Nigerian 419, also known as advance fee fraud or 419 fraud, is a type of scam that originated in Nigeria. In this scam, the scammer will contact the victim and claim to have a large sum of money that they need help transferring. The scammer will often claim to be a government official, a wealthy businessman, or a relative of a deceased person. They will then ask the victim to send them money to help with the transfer.
The scammer will often use emotional appeals to convince the victim to send money. They may claim that they need the money to pay for medical expenses, to help their family, or to escape from Nigeria. Once the victim sends money, the scammer will disappear and the victim will never see their money again.
The term “419” comes from the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud. The code states that it is a crime to “obtain money by false pretences.”
Nigerian 419 scams are one of the most common types of scams in the world. They have been reported in every country in the world, and they have cost victims billions of dollars.
