Nigeria 419 Scam
Examples of 419
If you receive any email that pretends to come from Banks, Courts, Government and their senior officials, please first check the website from which it was sent.
Criminals who run scams send emails from free public email services and pretend that these emails come from Banks, Courts and senior Government officials. Please note that Banks (particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria) do not conduct official business using free public email services.
Fake websites of Banks
Criminals who run scams often set up very sophisticated websites that pretend to be the websites of banks in Nigeria. If you are directed to any website that purports to be that of a bank,click here to see if it is a bank licensed to operate in Nigeria.
Money transfer by Western Union or other services
Western Union and other wire services are well known and respected organisations used by very many Nigerians to send money home. Unfortunately, it is rarely easy to trace the persons who collect the money. Criminals often use these services so as to evade detection.
If any person you do not know on a face to face basis asks you to send money to Nigeria by Western Union or any other money transfer service, we advice that you refuse to do so.
We further advice that you should never send money to any person in Nigeria (for any reason whatsoever) if you have never met that person face to face. Do not send money to people in Nigeria whom you met or know only through the internet.
1. I received an email or a phone call from a person I do not know. He offers to render a service and says he is a lawyer. He wants me to pay by Western Union Money Transfer or to a bank account in Taiwan or some other country
It is a scam. Western Union and other wire services are well known and respected organisations used by very many Nigerians to send money home. Unfortunately, it is rarely easy to trace the persons who collect the money. Criminals often use these services so as to evade detection.
It is very unusual for a Nigerian to offer services from or in Nigeria and yet not have an account in a bank in Nigeria. Ignore them.
2. I received an email or a phone call from a person I do not know and he claims to be a lawyer in Nigeria. He informs me that a person has died and left a large sum of money to me in his will or I am the only relative they could trace and so I am entitled to his money or property .
This question comes in a variety of ways but it always involves money left by a dead person. In our experience, it is (in most cases) a scam.
The criminals usually send official-looking documents that they have forged. Some even send fake Call to Bar Certificates to "prove" that they are lawyers.
The criminals usually go on to ask for personal and banking details or the payment of a sum of money. Our advice is that you do not give details or pay money. Ignore them.
3. I received an email or a phone call from a person I do not know and he claims to be a born-again Christian. He claims to have made a large amount of money while he was "in the world" and having repented, he wants to use the money for work that will glorify God and needs my help to transfer the money out of Nigeria. He quotes a lot from the Bible in his talk or email
It is a scam that made its appearance about the middle of 2003. It is a variation of the old story about money "kept in a box with a security company". These criminals forget that there is a lot of good work waiting to be done in Nigeria.
The criminals usually go on to ask for personal and banking details or the payment of a sum of money. Our advice is that you do not give details or pay money. Ignore them.
4. I received an email or a phone call from a person I do not know and he says he can assist me in getting paid on a contract executed long ago for which payment has been delayed.
This question comes in a variety of ways but it always involves a demand for money. These persons usually pose as high officials in Government and use the names (or a play on the names) of real persons.
They also talk about many "certificates" such as "Anti-Terrorism Certificate" "Money Laundering Certificate" "Drug free Certificate". The list of these false certificates is endless.
The criminals usually send official-looking documents that they have forged such as "Receipt" from "Central Bank of Nigeria", "Documents issued by a "Court"". Some even send fake Call to Bar Certificates to "prove" that they are lawyers
In our experience, it is (in most cases) a scam. Our advice is that you do not give details or pay money. Ignore them.
