# Why is Nigeria famous for the '419' scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339 "2017-05-11T11:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/21 "2017-05-16T18:18:58Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > My dad’s second wife was scammed by a 419 scam. She didn’t lose as much as many people because she wasn’t particularly wealthy but the thousands she lost cleared her out. > > The twist in her situation, which is something I haven’t heard of in other stories, is that the person(s) involved used not only the promise of financial gain to string her along, but also hints at a romantic relationship. Apparently, internet [romance scams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_scam) are also common these days. And that wikipedia page describes variants that are 419 scams. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/22 "2017-05-16T18:31:55Z")
At least some of it is that Nigeria has a large population. About twice the next most-populous African country, and more than the least-populous 33 countries combined. So, if scammers were equally distributed in Africa, you’d still get quite a lot from Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/23 "2017-05-16T18:34:52Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Apparently, internet [romance scams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_scam) are also common these days. And that wikipedia page describes variants that are 419 scams. Interesting, she would have been in one of those two largest pieces of the pie chart at the time (either just above or below 50) so she fit the demographic. I didn’t realize romance scams intersected that frequently with the 419 scams, but apparently they aren’t that unique. Thanks for the info. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/24 "2017-05-16T19:22:15Z")
I don’t know why Nigeria took it up. As to why Russia didn’t, I can only guess, but I would propose the following: 419 scams require a good amount of back-and-forth conversation. This requires brute manpower and, outside of 3rd world nations, it’s generally not economical to make money that requires significant human labor. If the Russians have available, cheap labor for such pursuits, it would be their women and the Russians were probably already profiting from their women via sex trafficking, and probably by more than they could get by running confidence scams. I believe that Russian Mafia’s big ‘industries’ are sex trafficking, ad revenue on digital piracy (and porn) sites, and the arms trade. While their internet connection might be better than Nigeria’s, it’s probably swamped with exporting copyrighted Hollywood films and camgirls. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/25 "2017-05-18T16:12:43Z")
> [@](#): > > At least some of it is that Nigeria has a large population. About twice the next most-populous African country, and more than the least-populous 33 countries combined. So, if scammers were equally distributed in Africa, you’d still get quite a lot from Nigeria. Public perception of the corruption in Africa makes the stories more plausible than if they had come from somewhere else. Nigeria is also Anglophone, which gives them the most potential targets. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/26 "2017-05-18T16:23:13Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I didn’t realize romance scams intersected that frequently with the 419 scams, but apparently they aren’t that unique. Thanks for the info. The original 419 scam, the Spanish Prisoner (linked by **zimaane** above), often involved the promise of marriage to the prisoner’s beautiful daughter. So romance has been tied to 419 scams from the very beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339/27 "2017-05-18T23:53:16Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Apparently, internet [romance scams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_scam) are also common these days. … We knew a fellow - someone who certainly should have known better - whose life was ruined by a [romance scam](https://www.amazon.com/Tricked-story-internet-Paul-Frampton-ebook/dp/B00RBVDAD0) though in his case the motive appeared to be to use him as a drug mule rather than for direct financial ruin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nigeria-famous-for-the-419-scam/786339.md?page=1)