Nigerian
Spam » History of 419 Scam
History Of 419 Scam
The 419 scam
was originated during 1990s as the oil-based economy of
Nigeria went downward. Several unemployed university students
first used this 419 scam as a way of manipulating business
visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector
before aiming greedy businessmen in the west, and then later
the wider population. Early alternates were often sent via
letter, fax, or throu gh Telex. 
The
spread of email and very easy access to email-harvesting
software made the cost lower of sending scam letters through
the internet extremely cheap. While various figures have
violently claimed, which the 419 scam employs as many as
250,000 people in the Nigeria, in reality it has regularly
been linked only to small organized gangs often working
in concert with western cities and in Nigeria. In recent
years, the 419 scam has urged imitations in a variety of
trouble spots in Africa and in Eastern Europe.
In fact the advance fee fraud (419
scam) is a very old Nigerian scam than that, dating back
to 1588 where letters were written stating to be from a
prisoner trapped in a Spanish castle. The fictitious prisoner
would further promise to share a treasure with a person
who will send them money to bribe their guards.
