Nigerian 419 Scam: A Deadly Mistake

The Nigerian 419 scam, also known as the advanced fee fraud, is a common occurrence for most computer users: A typical fraud includes a total, anonymous stranger, who claims to know someone with untold millions of dollars left in a bank. He or she besieges you to pay a token sum of money, which is the administrative fee required for the supposed bank to release the gold pot.

To some people, such scams are often the stuff of laughs. Some even take time off to read it for their own pleasure, but just when does the fun really stops?

Gold Mine In The Bank: Too Good to Be True?

Obviously, such a deal should only be taken with a pinch of salt: Usually, the amount stated by these fraudsters would be too huge to be left abandoned in some obscure bank.

Usually, 419 scams share common characteristics.

1. "Name dropping" - the naming of a reputable business, government body, or bank, or the description of some event which is reported in a reputable online newspaper. Often a link will be provided to a newspaper report on the death of a supposed bank account holder, or the arrest of a supposed family member.

2. Inappropriate contact - for example, a lottery win may be emailed by a person claiming to work in a bank. Or, the sender claims to be a lawyer but the email address does not look like one written by a member of the legal establishment.

3. Mobile phone numbers - the contact numbers will be cell (mobile) phones, or fax, not landline. In the UK, such numbers start with +44-7, 07- or 7-, although with public VOIP services increasingly available in major financial centres, use of apparently land line numbers (+44-20 for London) is on the rise.

4. Free email accounts - the reply-to email address will often not match the company claimed. Thus a person may claim to be writing from HSBC or some other major bank account, but the sender's email is a Yahoo free account.

5. Unearned praise - the email, from a complete stranger, almost always speaks to your reputation for honesty, integrity, and above all else discretion. The praise would be strong even if it weren't coming from a complete stranger

Consequences of Buying the Bait