Top 10 (Ten) Online Scams Used by Cyber Criminals to Trick You Xorian Infotech | Page 6

Nigerian Letter or “419” Fraud
Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of
impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee
scheme in which a letter mailed, or e-mailed, from
Nigeria offers the recipient the “opportunity” to share in
a percentage of millions of dollars that the author—a selfproclaimed government official—is trying to transfer
illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to
send information to the author, such as blank letterhead
stationery, bank name and account numbers, and other
identifying information using a fax number given in the
letter or return e-mail address provided in the message.
The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who
has demonstrated a “propensity for larceny” by
responding to the invitation, to send money to the author
of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of
increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.