Cybersecurity
‘Nigerian scam’ endures on Valentine’s Day
Scammers use romantic manipulation and adaptive schemes to deceive victims on the day of love, warns Kaspersky.
On Valentine’s Day, romance scams become a prime target for cybercriminals, with Kaspersky highlighting a rise in deceptive tactics that exploit emotional vulnerability. In 2024, the company detected over 414,000 ‘Nigerian’ email scams, demonstrating the persistence of these schemes.
Recent examples include fraudsters posing as romantic partners seeking reimbursement for travel expenses, individuals claiming to be wealthy investors, and scammers impersonating the Illuminati, a secret society dating back to the Enlightenment era.
What is a ‘Nigerian’ style scam?
‘Nigerian’ style scams are a type of advance fee scam in which fraudsters promise victims large sums of money, lucrative opportunities, or exclusive benefits but require an upfront payment – often disguised as processing fees, legal costs, or travel expenses – before disappearing with the money.
The original ‘Nigerian’ scam emails were sent under the names of influential and wealthy individuals from Nigeria, which is how the scam got its name. It was also known as the 419 scam, for the section of the Nigerian Penal Code dealing with this kind of fraud.
Over time, the themes of these scam emails evolved, with cybercriminals exploiting current events and popular trends to capture their targets’ interest.
Evolving scams: Romance, wealth, and secret societies
The iterations of advance fee scams discovered by Kaspersky in 2024 included both common scam examples (messages from allegedly unwell wealthy individuals) and unusual tactics. Some scams were sophisticated: for instance, they could include offers of romantic friendship.
The victim and the scammer would meet online and chat, but when the victim was ready to meet in person, their “partner” would tell them they required financial help as they couldn’t afford the ticket or visa. In another scenario, the scammer would say they wanted to send an expensive gift to their partner but then ask the victim to cover the shipping costs as they couldn’t afford the postage.
An unusual example was a scam email allegedly sent on behalf of the secret society of the Illuminati, claiming they were ready to share their wealth and power if the recipient agreed to become part of their grand brotherhood by replying to the email.
