When Spain Was Nigeria: the Origin of the Email Scam August 5, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Here is an early instance of the 419 scam. Was Spain nineteenth-century Nigeria?
For some months a number of persons in several parts of Europe have had letters addressed to them in French, in Spanish, and in German, bearing different signatures, but all of almost similar purport.
Were they in bad French, English and German?
The person signing them calls himself Spaniard and asserts that he formed part of the household of the Empress Eugenie. His story is that shortly before the revolution of the September, Her Majesty entrusted him with the transmission across the Pyrenees a box filled with jewels and bank bills notes; and that on his arrival in Spain he was arrested on political grounds and imprisoned, but not before he had succeeded in concealing the treasure.
Well it is better than a bank account and a plane crash…
He adds that by means of certain amount of money it would be easy for him to regain his freedom and the possession of the box, the contents of which he would be easy for him to share with any person who might help him with money.
So send me x to a p/o box in Madrid. Now the warning:
It is hardly necessary for me to assure you that the statements in the letters in question are untrue, and that the individuals who wrote them never approached Her Majesty. What more, no Spaniard ever formed part of the household Her Majesty. At the present moment the authors of the letters are in custody of the city prison of Madrid, and will have to stand their trial for this accusation, after they have given satisfaction to justice in relation to other acts which have led to their being arrested. In the meantime, thanks to the cleverness with which they have up to the present managed matters, they have succeeded keeping up their correspondence with the world. Almost invariably the person whom they have addressed lost no time in informing the Empress of the matter. Some have at once forwarded the amount asked for, with the view, they say, of restoring to the Empress her property. Her Majesty, anxious to prevent similar attempts and put end at once a useless correspondence, has requested me to lay these facts before the public. Shields Daily Gazette, 5 Feb 1872
This dates to 1872. And the swindle took root. This dates to 1874:
Various business houses have received letters with a Spanish postmark, dated ostensibly from the prison in Madrid, Barcelona, or whatever the city selected may be. The writer, who bears some such well-sounding name Vincente Gomez, had a large sum of money concealed when arrested for political reasons, and is urgently desirous of placing it safety abroad. He has made his mind to entrust the well-known house of Messrs **** , which he addresses through a humble but faithful friend outside; and the latter, who can be thoroughly depended on, will remit the sum at once if he can receive the necessary funds for paying the exchange, some four or five hundred francs being usually named, which must be sent to this friend’s address forthwith. It seems hardly credible that so transparent a swindle should have often succeeded yet Switzerland the Federal Government has found necessary to issue a notice in its Gazette warning persons against the deception. Ed Eve News, 2 Dec 1874, 4
Any early ‘Nigerian’ references? Drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com
Wonder if this might be a link?
29 Aug 2015: Bruce T writes The Spanish Prisoner is the daddy of the 419 Scam. The Spanish Prisoner con was common in the USA in the 19th century. It normally targeted wealthy Hispanic businessmen who were refugees from the then Spanish possessions in the Western Hemisphere. The victims would get a letter purporting to be from a young woman in, say Cuba or Puerto Rico, detailing her situation at the hands of the Spanish authorities regarding an inheritance. A claim of a connection and a photo of a very attractive young woman would be included in the letter. If the victim bit, the scam would progress to long distance romance or even a trip to meet the young lady and her representatives. The people working the scam would milk the victim for all they could until he wised up, or could be disposed of. There was a so-so movie in the 90’s called “Original Sin” starring Antonio Banderas as the victim and Angelina Jolie as the woman, that lays out the basics of the scheme with a twist. I rate it so-so because a film featuring a young Angelina Jolie can’t be all bad. The scam made return in the USA with the both the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions of the mid-20th century. As long as there is political turmoil, the Spanish Prisoner will thrive.
