An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is a common confidence trick. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI states that "An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value β such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift - and then receives little or nothing in return.
The number "" refers to the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud and the charges and penalties for such offenders. Although Nigeria is most often the nation referred to in these scams, they mainly originate in other nations.
Other nations known to have a high incidence of advance-fee fraud include Ivory Coast , [ 7 ] Togo , [ 8 ] South Africa , [ 9 ] the Netherlands , [ 10 ] Spain , [ 11 ] and Jamaica. The modern scam is similar to the Spanish Prisoner scam that dates back to the late 18th century.
In exchange for assistance, the scammer promised to share money with the victim in exchange for a small amount of money to bribe prison guards. One variant of the scam may date back to the 18th or 19th century, as a very similar letter, entitled "The Letter from Jerusalem". The modern-day transnational scam can be traced back to Germany in [ 19 ] and became popular during the s.
There are many variants of the template letter. One of these, sent via postal mail, was addressed to a woman's husband to inquire about his health. Other official-looking letters were sent from a writer who said he was a director of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. To get the process started, the scammer asked for a few sheets of the company's letterhead, bank account numbers, and other personal information. The spread of e-mail and email harvesting software significantly lowered the cost of sending scam letters by using the Internet in lieu of international post.
