Internet Scam of the 19th Century

     You may be familiar with the Nigerian email scam. If you are not, a strongly suggest you continue reading. If you already know about the scam, then uhh, still keep reading anyway. Okay, so the Nigerian scam (also called the 419 scam, or the advance-free fraud) most often takes the form of an email from an unknown party claiming that if the reader wires them a certain amount of money, they will soon be generously rewarded with even more money than was wired. There are many different stories behind the unknown party's need for money, some with an incredibly intricate plot. A common one is that a member of Nigerian royalty needs your money to gain access to a fortune, which he would more than happily share with you once he attains it.

Nobody believes me... 

       In case you hadn't guessed, the scam ends with you loosing money and never receiving a part of a fortune. And you feeling like an idiot for the rest of your life. 

       Similar scams have been around much longer than you may think. Like, even before the internet. 

Figuratively forever ago. 

       The Spanish Prisoner letter scam was one of a few money scams from as far back as the 18th century. Reaching it's peak in the 19th century, the confidence trickster tells his victim (the mark) that he is (or is in correspondence with) a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain under a false identity. Some versions had the imprisoned person being an unknown or remote relative of the mark.  Supposedly the prisoner cannot reveal his identity without serious repercussions, and is relying on a friend (the confidence trickster) to raise money to secure his release. The confidence trickster offers to let the mark put up some of the funds, with a promise that he will be financially rewarded when the prisoner returns, and perhaps also by gaining the hand of a beautiful woman represented to be the prisoner's daughter. After the mark has turned over the funds, he is informed that further difficulties have arisen and more money is needed. With such explanations, the trickster continues to press for more money until the victim is cleaned out or declines to put up more funds.

"Don't you ever ask me how I lost all my riches again!"

      The amount of effort put into the scams back then is astounding. For an example of a Spanish Prisoner letter, you can click on this link. 

      The moral of the story is don't give people your money.