Frequently Asked Questions 
( from readers of 419hell.com)

Main Page (Index page where I showcase some of my favorate scam baits.)
FAQ - General Questions  (Information about 419 scams and this website.)
FAQ - Scam Baiting Tips (Learn how to be a first class scam baiter like me!)
FAQ - Scam Victim Help  (Advice for people who have been victimized.)
Nigerian Scammer Survey (100 scammers reveal their ugly souls.)
Types of Nigerian Scams (List of typical scams used by 419ers.)
FAQ - Scammer 'Help' (My not-so-helpful advice for scammers.)
FAQ - Is This Email a Scam?  (How to spot email scams.)
Testimonials (Funny quotes from angry scammers I've baited.)
Victim Warnings (Examples of people we have helped.)
Scam Baiting Terms (Words scam baiters use.)
Press Release (Look at me!!! Look at me!!!)
Links (Scam baiting and anti-fraud links page.)
Forum (Come here to speak your mind.)

Q: I have an email that I think might be a scam. Can you look at it and let me know what you think?
A: Sure, but please read our "Is This Email A Scam?" page first.

Q: I have already fallen victim to a 419 scam. Can you provide me with advice?
A: Read our "Victim FAQ" page.

 Q: I'd like to learn more about the art/sport of "scam baiting" and perhaps do a little baiting myself. What tips can you give to a new baiter?
A: Read our "Scam Baiting Tips" page.

Q: What is this FAQ page about?
A: This page attempts to answer general questions about 419 scams and this website.

Q: What is a 419 scam?
A: Fraud (usually advance fee fraud) perpetrated online or by email. There are many variations, but typically the victim is offered a very large sum of money (usually millions of dollars) in exchange for a relatively small amount of money (usually a few thousand dollars). Variants include lottery scams, inheritance scams and loan scams. Check out our big list of "Types of 419".

Q: Why are they called "419"? Where did that name come from?
A: The scam is named after the 419th section of the Nigerian penal code pertaining to fraud.

Q: How do 419 scams work?
A: A scammer will send a copy of the same email to tens of thousands of email addresses. Most of them are filtered out by spam filters or are deleted by people who see them for what they really are. A small number of the scam emails (about 1 in every few thousand) are read by naive people who fall victim to them. The content of the scam emails depends on the type of scam the scammer is attempting. There are many types of 419 scams. Some of the more popular types involve promises of millions of dollars. When victims respond to the email - they are told that a comparatively small fee (usually a few thousand dollars) is required to collect the much larger sum. If the victim pays the fee - they are sent another email informing them that there is yet another fee that needs to be paid. If they pay that fee - yet another fee appears. And so on... This pattern repeats its self until the victim realizes that it's a scam or he runs out of money.

Q: Surely no one really falls for these scams, right?
A: Wrong. Someone falls for a 419 scam every 44 seconds. In 2007 alone over $4,300,000,000 was stolen from victims of 419. Victim's suffer to varying degrees, but every day an estimated 426 people go from fanatical security to fanatical ruin because of 419 scammers. ScamPatrol comes across 2 or 3 a day. Here is just one example: http://www.impactlab.com/2003/12/25/nigerian-money-scammers-claim-a-major-victim/  

Q: What other statistical information can you give me about 419 scams?
A: While researching for this website I was surprised by how little official statistical information was available about 419 scams. Law enforcement website information about 419 scams is about as pathetic as their enthusiasm for fighting the crime. The best source for 419 statistics that I could find was a report written by the 419 Unit of Ultrscan Advanced Global Investigations (a private company). The full report can be found here: http://www.ultrascan.nl/assets/applets/2007_Stats_on_419_AFF_feb_19_2008_version_1.7.pdf  
Here are some of the highlights from that report:
- 419 Advance Fee Fraud is the world's most successful scam with victim damages totaling over $32 billion (4.3 billion in just 2007).
- There are an estimated 300,000 perpetrators world wide with an estimated 6,200 working inside U.S. boarders.
- In 2007 $830 million was taken from victims living in the U.S.
- Number of people who have been murdered by 419 scammers - 24 (world wide), 5 (US)
- Number of people who have been held hostage or kidnapped by 419 scammers - 35 (world wide), 5 (US)
- Number of people who went from fanatical security to financial ruin by 419 scammers - 563,026 (world wide), 350,000 (US)
- Number of people who have become homeless because of 419 scammers - 247 (world wide), 71 (US)

Q: How can people be so stupid as to fall for these obvious scams?
A: It is not always a matter of intelligence, but of psychology. Most scammers have had years to master the art of manipulating people. They know precisely how to select victims and what buttons to push to get what they want from them.

