The 419 scam was originated during 1990s as the oil-based economy of Nigeria went downward. Several unemployed university students first used this 419 scam as a way of manipulating business visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector
2. 419 scam The 419 scam was originated during 1990s as the oil-based economy of Nigeria went downward. Several unemployed university students first used this 419 scam as a way of manipulating business visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector before aiming greedy businessmen in the west, and then later the wider population. Early alternates were often sent via letter, fax, or through Telex.
3. The spread of email and very easy access to email-harvesting software made the cost lower of sending scam letters through the internet extremely cheap. While various figures have violently claimed, which the 419 scam employs as many as 250,000 people in the Nigeria, in reality it has regularly been linked only to small organized gangs often working in concert with western cities and in Nigeria. In recent years, the 419 scam has urged imitations in a variety of trouble spots in Africa and in Eastern Europe.
4. Variants There are many variations on the most frequent scam419, and also many differences on the way the scam works. The following are famous variations from the standard Nigerian Letter scam, but still retain the core elements; the victim is mislead by some excessively large gain into sending an advance payment, which once made is lost.
5. Check cashing Some schemes are based exclusively on cheat the victim into cashing a fake check. The scammer contacts the victim to interest them in a "work-at-home" chance, or asks them to cash a check or money order that for some motive cannot be redeemed locally.
6. Lottery scam The lottery scam entails fake notices of lottery wins. The winner is typically asked to send sensitive information to a free e-mail account. The scammer then informs the victim that releasing the funds requires some small fee (insurance, registration, or shipping). Once the victim sends the fee, the scammer invents another fee.
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8. Financial loss estimates Estimates of the total losses due to the scam vary extensively. The Snopes website lists the following estimate: "The Nigerian scam is hugely successful. According to a 1997 newspaper article: "We have confirmed losses just in the United States of over $100 million in the last 15 months," said Special Agent James Caldwell, of the Secret Service financial crimes division. "And that's just the ones we know of. We figure a lot of people don't report them."
9. Financial loss estimates Estimates of the total losses due to the scam vary extensively. The Snopes website lists the following estimate: "The Nigerian scam is hugely successful. According to a 1997 newspaper article: "We have confirmed losses just in the United States of over $100 million in the last 15 months," said Special Agent James Caldwell, of the Secret Service financial crimes division. "And that's just the ones we know of. We figure a lot of people don't report them."
10. Bomb scams It is related to the hitmanscam, the scammer contacts a business, mall, office building, or other profitable location with a bomb threat. The scammer says they will explode the bomb unless the management of the business does as the scammer tells them. Often, the scammer says they have the store under observation; however, analysis of the calls by police has recognized that the vast mass of threat calls are made from other states or even from outside the country.