a huge amount of money hidden overseas that the writer
of the letter wants to put in your bank account. In return, he promises you a big cut of the cash.
Bounced checks and counterfeit money orders
Long story short: Any checks you receive from this person will be fake. The con will ask you to keep part of the money and send him the difference. Shortly after you send him
the difference by mail or wire, his check bounces, and you owe the total amount to your bank. Warning: Sometimes, people are told by their banks that the check has cleared, so
they wire the difference to the Nigerian scammer. But don't be too sure: The scammers sometimes forge a cashier's check, which fools the bank into prematurely reporting the
check as "cleared." Once the forgery is discovered, the bank will try to hold you liable. In some cases counterfeit money orders
take the place of cashier's checks. The payment type isn't that important because either way the victim will be held responsible.
An email is sent by an individual who claims to be former high-ranking government official or a long lost heir of a ruler from a developing nation such as Nigeria.
They explain that due to any number of problematic reasons he is unable to remove millions of dollars from his country. He will claim it is in a special account but
to get it he needs several thousand dollars to get it out and asks that you help. He will next offer you a portion of these millions of dollars if you do indeed help
this poor individual who is just trying to retrieve what is rightfully theirs. He will tell you to deposit the money in an account and when the money is transferred
from the main account he will give you access to your millions. This form of fraud is sometime referred to as an advanced fee scheme.
Nigerian scams work all too well
Despite constant reports of Nigerian scam swindles in the media, people continue to be fooled. It should be noted that con artists have been perfecting Nigerian scams for
decades. It may be hard to believe but this type of scam has been around since the 1920s when it was called the Spanish Prisoner Con. Back then the letter requesting
funds were mailed the old fashioned way rather than arriving via email. The schemes were somewhat different in that they involved breaking the heir of a wealthy family out
of a Spanish prison. Large sums of money were promised to anyone willing to help finance an operation designed to smuggle the heir out of the jail. The plan was in place but
money was needed to bribe the guards, provide a means of transportation or whatever else the scammers might dream up. Each attempt would end in failure but the next one
was certain to succeed! The specific details of the fraud may differ but it's essentially the same thing as a Nigerian 419 scam. Every year
there is a new angle to play and it's a sure bet that someone will take the bait.
Falling for a Nigerian scam will leave the worst kind of taste in the victim's mouth. Not only will you have been ripped off but you will have willingly allowed it
to happen and been an active participant. At Fraud Guides we like to say that get-rich-quick schemes don't work but this one actually does for the Nigerian scam perpetrators!
The victim is left with nothing but a hard lesson.
More reading on Nigerian 419 Scams
Nigerian Counterfeit Check Scams
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Crime (Nigerian Scam)
Nigerian Fraud Email Gallery
US Secret Service 4-1-9 Scheme Advisory
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