The Nigerian scam (419)

The Nigerian scam, also known as advance-fee fraud, or the 419 scam, is a type of scam in which the attacker contacts the victim and offers a large sum of money (or a valuable prize).

Note

The reason why this scam is called the 419 scam is because it violates section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, which deals with fraud.

Once the victim is hooked by the possibility of making easy money, the attacker will request a small advance fee to pay some taxes or pay for some paperwork required to send the money.

Note

This scam is not always about money – there have been many cases in which the scammer will try to collect some personal information from the victim so that it can be used to impersonate that person or be sold on the black market.

One common aspect of this attack is that the attacker normally impersonates a royal member, a wealthy individual, a government official, or a businessperson. The following figure shows an example of a...