Meet the Nigerian E-Mail Grifters

Those increasingly ubiquitous Nigerian e-mails "respectfully requesting your assistance" and promising great rewards actually do work -- for the Nigerians. An admitted scammer explains how it works. By Michelle Delio.

Reader's advisory: Wired News has been unable to confirm some sources for a number of stories written by this author. If you have any information about sources cited in this article, please send an e-mail to sourceinfo[at]wired.com.

Unconfirmed sources in this article: "Taiwo" and "Guy No Name."

She's a widow, he's a high-ranking government official. They have fallen on hard times and urgently request your assistance to get a large sum of money out of Nigeria. They will reward you handsomely for your help.

Chances are you've seen something like that in your e-mail box. Perhaps in a bored moment you've wondered who sends them and why they bother; after all, no one could be gullible enough to buy into such an obvious con game.

But sources close to some of the so-called Nigerian e-mail scam's perpetrators insist that those overwrought messages fuel a thriving industry, employing thousands of people around the world who successfully manage to extract money from a multitude of Internet pen pals.

A Nigerian student who asked to be identified only as "Taiwo" (the twin), detailed the workings of the business, which he said his family has been involved in for over 15 years. Taiwo is a very large man, with a voice and mannerisms to match. He claims that his recent interest in the traditional religion of the Yoruba people has led him to publicly speak out about his past.

"One cannot speak to the gods with a mouth that is already full of lies," Taiwo proclaimed loudly, after devoting an hour to explaining his need for anonymity.

He fears that his student visa would be revoked if his past participation in the scam were publicly revealed. But his request for anonymity was also delivered in close to deafening tones, much to the amusement of some patrons in the Manhattan coffee shop where this interview was conducted.

While swearing he needed to clear his conscience and "make amends" by revealing how the scam works, Taiwo was also quick to insist that he did nothing more than write letters intended to lure victims into the scam. He said the con game is profitable enough to "nicely support" several dozen of his family members.

"We have the letter writers and the people who create the official documentation, the people who talk to our clients on the phone, the people who arrange travel and meetings and tours of government offices in Africa, Canada, Japan and the United States ... no, it's not a small business," Taiwo said.

"But I want to make clear that very few Nigerians are barawo (criminals). Nigerians, too, are the victims of these crimes," Taiwo said. "This is not just something that Nigerians do; the business is organized and run throughout the world by people of all races."

The business is officially known to law enforcement agents as "Advance Fee fraud" or "419 fraud," after the section of the Nigerian penal code that specifically prohibits the con game. Taiwo's family usually refers to it as the "Arrangee" (Plan).

It begins with a carefully crafted message, previously sent by postal service or fax but now almost always by e-mail. The message purports to come from an important person who needs to move money quickly out of Nigeria.

Taiwo said he began composing letters for his family's 419 operations eight years ago when he was 11, after discovering he enjoyed "playing with words." He's now attending school in New York City and plans to become a journalist.

He swears he will never be involved in the family business again. But he guiltily admits to taking pride in the letters he created, and said he worked very hard to "suit the form."

The letters are intended to resemble soap operas that are popular in Nigeria, Taiwo said, but with language that evokes someone who is "educated, upper-class, out of touch with the common people."

"I was told to write like a classic novelist would," Taiwo explained. "Very old world, very thick sentences, you know?"

Taiwo said his family first became involved in the scam around 1986 when Nigeria's oil industry collapsed.

"For many of my relatives, there is much shame in the business," Taiwo said. "Others have come up with ways to justify it. They say Nko? (So what?) It is not our fault foreigners are so greedy."

"You would (be) shock(ed) at how many wad (rich people) want something more for nothing," Taiwo's uncle, who asked to be identified only as "Guy No Name," said in a telephone interview. "Greed carry their head(s) and turn them foolish."

According to the FBI's 2001 Internet Fraud Report (PDF), about 2,600 people in the United States reported problems last year with the 419 scam, and of that number, 16 claimed financial losses totaling $345,000.

Taiwo said he knows the amount of successful scams is much higher, a contention that the FBI's documentation supports. According to FBI statistics, only one in every 10 successful fraud crimes are reported to authorities.

Those who do become involved in the scam typically reply to the initial e-mail with skepticism.

"Most of the people who contact the family are laughing unbelievers. But once they realize there is a real person on the other end of the e-mail, they sometimes get interested," Taiwo said. "Then the game starts."

Small sums of money for bribes, processing fees and the like are then extracted over time from the "client." But the optimum goal is to lure the prospects to Nigeria before their "eyes go come down sad" (they realize they've been conned), Taiwo's uncle said.

Once in Nigeria, clients will be treated to what Taiwo's family calls the "dirty money mago-mago" (deal). The prospect will be shown a suitcase stuffed full of blackened pieces of paper and told it is money disguised so it can be smuggled into or out of the country.

"So the person thinks right away they are playing with him," Taiwo said. "He gets all tense. But then they ask him to select any bills at random from that money. And they take and rub the black off -– yes, it is all real money covered with Vaseline and something else ... I think they use iodine, too. So he relaxes, and then they ask for many thousands to pay for all the money to be cleaned."

Taiwo's uncle claimed that about one-third of the clients do pay to have the money laundered. Others balk, at which point they will be charged for other "services."

"We make sure the wad came into the country illegal (without proper documentation), so they have to pay big to leave with no trouble."

According to State Department figures (PDF), 25 murders or disappearances of Americans abroad have been directly linked to 419 fraud.

Other people have been held against their will, beaten and blackmailed, according to information provided by the U.S. Embassy in Lagos.

The United States Secret Service has established "Operation 4-1-9," an international task force targeting the crime. The Nigerian government also frequently promises crackdowns on 419 fraudsters.

"There have been some more arrests recently. Six people were taken away in April." Taiwo said. "But I think there's no stopping the game."