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I doubt there is anyone with an email address who hasn’t gotten an email like this at least once:

Well, I am Barrister kelvin Jones, a Solicitor. I am the Personal Attorney to Mr.Steve , who used to work with SIAMRAK Company Limited in Bangkok Thailand.
On the 21st of April 2004, his wife and their three children were involved in a car accident along Sukhumvit Express Road.
. . .
Upon receipt of the fund, I will come over to your country to meet with you for the disbursement of the fund and then you and I will share the money in this order: 70% will be for me, 30% will be for you.

Yep and if you fall for this there is a lovely bridge in Brooklyn and some oceanfront property in Arizona with your name on it.  Welcome to the world of 419 scammers.

The “419 scam,” also known as the “Nigerian scam,” has been around since the 80’s and is one of the most sent types of spam in existence.  The scam gets its name from the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud. The emails, most of which claim to come from people in one of the African nations (some also claim to be from people located in South America, Central America, or Europe), contain a variation of the same basic story involving a bank account containing millions of dollars. 

The recipient is either told they have inherited this money from a long lost relative, is asked to accept the funds from the owner who is usually terminally ill and has no family, or is asked to help move the funds and promised a huge percentage as a thank you. 

Popular variations on this include the “You’ve won a foreign lottery/sweepstakes” scam, and the dating scam.  In the dating scam, a man is lured into an online relationship with a woman located overseas.  Many photos and letter are sent until the woman gains the man’s affection and trust.  Then the scam begins.  She starts asking for financial help, supplying one fake story after another and promising she will come over to be with him if he’ll just help her get her finances in order.  Once the money runs out, the woman disappears.

If the recipient’s greed overrules their common sense, they will be asked to forward a processing fee to be used to transfer the funds.  From there, the scam unfolds.  They’ll be asked for more and more money for various reasons from bank fees to bribes.  By the time the victim realizes they have been scammed, it’s usually too late-their bank accounts have been sucked dry and the scammers are long gone.  Since they usually insist on the fees being sent via Western Union, they are impossible to trace.

Tragically, it isn’t just money that is lost in some cases.  So far about 25 deaths have been linked to the scam.  Many were suicides by victims unable to cope with their losses, but a at least 3 people have been reportedly murdered by the scammers after traveling to Africa in search of the money they were promised, and in one case, a woman shot and killed her husband after she lost $17,000 to a 419 scam.  There have even been reports of kidnappings.

There have been few arrests made in 419 scams.  The scammers are simply too difficult to find and often have corrupt police on their side.  If you’ve fallen victim to one of these scams, contact the U.S. Secret Service with as much documentation as you can:

United States Secret Service Financial Crimes Division
950 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20223
(202) 406-5850

These types of scams seem to get by spam filters regularly.  The best thing to do is just delete them.  Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to reply with threats or insults.  All you’ll succeed in doing is telling the scammers your address is valid and you are someone that reads their stuff.  The result?  Even more 419 spams!

Do you have a 419 scam story? Leave a comment and share it with us!