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It’s a scam that’s rampaging, like the legendary King Kong, across the globe. The now
notorious “419 fraud”, the advance fee fraud, takes its name from a section in the Nigerian legal code. It’s only
normal that the now international recognised name comes from Nigeria as 70% of the perpetuators are themselves
Nigerians.
There are many versions of advance fee fraud, all with one thing in common; deliberate and highly planed deceptions.
Obtaining money by persuasion for goods or services never delivered. Right from the beginning the single aim of the
419er is to fleece his victim.
Ultrascan calls the fraudsters a “…rapidly growing and insidious threat to the global economy mercilessly exploiting
humans for financial gain”, and Metropolitan Police describe it as
“…a myriad of schemes and scams - mail, faxed and telephone promises designed to facilitate victims parting with money.”
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The most important of “419” is the first contact to a potential victim. These days about 80% email are the favoured
method of the initial contact, then the normal Snail mail and leaflet and occasionally telephone. Some of these
letters can look down-right stupid, e.g.
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“Central to these proposals is an undisguised attempt by the perpetrators to play on the GREED, CREDIBILITY and
CRIMINAL INTENT of his/her victims”
Nigerian US embassy website
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“REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS ASSISTANCE” and many others; yet others are riddled with spelling mistakes (often deliberately).
Don't be fooled by the wrong spelling, most of these people are all university graduates. The idea of allowing wrong
spellings is to imprint that venerability in you. They play on your mentality, why not, an average African is at best
badly educated, to a typical Westerner.
Letters generally are aimed at small businesses and individuals. Lone tricksters (419ers) generally appeals for helps
e.g. business assistance, reclaim ceased money from government, medical assistance etc, while bigger and more
organised gang proposes mega business transactions with business proposal purporting to come from figures in the
Nigerian government, National Petroleum Corporation or even the Central Bank or Nigerian.
In most instances the victims can not be completely exonerated and treated as innocent as appropriately pointed out
by the Nigerian US embassy website, “Central to these proposals is an undisguised attempt by the perpetrators to play
on the GREED, CREDIBILITY and CRIMINAL INTENT of his/her victims”
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