The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Subject Headings (LCSH)

Advance fee fraud


  • Here are entered works on fraudulent attempts to persuade people to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing a much larger gain, often referred to as the Nigerian letter fraud or 419 fraud, after a section of the Nigerian criminal code.
  • URI(s)

  • Variants

    • 419 fraud
    • Advanced fee fraud
    • Fund transfer scam
    • Nigerian letter fraud
    • West African 419 fraud
  • Broader Terms

  • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

  • Sources

    • found: Work cat.: South Carolina Dept. of Consumer Affairs. Nigerian scam/419 scam, 2002.
    • found: Minnesota. Office of the Attorney General. Consumer Protection Division WWW site, Feb. 8, 2006(/consumer fraud: Nigerian advanced fee fraud; business and consumers continually receiving letters, faxes, emails from Nigerian nationals, outlining a confidential business proposal from which recipient can make large sum of money provided bank account number is shared)
    • found: United States Secret Service. Public awareness advisory regarding "4-1-9" or "advance fee fraud" schemes, via WWW, Feb. 8, 2006(Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after Nigerian penal code section addressing fraud schemes; most prevalent cases are the fund transfer scams, in which a Nigerian claiming to be government official informs recipient he is looking for a reputable foreign company or person into whose bank account he can deposit funds)
    • found: City of London. Metropolitan Police WWW site, Feb. 8, 2006(/fraudalert/419 fraud: Advance fee fraud or "419" fraud (named after the relevant section of the Nigerian Criminal Code), originally known as the "Spanish Prisoner Letter," has been carried out since the 16th century by postal mail, now associated in public mind with Nigeria due to the massive proliferation of such confidence tricks from that country since the mid-80s)
    • found: "E-mail scam uses Khodorkovsky ruse." Forbes Magazine online, Jan. 17, 2006, viewed Feb. 8, 2006("'419' scams--named after the relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria, where many of the scams originated--are said to have come into existence around 20 years ago, hoodwinking via unsolicited correspondence has been around since the ill-fated Spanish Armada ... These days, confidence tricksters may use the Internet to snare their prey, yet the basic ruse is always a variant of the legendary "Spanish Prisoner Letter", whereby victims are reeled in by promises of a cut of a non-existent fortune if they take the bait.")
    • found: 419 scam: exploits of the Nigerian con man, 2002.
  • General Notes

    • Here are entered works on fraudulent attempts to persuade people to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing a much larger gain, often referred to as the Nigerian letter fraud or 419 fraud, after a section of the Nigerian criminal code.
  • Instance Of

  • Scheme Membership(s)

  • Collection Membership(s)

  • Change Notes

    • 2006-02-10: new
    • 2006-08-14: revised
  • Alternate Formats