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. 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 [[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201755,00.html| 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

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