The internet certainly made worldwide communication faster and easier, but it has its downsides, like fraud. Scammers have made big business out of defrauding unsuspecting victims looking for easy money online. It has raised the alert levels already following the many harrowing stories of victims. It also raised information drives to inform people and prevent them from becoming the next preys.



419 is the section of the Nigerian Criminal law that states it is illegal to obtain money under false pretenses. It was only enforced recently. When the oil-based Nigerian economy started to decline in the 1980s, thousands of Nigerians looked to the internet to make quick bucks in a desperately poor economy. What used to be a lengthy scamming process involving the use of letters, fax and telex in the early to mid-1990s now employed the use of emails. Email and the internet have transformed a local fraud activity into one of Nigeria's biggest exports that turned 419 men into local heroes and celebrities.

The 419 scam typically begins with an email or a letter stating that the recipient has been carefully chosen out of thousands to receive large pay-offs. Truth is, the same email was sent to thousands of other prospects. These emails bear catchy subject lines.

The sender normally would introduce himself as a person privy to some confidential information and purportedly needs monetary help. The scenarios and their situations vary but the common ones would normally narrate unclaimed deposits in millions at some bank in Nigeria. These sums are purportedly left by the unfortunate demise of the depositor and his next of kin. The sender wishes to have the victim pose as legal claimant, a rightful heir to the fortune before it gets reverted to national treasury. The proposal would end with the receiver getting a huge chunk of the fortune for his services, typically ten to forty percent.

Sometimes, scammers portray themselves as the heirs (wife or son) of a deposed leader or dictator who has amassed big stolen wealth; sometimes, a senior bank officer who knows or a dying client with no relatives who happens to have millions deposited with them; a corrupt official who has succeeded in embezzling millions; a treasure-hunting soldier who stumbled upon a stash of gold in the desert or similar things.

The scamming business is so huge in Nigeria. There are actually professionally organized operations. They've got working fax numbers, telephone lines, and contacts at government offices. Prospects researching the offer's background often find the pieces fitting together perfectly. These professionally organized criminal often victimizes investors and huge businesses raking in millions in cash for themselves. Many of the scammers are less organized and do not have access to such connections but are still pretty convincing to, and successfully defraud middle-class persons and small business owners.

Apparently, the reason why these scams are turning out to be successful ventures is that the many young, poor but computer-savvy Nigerians wanting to make a quick buck find many greedy victims equally eager to get rich quickly.