Q: Why should smart people, like you and me, care if naive people loose their money to 419 scammers? It won't have any impact on us, right?
A: Wrong. Every dollar stolen is a dollar that is untaxed. Where does that missing tax revenue come from? From smart people like you and me in the form of higher taxes. If a family becomes homeless because of a 419 scam - who pays for their welfare checks? If an elderly woman loses her insurance money to a 419er - who will pay for her medicare? If you pay taxes - you have a reason to care about 419.

Q: Are most 419 scammers from Nigeria?
A: Yes. The 419 unit of Ultrascan (a private investigation company that specializes in online crime) estimates that there are 300,000 perpetrators world wide. Of those - 268,000 (89%) are working out of Nigeria. Of the 11% that are not working from Nigeria - the majority are Nigerian nationals working abroad. So about 95% of email scammers are from Nigeria.

Q: Are most Nigerians 419 scammers?
A: No. With 268,000 perpetrators out of a population of 140,000,000 - only about 0.19% of the Nigerian population are scammers.

Q: Why do so many 419 scams come from Nigeria?
A: In my opinion - here are the top five reasons:
1) Unstable government. (Nigeria's government is in "survival mode". They are desperately trying to keep everything from falling apart and have little time to deal with comparatively small problems like 419 scammers. So, in general, perpetrators of 419 go unchallenged.)
2) Wide Spread Corruption. (Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world with the majority of Nigerian officials {including the police} openly requesting or accept bribes. So wide spread is the problem, that most Nigerians accept corruption, bribery, kickbacks and graft as unavoidable facts of life.)
3) Poverty. (Nigeria is one of the world's largest suppliers of oil. Yet the money that the industry provides is stolen and squandered by its corrupt government. Retched poverty is the norm for most Nigerians.)
4) English is commonly spoken there. (Nigeria was once a British colony, so most Nigerians are able to communicate in English - the language of most 419 victims.)
5) National Character (Nigeria has a culture that tolerates corruption and dishonesty to a much larger extent then other countries.)

Q: That is YOUR oppinion. But what do SCAMMERS say is the reason that so many 419 scams come from Nigeria?
A: I conducted a servey where I asked scammers that very question. You can read the results on our "Scammer Servey" page.

Q: What is "Scam Baiting"?
A: Scam Baiting (SKAM bay.ting) pp. Harassing an email scammer, particularly one running a 419 advance fee fraud scheme, by feigning interest in the scam and then tricking the scammer into performing costly, silly or time-wasting tasks. Synonyms: scam-baiting, scambaiting, b8ing, baiting. Sited Reference: http://www.419hell.com/
- scam baiter n.

Q: Baiting scammers won't stop them. So what is the point of baiting them?
A: Five part answer:
1) Occasionally scammers get so frustrated with baiters that they quit scamming all together to pursue real jobs. So, on rare occasions, baiting DOES stop them.
2) By tricking scammers into wasting their time and resources - baiters are preventing REAL victims from being harmed.
3) Occasionally scammers reveal information about REAL victims during the course of a bait. (stolen credit card numbers, bank accounts, etc...) Baiters can then use that information to contact the victims and warn them that they are being exploited. (See our "Victim Warnings Page".)
4) By publishing these baits on websites like this we are alerting the public to the threat of 419. The more informed members of the public are - the less likely they are to be victimized.
5) It's fun! (Have you read some of these Scam Baits? They are fucking hilarious!)

