419

[Baker, John]

        Those charming missives from various highly-placed persons in Nigeria, claiming to have vast riches available in exchange for our assistance, are sometimes called 419 scams or advance fee frauds.  The origin of the "419" is said to be from the relevant section of the Nigerian Criminal Code.  It turns out that this is correct, although section 419 is the general criminal fraud statute and not specifically directed at 419 scams; the Code is at http://www.nigeria-law.org/Criminal%20Code%20Act-Part%20VI%20%20to%20the%20end.htm.  The term dates back at least to this 2/21/1992 Agence France-Presse article:


<<Former minister implicated in "419" fraud investigation

LAGOS, Feb 21 (AFP) - A former minister is among some 1,000 Nigerians suspected of involvement in a huge advance fee fraud wave that has taken milions of dollars out of the country, press reports said Friday.

The same report, citing "well informed sources in the presidency," appeared in all Nigerian papers implicating the former minister as well as a former senator and a well-known singer, though none of the three were named.

Victims of the "419" fraud have been persuaded, through the use of false or forged documents, to part with their money or property in anticipation of receiving substantial financial returns.

The nickname comes from section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code which covers such fraudulent acts, providing for up to seven years' jail for offenders.

A special presidential task force on trade malpractices has been set up to carry on the investigations along with the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Bureau (FIIB).

They are looking into about 1,052 complaints over the activities of "419" fraudsters referred to the bureau by British detectives, FIIB spokesman Archibong Nkana said earlier this week.

A total 811 of the complaints were against Nigerians based in Lagos, he told a news conference Monday.

Each of the complaints concerns a fictitious offer of large sums of money, averaging 30 million dollars per case, to be transferred out of Nigeria to foreign account holders, police have said.

The former minister cited in Friday's press reports reportedly took 700,000 naira against a false promise to deliver a cargo of crude oil, the presidential sources said in the reports.

They did not specify the date, but said the deal occurred when the naira was higher -- at 1.5 dollars -- making the minister's deposit worth slightly more than one million dollars.

Nigerian officials said the "419" fraud wave started in 1989 and is jeopardizing the country's economic recovery program.

The FIIB spokesman meanwhile said 11 suspects had been arrested in connection with defrauding several people, including an American, a Swede and an Egyptian.

The Nigerian foreign ministry this month also sent a list of 550 Nigerian companies to diplomatic missions here that have been implicated in "419" investigations.>>


        A Business America article on 1/13/1992 described these scams in some detail.  It did not call them 419 scams, but it did note that the Nigerian government had formed a task force, "commonly known as the "419 Committee" after the relevant anti-fraud statute of the Nigerian Criminal Code," that was charged with investigating fraudulent activities and prosecuting alleged perpetrators.


John Baker