If you get an email or fax promising you millions of dollars for your small assistance? don't relly of that because it is nothing but the full pack of lie. It comes from African country Nigeria and their surrounding countries. It is also popularly known as 419 fraud, Nigerian scam, Nigerian bank scam, or Nigerian money offer.
This fraud so called '4-1-9 Fraud' after the article 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code (part of Chapter 38: "Obtaining Property by false pretences; Cheating") dealing with fraud come into the picture. This modern 419 scam originated in the early 1980s as the oil-based Nigerian economy declined.
Nigerian fraud mails are also a type of Advance-Fee fraud case in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significant larger gain. The sums involved are usually in the millions of dollars, and the investor is promised a large share, typically ten to forty percent.
The spread of e-mail and easy access to e-mail-harvesting software significantly lowered the cost of sending scam letters by using the Internet so the scammers has now adopted this channel. In Nigeria and their surrounding countries, has become an industry of fraud mails. Daily thousand of emails are sent to people all over the world and criminals spending lots of their time in these activities. Whilst the vast majority of recipients do not respond to these e-mails, a very small percentage do, ultimetly they lose their own money inlieu get nothing.
The Scam operates as follows:
The target receives an unsolicited fax, email, or letter often concerning Nigeria or another African nation containing either a money laundering or other illegal proposal OR you may receive a Legal and Legitimate business proposal by normal means.
In the letter, a Nigerian will claim that he is ownner of millions but legaly he seeks your help or bank account to claim. In return he will promise to give a large share (10-40%) in total amount. If you start replying then sooner or later you will be asked to pay a advance fee for processing of documents. If you pay thistime, another fee will quickly come up, and it will continue till you give up or run out of money. You never see the millions of dollars because they never existed but you will loose your money.
Nigeria is still ranked as one of the most corrupt countries on earth. U.S. citizens lose approximately $2 billion ($2,000 million) a year to Nigerian fraud.
We can’t stop the fraud, but we can have some fun, and make the criminals use their time in vain.An easy way to check if you incoming email is fraud... is to search a part of it at google.
But in general never give your bank of id card information to anyone you do not know!
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