419 - Nigerian Scams
Another form of Internet Fraud victimizing unsuspected victims is the Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud.
Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, mailed from Nigeria, offers the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self- proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers and other identifying information using a facsimile number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via email through the internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a "propensity for theft" by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.
Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria. In actuality, the millions of dollars do not exist and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss.
Once the victim stops sending money, the perpetrators have been known to use the personal information and cheques that they received to impersonate the victim, draining bank accounts and credit card balances until the victim's assets are taken in their entirety.
While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victim actually conspires to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label "419 fraud."
Some Tips to Avoid Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud:
If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the RCMP or Canada Post.
If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the RCMP as soon as possible. Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts. Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation, and guard your account information carefully.
Sample Nigerian Letter Scam
From me Edward Yao
Add sender to Contacts
To:
eyao1bf@orange.net
From: Mr.Edward Yao
Good Day,
Please Read.
My name is Mr.Edward Yao, I'm the credit officer in International Credit Bank Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.
I have a business proposal in the tune of $5.5m, (Five Million Five hundred Thousand only) after the successful transfer; we shall share in ratio of 40% for you and 60% for me.
Should you be interested, please contact me through my private email (eyao1bf@mail.ru) so we can commence on all arrangements and I Will give you more information on how we would handle this project.
Please treat this business with utmost confidentiality and send me the Following information:
(1) Full names:
(2) Private phone number:
(3) Current residential address:
(4) Occupation:
(5) Age and Sex:
Kind Regards,
Mr. Edward Yao.
Please reply through my private email account: eyao1bf@mail.ru
Websites
- 419 Advance Fee Fraud Nigerian Scam - An archive of e-mailed solicitations received, how much the web site owner would have supposedly made by now, which scenarios are used (e.g., dead foreigner, or chemically treated money), explanation of how the scam operates, and links.
- Africanscam.co.uk - Information and links on 419 scams; correspondence and photographs from some scambaiting projects.
- Artists Against 419 - Provides information on fake bank sites and how to distinguish them from legitimate ones, along with announcements of monthly flash mob events aiming to shut down fake bank sites through bandwidth siphoning.
- Brian Wizard - Offers free pdf-format books about fighting Nigerian 419 letter scams and email fraud.
- The 419 Coalition - Devoted to fighting the advance money scam, in which victims are offered millions for allowing an even greater sum to be deposited in their bank account, but end up having their accounts drained or being fooled into advancing fictitious taxes, fees or bribes.
- E-Mail Scams: How to Recognize Advance Fee Fraud - The "Nigerian Letter" du jour, interspersed with comments. For the small business owner who might think that just possibly an offer out of the blue for a cut of millions of dollars could be truthful.
- Greater Things: Nigerian / 419 Scam - The experience of a businessman fooled by this scam. Contact is initiated via letter, fax, or email offers of millions of dollars in compensation for holding even more millions of dollars in your bank account.
- International Investigation Services, Nigeria Division - Describing the Nigerian advance fee scam, with a searchable database of known names used by persons participating in the fraud, along with an archive of the letters and fake documents they use, and a bulletin board.
- 419Legal - Advance Free Fraud forums, information and links to fraudulent sites.
- Nigeria E-Mail Scam aka 419 Scam aka Advance Fee Fraud - Description of the scam's mechanics, history, senders' aliases, ways to easily identify the scam email, and related links.
- Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud - Detailed information on the scheme, centered largely in Nigeria, wherein people are offered a share of millions of dollars to help transfer the money to their bank account. From the U.S. State Department. [1.04M] [PDF]
- Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud - Pamphlet from the Australian Institute of Criminology. Press release, abstract, information on ordering the print publication.
- Nigerian Advanced Fee Fraud - The Minnesota Attorney General's office describes how the scheme works, and tells businesses, nonprofits, and individuals what they can do if they receive an offer through the mail to transfer money out of a foreign country.
- Nigerian Fraud Email Gallery - An archive of several hundred scam letters, with date received, names of supposed senders, country where the money is supposed to have originated, and amount.
- Nigerian Scam - Outlines the basics of this con, mentions variations, gives an example of a typical letter, explains how victims are taken in by this long-running scam. Links to further information.
- The "Nigerian" Scam: Costly Compassion - Federal Trade Commission alert on those polite letters from strangers in trouble, which promise a large financial reward for discreetly helping them.
- Nigerian Scams - Describes some variations of the "Nigerian Scam," scam indicators, typical opening lines, phone numbers mentioned, web sites used by the scammers. Names, company names, and e-mail addresses used by the gangsters.
- Scam 419 - An online database of scam 419 letters, explanation of how the scam operates, all the necessary links related to the 419 fraud.
- 419 Scam Email Repository - An information-gathering site dedicated to listing emails sent by advanced fee fraudsters.
- The 419 Scam/Nigerian Scam - People in academia can be targets of advance fee fraud schemes too. Sample letter, bullet list of common features of a "419" scam, and FAQ. From University of Pennsylvania Computing/Information Security.
- West African Advanced Fee Fraud - What the West African "419" fraud is, how it works, where victims meet up with the criminals operating this scheme, what residents of the UK should do if they receive a 419 letter. From the Metropolitan Police.
- Anatomy of a 419 scam - Detailed examination of how an American man fell for a fraudulent scheme operating out of the UK. [The Register] (July 9, 2004)
- The Nigerian Nightmare - Examines the 419 scam as well as its history, going back several decades. [Slate] (October 22, 2002)
