METHOD #21 OF 110

Advance Fee Fraud (419 Scam)

HIGH

SCALE (ENCYCLOPEDIA)

$700M+/year

IN SHORT

Pay upfront to receive larger sum (inheritance, lottery, contract). Named after Nigerian Criminal Code Section 419. Declining but still active. Email-based, now also WhatsApp/Telegram.

CONCENTRATED IN

Nigeria, Ghana

WHERE IT STARTED

FIRST SEEN: 19th century (Spanish Prisoner letters); '419' form in the 1980s · GOING FOR: Over 125 years (documented since at least the 1890s)

The 'Spanish Prisoner' letter, offering a share of a hidden fortune in exchange for money to free a jailed nobleman, was documented in Britain and the US by the 1890s (New York Times, 1898); the modern '419' form took shape in Lagos, Nigeria in the 1980s, spreading by post and fax.

The method goes back at least to the 'Spanish Prisoner' letters of the 19th century, in which a writer claimed a wealthy man was jailed in Spain and asked for money to free him in exchange for a share of his fortune; the New York Times reported on such letters in 1898. The modern '419' name comes from Section 419 of Nigeria's Criminal Code, which covers obtaining property by false pretences, after the scheme spread from Nigeria by post and fax in the 1980s. It moved to email in the 1990s with the familiar 'foreign prince' and 'inheritance' messages, and is now run worldwide through lottery, loan, job, inheritance and recovery-scam variants. It also overlaps with romance scams, where a fake partner asks for fees to release money or travel.

HOW IT WORKS

The victim is told a large sum is waiting for them, such as an inheritance, lottery win, business deal or loan, but must first pay a small fee, tax or bribe to release it. Each payment is followed by a new obstacle and a new fee, so the victim keeps paying in hope of the big payout. Fake official documents, bank letters and stamps are used to make the story believable, and the promised money never arrives.

Unexpected message about money, a prize or inheritanceYou must pay a fee before receiving fundsRequests to keep the deal secretOfficial-looking documents from unfamiliar banks or 'ministries'Payment asked by wire, gift card or crypto

HOW USEFUL IT IS TO CRIMINALS

It costs almost nothing: a letter, then an email address, and now a WhatsApp account, sent to millions in the hope of a few replies. Response rates are tiny but the take per victim is large, and Ultrascan estimated global losses at $12.7 billion in 2013; the same networks now run romance, lottery and job variants. Prosecution is rare because senders are abroad and victims are ashamed, though Nigeria's EFCC, created in 2003, has secured thousands of convictions.

THE DAMAGE IT HAS CAUSED

$12.7 billion

Estimated global losses to advance-fee fraud in 2013 (estimate) — Ultrascan AGI, 2014

Ultrascan AGI estimated worldwide 419 losses at $12.7 billion in 2013, the last comprehensive estimate; the FBI's 2025 report logged $194 million in lottery, sweepstakes and inheritance losses in the US alone. The biggest single case was Emmanuel Nwude's $242 million fraud on Brazil's Banco Noroeste (1995-1998), which helped bring the bank down (BBC, 2005). Victims have gone bankrupt and some have killed: a Czech retiree shot a Nigerian consular official in Prague in 2003 after losing his savings (BBC, Feb 2003).

$242m Largest single documented 419 fraud (Banco Noroeste) (BBC, 2005)

$12.7bn Estimated global losses to advance-fee fraud in 2013 (estimate) (Ultrascan AGI, 2014)

1898 Year the New York Times reported on 'Spanish Prisoner' swindle letters (New York Times, 1898 (via Wikipedia))

WHO USES IT MOST

MOST OF ALL: 🇳🇬 Nigeria ▸

The scheme's '419' name comes from Section 419 of Nigeria's Criminal Code, and Nigeria's EFCC was set up in 2003 partly to tackle it (Wikipedia 'Advance-fee scam'; EFCC).

Nigeria (origin of the '419' name, source)Ghana (source)United States (largest reported victim base)United Kingdom (victims)Brazil (Banco Noroeste victim)

From our case files: every country the people who used this method were born in or operated from. Bigger and brighter means more of them; amber is the most. Tap a marker for the country page.

NIGERIA · 3 BRAZIL · 1 INDIA · 1

🇳🇬 Nigeria — USED MOST3 casesEmmanuel Nwude · Amaka Anajemba · Fred Ajudua 🇧🇷 Brazil1 caseAmaka Anajemba 🇮🇳 India1 caseFred Ajudua 🇬🇧 United Kingdom1 caseEmmanuel Nwude

GOVERNMENTS LINKED TO IT

No government is documented as using this method.

NOTABLE PEOPLE WHO USED IT — RANKED BY PROFILE ORDER (NOT BY AMOUNT)

#1 Emmanuel Nwude PLEADED GUILTY OUR CASE FILE #021 ▸

$242m (paid by Banco Noroeste) · 1995-2005

Posed as a Central Bank of Nigeria governor to trick Brazilian bank Banco Noroeste into paying for a fake airport contract, one of the largest 419 frauds.

SOURCE: Wikipedia 'Emmanuel Nwude'; BBC, Nov 2005

#2 Amaka Anajemba PLEADED GUILTY

$242m (same Banco Noroeste fraud) · 1995-2005

Co-defendant in the Banco Noroeste fraud; sentenced in Nigeria and ordered to return funds.