Nigerian Money Scam Costs Victims Thousands

"Someone has contacted you from Nigeria or an other African county and offered you millions if you will help transfer money, diamonds, or other riches to the U.S. for safekeeping. It sounds like a dream come true, but it's really a nightmare," according to the National Fraud Information Center in Washington, D.C.

This increasingly used scheme, referred to as the "Nigerian money scam" or 419 fraud (after a section of the Nigerian Penal code dealing with fraud) because the requests often come from Nigeria, has netted an average loss of $6,542 per victim, the Internet Fraud Complaint Center said. Internet Fraud Watch statistics show that the Nigerian money scam made up 9 percent of internet fraud for the first nine months of 2002, and caused the highest losses to individuals of all the reported internet fraud schemes.

This is NOT just a Maryland problem. The February 21, 2003 copy of the Baltimore Sun reports, "A Nigerian Diplomat was shot and killed Wednesday in his county's embassy in Prague by a retired Czech Doctor who lost his savings in the a Nigerian money scam"

The scam begins with a letter or email requesting the victim to allow the Nigerian government to use the victim's bank account to receive millions of dollars for safe keeping. Payment for transfer fees, legal expenses and other bogus costs are requested, and money from the victim's bank account is siphoned away. Other schemes involve victims paying by money orders.

Advocates should advise clients never to provide bank account or other financial information, and not to travel anywhere to meet people who want money or information provided to them. The U.S. Secret Service reports that some victims have been lured to travel to other countries, where they were robbed; in one case, a victim who traveled to Lagos, Nigeria was murdered.

The Secret Service believes crooks use the money they make on these scams to finance other activities, such as dealing drugs. Efforts against scam artists often have not been successful because perpetrators typically operate outside of the United States.

For more information, see the Secret Service website or an article by MSN.

ScamBusters also has a page on information and how to protect yourself from the Nigerian Advance Fee Scam.

Last legal review:  02/14/08 (PLL/M.A.J.)

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