Q: What can I do to protect others from this scam?
A: Here are some things you can do:
1) Report 419 spam - Report 419 spam emails to the email provider used to send the spam or to receive replies. For example, if the scammers uses the email address "scammername@whatever.com" then you can write to abuse@whatever.com and report them by quoting the full text of the original email including message headers. This is true for most email providers. In particular, you should report any contact addresses mentioned in the body of the spam itself, as that is the email address the scammers use the most. Every time the email provider shuts down a scammer's account - it significantly inconveniences them and cuts down the number of available victims.
2) Scam Baiting - Harassing scammers is not only loads of fun, but wasting their time and resources also distracts them from real victims. If you really want to waste scammers' time, visit our scam baiting tips page for advice on the art/sport of scam baiting.
3) Inform others - Talk about 419 scams with your family, friends and colleagues at work. It would be a real shame if you spent hours reporting 419 email address and baiting scammers - only to discover later that your Aunt Bundy was cheated out of her life savings or that Tod, from the payroll department, was found dead in a trash heap in Ghana.
4) Link to us - If you have a website or blog - please link to our main page: http://www.419hell.com/ ...If you are a member of an online forum - please tell your fellow members about us. :)

Q: You have videos of scammers meeting you at specific locations. Why didn't you call the police and have them arrested?
A: Believe me, I tried. I've talked to the Canadian Police, British police, two local FBI agents, my local sheriff, Federal Attorneys office and the Illinois State Attorneys office. Most of them were very polite, but they basically told me that it was either not their job or that they don't care.

Q: On some of your baits you have written the following: "I gave the above bank account information to a friend of mine named 'Lizzy'. She will pass it along to the proper athorites who will shut it down in the next 24 to 48 hours." So what I want to know is who is "Lizzy"?
A: I honestly don't know. I was refered to her by the good people at " Artists Against 419 ". (I'm not even sure if she is a woman.) But Lizzy sure knows how to shut down bank accounts that scammers use. So far she has "busted" over 25 that I've emailed to her.

Q: You use the words "tard-typer", "persona" and "ladspeak" frequently. What do those words mean?
A: Definitions of those terms (and many others) can be found on our " Baiter Terminology " page.

 Q: The names "Breadman Furguson", "Calvin Huckle", "Willy Likmiraw" and "Frank Jackson" appear in the scam baits on this website. Who are these men? What is there story?
A: Ten years ago a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem and no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the 419hell-team...
Music starts. Bullet holes shoot up the "419hell.com" logo into existence.
The following clips appear in quick succession...
Tank fires its gun. An explosion sends a truck spinning through the air. Two helicopters shoot at each other...
Then a Middle aged man's face (smoking a cigar) appears from inside a Godzilla costume. The name "Breadman Furguson" appears under his face.
A handsome pretty-boy points to a cylon solder as it walks past him. He flashes a million dollar smile and the name "Calvin Huckle" appears below his face.
A crazy-eyed guy with a baseball cap pops out from a crate and fires a weapon. Next the same man is shown wearing a wedding dress. Then he appears crudely disguised as a bush wearing a cowboy hat. The name "Willy Likmiraw" appears under his face.
A door brakes from it's hinges revealing a muscular man wearing 137 gold necklaces and sporting a mohawk. Next he is shown in the front seat of a convertible slowly turning his body to scowl at someone or something behind him. The name "Frank Jackson" appears below his face.
A car breaks through a barricade. A helicopter flies down a city street. Finally a jeep drives up a dirt ramp, flies into the air and flips over. END.

Q: Seriously... who are they?
A: Those are fake names used by the scam baiter known as Calvin Huckle. Scammers are potentially dangerous criminals - so all smart baiters (including Calvin) keep their real identities secret. So any inquiries regarding baiter identification will not be seriously responded to.

 Q: I'm a member of the press. Do you have a press release I can read?
A: Here is a link to our " Press Release " page.

 Q: I have a question that is not covered on this page. How can I contact you?
A: First read these other informative pages:
- Is This Email a Scam? FAQ
- 419 Victim FAQ
- Scam Baiter FAQ
If none of those pages have an answer to your question - then please feel free to post your question on our Scam Baiting Forum .