advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud is the scam where you are asked to pay a small sum to receive a much larger one, and Nigeria carries its reputation.
In plain English
It is called 419 here, after the section of the criminal code, and Nigeria has paid a reputational price for it that ordinary Nigerians did not earn and cannot escape.
The structure never changes. There is a large sum waiting for you. An inheritance, a contract, a lottery, a job, a grant. All you must do first is pay a small fee. Processing. Legal. Customs. Clearance. You pay it, and then another fee appears, and another, because the fee is the entire business.
There was never any money.
The modern versions are considerably better dressed. A job offer requiring payment for a medical or a uniform. A loan approved on condition of an insurance fee. A visa agent who needs money for processing. A trading platform where you can see your profits growing and must pay tax before withdrawing.
The rule is one sentence and it has never failed. Money that is genuinely owed to you does not require you to send money first.
A real employer does not charge you to work. A real lender takes their fee from the loan. A real inheritance does not need your card details.
You are offered a job and asked to pay ₦25,000 for a medical and a uniform before you start. You pay it. Then a training fee appears. There is no job. There never was, and there will always be one more fee.
Questions people ask
How do I spot advance fee fraud?
Any arrangement where you must pay before receiving. Urgency, secrecy and a fee that keeps growing are the signatures.
What if I have already paid?
Stop immediately and pay nothing further. Report to the police and the EFCC, keep every message, and accept that recovery is unlikely.
Why is it called 419?
After the section of the Nigerian criminal code dealing with obtaining property by false pretences. The name stuck, and so did the reputation.
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