Advance-fee fraud

In advance-fee fraud, the victim is told they are entitled to a substantial sum — the release of a frozen inheritance, a lottery prize, a lucrative contract — but must first pay a fee to secure it. When they pay, new fees appear: taxes, legal costs, bribes, insurance. Each payment leads to another until the victim runs out of money or realises the reward never existed.

The '419 scam' (named after the Nigerian criminal-code section) is the best-known variant, typically involving an email from someone claiming to need help moving large funds out of a country. Modern advance-fee fraud spans email, social media, and messaging apps, and covers lottery wins, job offers, rental properties, and romantic relationships.

The underlying psychology is loss aversion — having already paid once, stopping feels like accepting a loss, so victims keep paying.