Nigerian email fraud is a type of "advance fee" fraud, with an associated possibility of identity theft. Sometimes this type of fraud is called "419" fraud, after the underenforced section of the Nigerian criminal code which makes it illegal. In short, a criminal sends out thousands of spam emails, hoping that an unsuspecting soul will reply. Once contact is made, and it appears that the response is from somebody who may fall for the scam, the criminal will repeatedly make promises to send the promised cash, but problem after problem will arise. These problems can only be resolved, the criminal will swear, if the target sends them money to pay certain fees or bribe various officials. (The term "advance fee" refers to the money they get from you - and despite their promises of riches, you never get a cent in return.)
Sometimes, the fees and bribes these people describe will seem small, particularly in comparison to the riches they offer. But there is no upside - even if you are only "risking" $30 or $40, you'll lose that money forever. And some people have literally been cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But The Letter I Received Is From A Different Country
Please do not make the mistake of assuming that the same type of offer from another country, such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Kenya, Senegal, Zaire, the Congo, the United Arab Emirates, or Sierra Leone, or even European nations such as England or Spain, is legitimate. There are people who operate the same type of fraud from a wide range of nations. Also, some scammers who are located in Nigeria will lie about their location.
Please remember that this type of email is always fraudulent, no matter who sends it or where they claim to be from.
How Did They Find Me?
Most people who have an email address for any significant amount of time receive so-called "spam email" (more politely known as "unsolicited commercial email.") Spammers create lists of email addresses by collecting them from websites, buying them from other businesses, and even by guessing possible names on popular email hosts such as Yahoo! mail and Hotmail. It is possible to buy large email lists for relatively small amounts of money. Most people who are running these scams get spam mailing lists in this manner, or buy them from spammers.
I Got The Same Type Of Letter, But By Fax - Is That Different?
Prior to the rise of email, it was common for this type of scammer to approach people by fax or even by regular mail. I am sure they are working on a way to reach people by instant messenger. However they reach you, they are trying to cheat you.
What Harm Is There In Contacting Them, "Just In Case"?
First, there is no point in contacting them "just in case" - of the thousands upon thousands of people who have been cheated in this manner, not one has received the promised money. You won't, either.
Second, you may inadvertently provide the scammer with information that they can use to fake your identity and commit credit card fraud or bank fraud. Even providing them with your name and bank account number can provide them with the basis to try to forge a bank draft or obtain a fraudulent money transfer from your account. If you give them any information, they will try to use it to cheat you.
Third, some of these scammers will actively try to lure you to Africa with the intention of holding you for ransom.
You may have seen sites where people turned the tables on the scammers, making them do foolish things or stringing them along. But it's safer just to delete their emails and forget them.
What Can I Do About Spam Email?
The best approach to avoiding spam is ordinarily to be very careful about the distribution of your email address. Once you start to receive spam at a particular email address, you will usually end up receiving increasing amounts of spam at that address no matter what you do. There is filtering technology which some find helpful, which helps to screen out spam email from legitimate email.
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