Advance 419 Fraud is one of the oldest and infamous Internet crimes that still manages to operate online. Many consider this type of crime (also called Nigerian fraud) one of the easiest to spot - after all, how many people reading this are going to respond to a Nigerian banker who has just informed you that you are the beneficiary of millions of US dollars from a recently deceased businessman abroad. Not many, since that is what we know now to be the classic 419 trap.
But like all crimes, 419 fraud has evolved and has sparked many variants that may follow the same template, but are a lot harder to dismiss as fake.
One of these is the 419 romantic scam, or Nigerian romance scam, that baits victims with the promise of friendship and relationships, as opposed to the more traditional cash reward. While many still consider this type of scam relatively notorious, this week it has proved to be very much live and well after it was revealed that a woman from the UK
Kate Roberts was taken by the scammer - who was later traced back to 419 capital Nigeria – over a period of many months, where the scammer requested many cash payouts, for a “telephone line” and “release documents” to travel back to the UK. What made this con much more convincing than many others is that it included telephone calls from many different “characters” in this fictional play that the cyber criminals created.
What is more, is that the cash payouts were to be paid via online wire transfer service Western Union , a massive red flag when it comes to cyber crime.
As always, be on the lookout for 419 scammers on every corner of the Internet. Romance scams like this can be started through unsolicited email, social networking sites or dating sites. Never hand over money to people you have never met online, and always be very wary of requests of payment via Western Union .
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