Nigerian 419 and Advance Fee Fraud Email and Scams
Combating Advanced Fee Fraud on the Internet
One of the largest internet scams today still remains the Advanced Fee Fraud Scam known as the Nigerian “419” scam. Named after the Nigerian criminal code “419″ (Obtaining Property by False Pretences; Cheating), the scam was once in the form of letters, faxes and telephone calls, and now the operators of these scams are clogging our emails; costing them nothing and costing the victims everything. Yes, despite all the consumer protection alerts, people are still falling victim to these scammers and getting sucked into their hoax.
What is it exactly?
I could give you pages of history on the scam, but basically it was named after the Nigerian criminal code “419″ Chapter 38: Obtaining Property by False Pretences; Cheating. Bottom line, the Nigerian 419 hoax is a no money back guarantee.
It works like this…
First, you receive an email and the sender is a foreign national (originally from Nigeria, but now the scammers are getting sneaky and using all kinds of different countries as an alias). The email is generally some regarding some sad family tragedy, asking for your assistance with the promise of paying you back for your compassion and assistance in the matter. You give into the request, agreeing to help, they send you a letter confirming, you send in money to assist in the transfer.
The hoax email will have several variants. Here are some of the suspecting common elements of the Nigerian Advanced Fee Fraud email:
· The email has been sent by a supposed African official or a relative of one;
· The sender requests assistance in transferring or handling a very large and enticing sum of money into your account;
· If you agree to help, they will send you some pretty, official but FALSE business letters confirming the transaction. In the letter they will request your bank account number so they can transfer the money into your account;
· They then delay the transfer and ask you to assist in exchange with a loan;
· They will ask for thousands, even millions via wire transfer;
· The fraudsters of course try to convince you there is absolutely no risk involved.
· Sometimes, the ask you to travel to the destination in the emails they send;
What if I get an email like this?
Don’t respond, plain and simple. Save the email and report it to the FTC. There are much greater causes to invest your money in.
You can read many examples Advanced Fee Fraud and Nigerian 419 Scam emails that we receive on a regular basis by clicking the link.