Some Things You Need To Know About The Nigerian Email Scam

The Nigerian email Scam is often referred to as "advanced fee fraud". Although many modern scam artists use Nigeria, the letters had their origins in Spain during the 1920's, and were often sent via regular mail. Today emails can come in from almost any foreign nation, and with many variations on the story used to encourage you to part with your money.

Basically, individuals intent on getting ahold of your money obtain your email address from a list. Next, you will receive an email from someone pretending to be a lawyer, politician, or other important sounding person from a foreign country. The gist of these letters is that the person writing to you needs to transfer enormous sums of their money out of their own country. They will need your banking information and some quick money from you in order to accomplish that goal. In return, the people behind a Nigerian email scam promise to give you a certain percentage of their vast fortune in return for your help.

Unfortunately, if you fall for a Nigerian email scam, you will, without question, lose all of the money you send to these criminals. Once they have access to your personal information, sooner or later they will send another letter, asking for more money. In many cases, once people catch on to the fact they are never going to see their own money back, let alone the fortune they were promised, criminals behind the Nigerian email scam will pack up and never be heard from again. Perhaps it can be said that the Nigerian email scam operates much the way certain so-called "faith" based healers continue to work today.

As an example, someone with diabetes might be told they have to pay some money to a certain person in order to be rid of an evil spirit. Without money for medications and a legitimate doctor, obviously, the person is going to get sicker, and die. Unfortunately, victims of the Nigerian email scam have also been known to wind up dead. Those less fortunate may wind up being beaten, or harmed in many other ways.

If you are currently sending money to someone, and suspect that you have gotten into contact with someone that is engaged in a Nigerian email scam, or one of its variants, it is important to contact the secret service immediately. You may also want to contact your local or state police, although they do not have the jurisdiction to investigate and catch these criminals. While law enforcement officials may not be able to get your money back, they will at least be aware of your situation, and try to protect you from any other harm that may result from a Nigerian email scam.

Finally, if you receive a canvassing email, and suspect it is of the Nigerian email scam variant, again, it is crucial to contact the secret service. It is possible that one of these letters may just contain header and other information that can help the authorities trace down these criminals. There are also a number of "scam buster" sites that are operated independent of law enforcement agencies. While they educate about these issues, and serve as a vital support for Nigerian email scam survivors, they also sometimes engage in illegal "stings" that are meant to thwart those engaged in a Nigerian email scam.

Even though the basic premise of the Nigerian email scam seems obvious, the old saying "a sucker is born every minute" applies as well to the victims of this scenario as it does to the people that give their money to faith healers and other assorted snake oil vendors. The best thing you can do is to report these scam artists to the authorities, even if you have already given them money. Although law enforcement officials have a difficult time stopping this type of crime, reporting it can still help provide leads that may result in stopping these criminals before they prey on anyone else.