Another one of those 419 or Nigerian scams

Most of us are probably already aware of the so-called Nigerian or 419 scams but I’m sure there are still a few who would believe the outrageous propositions and eventually become a victim.

For the uninitiated, a Nigerian scam is a scam trick in which the target is persuaded to advance a sum of money in exchange for a supposedly larger gain. That is why this modus operandi is also called advance fee fraud.

The usual story used by these scammers is that a prominent or wealthy person needs help in moving his millions of dollars from one country to another. In return, the target is promised a percentage of the total cash. However, before the transaction can begin, the scammer requests from the target a sum of money supposedly to pay for fees or other expenses. After the target has sent money to the scammer, the former will no longer receive any correspondence from the scammer.

This scam is called Nigerian scam because most of these letters originate from Nigeria. It is also called 419 scam, with “419″ referring to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud. Snopes.com has an extensive explanation about this type of scam.

A sample Nigerian scam letter is the one below which I received in my email just a few minutes ago:

From: Williams Jones <williamsjones@wfred.net>
Subject: MY PROPOSAL
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008

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I am in search for an agency/ individual to assist us in transfer of TWENTY MILLION POUNDS (£20Million Pounds )and subsequent investment in properties in your country,

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you will be required to
(1) Assist in the transfer of the said sum
(2) Advise on lucrative area for investment
(3) Assist us in purchase of properties.
(4) send me your company details, home address and private telephone/fax number
(5) Open a new Bank account where this money will be transferred into. Or send me a trusted account

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If you decide to render your service to us in this regard, 15% of the total sum of the above will be for you, and while the rest will be for investment.

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And this money belongs to my late father who died last two year. And that is why I am now looking for trust and reliable company that can help me to invest this money in business. And it is because i don’t have register company to back up this funds for investment in business.

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Please if you are interested kindly reply me with your direct phone no and full names so that i can give you the modalities.

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yours faithfully,

.

WILLIAMS JONES

Make you sure you don’t fall for this! These outrageous proposals are nothing but sham and scam!