What is the “Nigerian letter” scam?
The Nigerian letter scam, as it is commonly called, is an “advanced fee” type of fraud. The Advance Fee Fraud (AFF) email is also known as 419, named for the violation of Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. It is sent unsolicited by mail, fax, or most commonly by email, in the form of a letter. Although letters come from around the world, the most common advance fee fraud letters relate to funds held in or taken from West African nations such as Nigeria. Con artists claim to be officials, businesspeople, lottery officials or the surviving spouses of former government honchos in Nigeria or another country whose money is somehow tied up for a limited time. They offer to transfer lots of money into your bank account if you will pay a fee or taxes to help them access their money. If you respond to the initial offer, you may receive documents that look official. Then they ask you to send money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney’s fees, as well as blank letterhead, y