If you have a legitimate claim in or against Nigeria, go through official channels and contact your Solicitors
5. I want you to check if a person is a lawyer practicing in Nigeria.
If you receive an unsolicited mail or 'phone call from these persons, then be very careful. A large number of scams are run by criminals who pretend to be lawyers. They often use the names or a play on the names of well known lawyers. Many of them also pretend to be SAN (Senior Advocate of Nigeria)
If you initiated the contact but simply want some assurance, then we may look in our database but we insist that you include the following in your request
5.1 Name of the law firm
5.2 Full names of the lawyer(s)
5.3 Street Address
5.4 Postal address
5.5 Telephone number(s)
6. A person sent me an email. He claims to be a lawyer and says I need to pay for a Drug Free/Money Laundering Certificate. He said I can get it from an International organisation appointed by the NDLEA
It is a scam. These criminals set up bogus websites and open temporary offices and bank accounts into which they want the money paid. They also ask for payment by Western Union or other wire services. Ignore them
7. A person sent me an email and says I need an International Clearance Certificate which can be acquired from the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
It is a scam. Ignore them. These criminals have invented a large number of "Clearances" and "Certificates"
8. A person sent me an email and says I should assist in transferring a large sum of money out of Nigeria. He solicits my "Strictest confidence" in this "Urgent Business transaction".
It is a scam.
This question comes in many varieties and they make many false claims such as being
8.1 Families of persons who were in Government and are now in prison or facing other forms of persecution.
8.2 Senior persons in Government, large corporations, banks and oil companies who are members of "contract review committee" or other committees (the names they invent are endless)
8.3 Lawyers acting for families of persons who were in Government and are now dead, in prison or facing persecutionIn whatever form it comes, they always say that there is a large sum of money to be transferred out of Nigeria and promise a large commission to their targets. Everything they say, is false. Everything they ask you to do is aimed at defrauding you. Ignore them.
9. I was approached through an investors matching service on the internet by a Nigerian.I was thereafter referred to his financial source – a Nigerian company for further review
Aftersome timethey got back to me stating that they had found my project to be worthy of investmentand will invest in dollars or other non-Nigerian currency. Theysent me some documents statingthe conditions of investment . They also recommended the services of a law firmin Nigeria
It is a scam This scam comes in many forms but it always ends up in a demand for money at some point. It is most unlikely that a Nigerian will be so rich (even from stolen Government money) as to have millions of dollars in his account in Nigeria and be looking for an outlet to invest the money outside Nigeria.
If they insist they are serious (and they always do) ask them to fly to meet you but, do not part with any money.
10.Our company has received a "large order" and we are told that in order to transfer the funds to us to pay for the goods, we need a "Money Laundering Certificate" or an "Anti-Terrorist Certificate" or some other documentation and we need to go to Nigeria or pay a "lawyer" in Nigeria to get it for us
It is a scam These "certificates" come in very many forms but they are all fictions invented by these criminals. The import and export process in Nigeria is about the same as in other countries and is a straight forward transaction
11. I received an email telling that I had won an "online lottery". I am told to contact a a person who wants some small fees paid to him by Western Union Money transfer sent to Nigeria. Or I am told that they make payments through an online division of a bank in Nigeria. Through the website of this online bank, I obtained , an Account number, transfer code, password. When I check my account on this website, I can see the large sum of money as credited to the account
It is a scam. There are no "on-line" lotteries in Nigeria and there are no "virtual" or "internet" banks in Nigeria. These criminals set up many fake websites of so-called banks. They even set up bogus websites that use the names of real banks in Nigeria.
12. I am trying to determine the validity of a job offer from the NNPC. The person contacting me is Haruna Sani. Also, a person named Prince Omo Jay has contacted me about the Foreign Expatriate Registration process. He has said that it includes an $800 fee. Is this a valid fee for the country of Nigeria.
It is a scam. There are no job offers of that nature and there are no fees of that type. Jobs are not offered to ay person for any reason simply through the internet.
13. A person or company claims that he can give me a loan. The company is in Nigeria or the correspondence is directed to Nigeria or payment should be sent to Nigeria.
It is a scam. There are no loans. It is impossible to give a loan from Nigeria to a person outside Nigeria through the internet.
Have you read the FAQ? Do you still have a question to ask or any other request to make? If that is so, then you may send us an email at webmaster@onlinenigeria.com