Frequently Asked Questions

It is a form of an advance payment scam. The scams involve a number of schemes, all designed to dupe victims into parting with their money. The conmen typically send letters through the postal mail, facsimile or more recently, the Internet, claiming to have acquired or inherited large sums of money, sometimes purporting it to be 'excess government or bank funds.' They seek the victim’s help to supply a foreign bank account number to be used to transfer the 'funds' out of Africa. The victim is promised a huge commission in return. These offers are bogus and the victims are often duped into paying large sums in up-front payments, purportedly as taxes or fees in order to transfer the 'funds.'

Although commonly called Nigerian, they are not limited to Nigeria. They may originate from any country. There is even one with money from North Korea. It is so called because the earlier such scams originated from Nigeria. The fraud is also known as the 419 scam, as the fraud is outlined in Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

The scam is initiated with the fraudster contacting a targeted company, either by fax or mail. A business proposal is made in the letter or fax, usually by a Nigerian based syndicate posing as senior government officials. They claim that they are in possession of a large amount of over-budgeted money, usually American dollars. The proposal entails the transfer of the over-budgeted money to a bank account outside of Nigeria, which is that of the targeted company. A plausible explanation is usually given for the transfer, although they basically appeal to the intended victim's greed. The person receiving the letter or fax is generally promised a sizable percentage, between 20 and 35 percent, of the money transferred, as a commission, for the use of the bank account.

If the intended victim is interested in the deal, they are requested to forward a variety of paperwork which generally includes blank company letterheads which are duly signed, blank invoices, telephone and fax numbers, and especially bank account details. These being required to affect the transfer of the money into the bank account.

1. The victim is often asked to deposit money into a specified bank account to help cover expenses for completing the deal, which may include paying bribes to other parties in Nigeria. Once the original fee has been paid, "complications" may arise which necessitate the payment of more fees.

2. Alternatively a meeting is organised in Nigeria and once the victim is in Nigeria, his passport is confiscated and he is detained until sufficient payment is received.

3. Also, using the bank details and official letterheads to transfer money out of the victim's bank account and into an account under the control of the criminals.

4. Once the money is lost, an "official" may contact the victim on the pretext of helping the victim retrieve the lost money, which, in turn, also costs money.

1. The letter will stress the urgency of the matter.

2. The confidential nature of the transaction is stressed.

3. Claims are made that the other parties are employed in, or have strong ties with an Affrican Government or the Central Bank.

4. There may be a need to travel to a foreign country, typically Nigeria or one of its neighboring countries.

5. Many forged official-looking documents.

6. Blank letterheads, invoices and banking details are requested.

7. Additional fees are continuously requested in order to further the transaction.

8. Most letters will indicate that the transaction is 100% risk-free.

An example is as follows:

Dear Sir,

Confidential Business Proposal

Having consulted with my colleagues and based on the information gathered from the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry, I have the privilege to request for your assistance to transfer the sum of $47,500,000.00 (forty seven million, five hundred thousand United States dollars) into your accounts. The above sum resulted from an over-invoiced contract, executed commissioned and paid for about five years (5) ago by a foreign contractor. This action was however intentional and since then the fund has been in a suspense account at The Central Bank Of Nigeria Apex Bank.

We are now ready to transfer the fund overseas and that is where you come in. It is important to inform you that as civil servants, we are forbidden to operate a foreign account; that is why we require your assistance. The total sum will be shared as follows: 70% for us, 25% for you and 5% for local and international expenses incident to the transfer.

The transfer is risk free on both sides. I am an accountant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). If you find this proposal acceptable, we shall require the following documents:

(a) your banker's name, telephone, account and fax numbers.

(b) your private telephone and fax numbers -- for confidentiality and easy communication.

(c) your letter-headed paper stamped and signed.

Alternatively we will furnish you with the text of what to type into your letter-headed paper, along with a breakdown explaining, comprehensively what we require of you. The business will take us thirty (30) working days to accomplish.

Please reply urgently.

Best regards

Fraudsters have several ways of obtaining e-mail addresses. Firstly they make use of special software to extract e-mail addresses from websites. Special software are also made use of to extract e-mail addresses from accounts such as Yahoo, etc.

Once a fraudster has a list of e-mail addresses, this list is distributed to other fraudsters, and therefore the unlimited flow of 419 scams to an individual's email box.

The fraudsters are asking for this information as they falsify certain documents in order to convince the victim that he/she will receive the millions of dollars involved in the scam.

Where a victim has to meet the fraudsters this information will be sent to the fraudster who will meet the victim.

No, it is not safe to meet these fraudsters. Those victims who met these fraudsters and walked away unarmed are lucky. These fraudsters are extremely dangerous. Nigerian 419 offenders are filled with greed and will resort to extreme measures and levels of violence in order to get money from victims, who refuse to hand over such money.

It was found before that victims who met these fraudsters had been kidnapped and held for ransom. It was found on several occassions that victims had been murdered.

The possibility is very small. Less than a day after parting with your money, these fraudsters have already shared it between all role-players. The chances of recovering these monies is almost 0.

When talking about arresting fraudsters one must also keep in mind the successes of prosecution. No law enforcement agency will make an arrest if there are no chances for prosecution, as this would lead to civil claims against law enforcement agencies.

One has to keep in mind that fraudsters are making use of false information to con victims. Although victims might think that they have all the addresses, phone, fax and banking details of fraudsters, this is all false. Everything was opened using false information, which seldom leads to any person.

Arresting these fraudsters and prosecuting them are very difficult, and one seldom hears about these convictions.

If you receive a "419" letter or e-mail, do not reply. Be wary when offered such get rich-quick-offers that promise exorbitant returns. Those who receive such offers or wish to pass on the letter to the police, can contact the Duty Officer, Commercial Affairs Department at 63250000 or at 391 New Bridge Road, #06-701 Police Cantonment Complex Block D, Singapore 088762. They can also contact any police station.

Remember: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!".