FYI - First hit off google. I think it’s now a generic term for “overinvoicing scams” I have a sense that most of the victims are elderly folks.
The Nigerian Scam Defined
A Five Billion US$ (as of 1996, much more now) worldwide Scam which has run since the early 1980’s under Successive Governments of Nigeria. It is also referred to as “Advance Fee Fraud”, “419 Fraud” (Four-One-Nine) after the relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria, and “The Nigerian Connection” (mostly in Europe). However, it is usually called plain old “419” even by the Nigerians themselves.
The Scam operates as follows: the target receives an unsolicited fax, email, or letter often concerning Nigeria or another African nation containing either a money laundering or other illegal proposal OR you may receive a Legal and Legitimate business proposal by normal means. Common variations on the Scam include “overinvoiced” or “double invoiced” oil or other supply and service contracts where your Bad Guys want to get the overage out of Nigeria; crude oil and other commodity deals; a “bequest” left you in a will; “money cleaning” where your Bad Guy has a lot of currency that needs to be “chemically cleaned” before it can be used and he needs the cost of the chemicals; “spoof banks” where there is supposedly money in your name already on deposit; “paying” for a purchase with a check larger than the amount required and asking for change to be advanced; fake lottery 419; and ordering items and commodities off “trading” sites on the web and then cheating the seller. The variations of Advance Fee Fraud (419) are very creative and virtually endless.
At some point, the victim is asked to pay up front an Advance Fee of some sort, be it an “Advance Fee”, “Transfer Tax”, “Performance Bond”, or to extend credit, grant COD privileges, send back “change” on an overage cashier’s check or money order, whatever. If the victim pays the Fee, there are often many “Complications” which require still more advance payments until the victim either quits, runs out of money, or both. If the victim extends credit on a given transaction etc. he may also pay such fees (“nerfund” etc.), and also stiffed for the Goods or Service with NO Effective Recourse.
The Nigerian Scam is, according to published reports, the Third to Fifth largest industry in Nigeria. It is the 419 Coalition view that, in effect, the elites from which successive Governments of Nigeria have been drawn ARE the Scammers - therefore, victims have little recourse in this matter. Monies stolen by 419 operations are almost Never Recovered from Nigeria.
Most 419 letters and emails originate from or are traceable back to Nigeria. However, some originate from other nations, mostly also West African nations such as Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast ( Cote D’Ivoire ) etc. In most cases 419 emails from other nations are also Nigerian in that the “Home Office” of the 419ers involved is Nigeria regardless of the source of the contact materials. But there are occasionally some “local” copycats trying to emulate the success of the Nigerians. These folks tend not to last too long actually operating out of nations other than Nigeria, but they do try.
