Nigerain 419 Scam

The Nigerian Advance Fee Scam had been existed around for quite a while, but despite many warnings it continues to draw in many victims. In fact, the Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service receives about 100 telephone calls from victims/potential victims and 300-500 letter pieces of related correspondence per day about this 419 scam!

Indications are that the advance fee fraud grabs hundreds of millions of dollars yearly and the losses are continuing to escalate.

The Nigerian Advance Fee Scheme also known as "4-1-9" (scam) fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes is usually targeted at small and the medium sized businesses, plus charities. This global scam (lately it is seen in Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, also in the US), which involves the receipt of an unwelcome letter claiming to come from somebody who claims to work for the Nigerian Central Bank or from the Nigerian government. The Central Bank of Nigeria actually denies all connection to those who promote this spam scheme.

In the letter, a Nigerian claiming to be a senior civil servant would inform the recipient that he is seeking a honest foreign company into whose account he could deposit funds ranging from $10-$60 million which the Nigerian government actually overpaid on some procurement contract.

The goal of the 419 scammers is to delude the victim into thinking that he or she has been singled out to take part in a very lucrative, although questionable, arrangement. The intended victim is reassured of the genuineness of the arrangement by fake or false documents manner in fact official Nigerian government letterhead, seals, with false letters of credit, payments schedules and the bank drafts. The 419 Scam mail senders might even establish the credibility of his contacts, and thereby his influence, by arranging a meeting between the victim and “government officials” in real or may be with fake government offices.

Once the victim becomes confident of the ultimate success of the deal and something goes wrong. The victim who trusted this 419 scam mail is then pressured or even threatened to provide one or more large sums of money to save the existing venture. For example, an official would demand a frank bribe or with an unforeseen tax or fee to the Nigerian government would have to be paid before the money could actually be transferred. Each fee paid is been described as the very last fee required. The scheme might be prolonged out over many months.

Be careful. These 419 scammers could be physically dangerous as well as dangerous to your finances. Victims are roughly always requested to travel to Nigeria or to the border country to total a transaction. Victims are often told that a visa would not be necessary to enter the country. The 419 Nigerian scam artists could then try bribing airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a very serious offense in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim's illegal entry might be used by the 419 Scam mailers as leverage to coerce the victims into releasing funds. Violence and threats of physical harm might be employed for further pressure to victims. In June of 1995, an American was also murdered in Lagos, Nigeria, while pursuing a 419 scam, and numerous other foreign nationals have been reported as missing.

Recommendation:

Avoid these 419 scams like the disease! Don't let promises of huge amounts of money impair your judgment?