What You Need to Know About Nigerian Prince Scams

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One of the first cons to flourish on the internet, the “Nigerian prince” scam, also known as the “419” scam (named for the section of Nigeria’s criminal code dealing with fraud), has an

ignominious history that long predates the digital age. Its roots go back to a notorious 19th-century swindle called the “Spanish Prisoner,” and the method of attack has progressed from

letters and faxes to emails and social media.​​

What hasn’t changed is the premise: The scammer poses as a person of wealth and position who needs to get a huge sum of money out of their country and urgently requests your assistance, in

return for a sizable share of the treasure.​

The scam first became ubiquitous online in the 1990s: The supposed benefactor is a Nigerian royal, government official or business executive whose fortune is hostage to war, corruption or

political unrest. This desperate personage needs only your bank account number (to transfer the money for safekeeping) or a relatively small advance payment (to cover taxes, bank fees or

well-placed bribes) or both. For your trouble, some of their millions will become your millions.​

Of course, if you bite, your Nigerian “partner” will drain your account dry or string you along for more and more fees.​ And these days, generative AI offers criminals the opportunity to

generate emails with fewer spelling mistakes and better grammar.​​

There is an increasing variety and breadth of Nigerian scams, which has stuck as a catchall for international “advance fee” frauds that dangle a windfall if you provide financial information

or money upfront. These scams actually emanate from many countries and may use real-world events. (That Nigerian prince might now be a Ukrainian businessman, for example, a U.S. soldier

stationed abroad or an official with an international investment offer.) Some of these criminals perpetrate inheritance scams: They send personalized letters claiming to be foreign bankers

representing a distant relative who has left the victim a large bequest. Of course, before the inheritance can be released, certain taxes must be paid. ​

And Nigeria remains a hotbed of online crime with scammers expanding the 419 playbook into areas such as bogus sweepstakes, “money mule” recruitment and online dating (romance scams). ​