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Top 10 E-Mail Scams 4

by Joshua Fruhlinger on July 16, 2008 at 12:03 AM

Scam #4: Nigerian Letter Scam

The Come-On

The "419 letter," named for the Nigerian penal code that addresses crime schemes, shows up as an e-mail from someone looking for your help in a seemingly desperate yet worthy cause, usually someone looking to give money away in his or her final days. An excerpt from a particularly desperate one follows:

"...before my late husband died he was a major oil tycoon,and deposited the sum of 25 million dollars ( Twenty five million dollars) in one of the Spanish bank in Madrid,Spain. some years ago,thats all i have left now,i need you to collect this funds and distribute it according to the God wishes and for charity . so that when i die my soul can rest in peace.the funds will be entirely in hands and management. i hope God gives you the wisdom to touch very many lives,that is my main concern. 20% of this money will be for your time and effort,while 80% goes to charity. So if you know you can assist me then forward to me immediately the following informations.
1) NAMES AND ADDRESS
2) PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS
3) YOUR NATIONALITY
4) OCCUPATION
5) AGE and your Marital Startus.
Please reply back to me on this email: jennydiaz@mail.vu."

The Scam

In exchange for your personal information like bank accounts and routing numbers, the sender promises a large lump sum for your help. You never get the money, of course, and the e-mail sender is across the world impersonating you, creating an alternate version of you with credit cards and bank accounts until your credit goes so bad that you will spend years trying to fix it.

You will even often get official-looking documents to get you to pony up for shipping and documentation fees, making the whole thing look legitimate.


What You Can Do

Carols says: "Free money from Nigeria offered in an e-mail from a princess in distress or a diplomatic prisoner? Fat chance. These scams have been plaguing consumers for years, with variations on the dramatic set-up, but the bottom line is the same: Getting involved with these scams can be more than just a waste of your time. They can also be dangerous and life-threatening."

For more information, 419eater.com has a great FAQ that even documents some of the cases as well as some citizens fighting back against the scammers. Warning: Some of these accounts are for mature audiences only.

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