What Are Nigerian Scams?

Nigerian scams also referred to as 419 fraud or advance fee fraud, are schemes where a scammer asks for assistance in facilitating the transfer of a sum of money, usually through email. In exchange, the scammer offers a commission – a huge amount, sometimes up to several thousands of dollars, depending on the perceived vulnerability of the chosen victim.

The scammer then asks that money be sent to cover the costs related to the transfer. If the target sends the money to the scammer, they will either vanish immediately or aim to get more money with claims of additional issues with the transfer. This particular scam is usually referred to as the Nigerian scam due to its prevalence in the country, especially in the 1990s. However, this fraud isn’t restricted to Nigeria and is performed by several organizations in plenty of countries worldwide.

How to Identify a Nigerian Scam?

Here are some ways to identify a Nigerian scam –

• You get a call out of the blue asking you to assist someone from another nation transfer money out of their country, e.g., Sierra, Iraq, or Nigeria.
• The request entails a sad and long story about how the owner cannot transfer the money.
• You are promised a financial reward for assisting them to access their trapped money.