He said he wanted to transfer $20 million to the recipient's bank account – money that was budgeted, but was never spent. Other official-looking letters were sent from a writer who said he was a director of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. It then asked what to do with profits from a $24.6 million investment, and ended with a telephone number. One of these, sent via postal mail, was addressed to a woman's husband, and inquired about his health. There are many variants of the letters sent. The modern day transnational scam can be traced back to Germany in 1922, and became popular during the 1980s. Another variant of the scam, dating back to circa 1830, appears very similar to what is passed via email today: "Sir, you will doubtlessly be astonished to be receiving a letter from a person unknown to you, who is about to ask a favour from you.", and goes on to talk of a casket containing 16,000 francs in gold and the diamonds of a late marchioness. One variant of the scam may date back to the 18th or 19th centuries, as a very similar letter, entitled "The Letter from Jerusalem", is seen in the memoirs of Eugène François Vidocq, a former French criminal and private investigator. 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. In that con, businessmen were contacted by an individual allegedly trying to smuggle someone that is connected to a wealthy family out of a prison in Spain. The modern scam is similar to the Spanish Prisoner scam which dates back to the late 18th century. 4.2.5 Telecommunications relay services.Other nations known to have a high incidence of advance-fee fraud include: Ivory Coast, Togo, South Africa, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Jamaica. Other variations include the Spanish Prisoner scam and the black money scam. The scam has been used with fax and traditional mail, and is now prevalent in online communications like emails.
The number "419" refers to the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud, the charges and penalties for offenders. 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-such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift-and then receives little or nothing in return." There are many variations of this type of scam, including the " Nigerian prince scam", also known as a 419 scam.
If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim to pay or simply disappears. 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. An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and one of the most common types of confidence tricks.