What is a Nigeria Scam?
So-called Nigeria, 419, Spanish Prisoner, Russian, or Ukrainian scams originated in the 1920s. The idea behind them is to convince someone to send some amount of money or personal information to a fraudulent source. This fraudulent organization or individual will pose as a foreigner in some terrible plight that prevents him or her from directly accessing a large fortune. The con artist claims that if you help him–by “paying bank fees,” “bribing officials,” or “opening accounts,” he will eventually come into possession of his lost billions and give you a portion of the treasure. The advent of the Internet has opened a floodgate of opportunities for criminals who operate under this basic strategy. Working through email, these scammers can send out hundreds or thousands of pleas for help in the hopes that a few will fall for the bait.
