What is the Nigerian 419 scam?
Named after a now-defunct Nigerian law the 419 scam is a classic amongst online dating scams. This is the one scam you are almost certain to come across if you do online dating for any length of time, sorry to say. This scam is also known as AFF or Advanced Fee Fraud, and it comes in many shapes and sizes. But there are unifying themes: • you are approached on your online dating site by somebody from abroad, or who claims to live in the UK but work abroad – usually Nigeria, but also quite often countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, and other west African countries. • you are befriended, over time, and trust is built between you and the scammer • the scammer reveals their need for money for some plausible-sounding reason and makes you believe you’re the only one in a position to pay it • you send money • you never hear from them again, or worse, you are asked for more, and more, and more money You may have received emails in your inbox with strange, unsolicited business proposals, perha
