The Rice University Neologisms Database

A scam, cheating or deception, advance free fraud. 419 is an extremely popular term, used in Nigeria and many other countries in Africa to refer to scams and frauds. It is derived from Statute 419 in the Nigerian Criminal code which states that false pretences or fraud is a crime punishable by law. As a result, many Nigerians use this in referring to crimes committed by fraudsters. For example, one can say, “I don’t want any 419 person to be involved in this deal, because I don’t want any problems.” The fraudsters or people involved with cheating or deception are sometimes called “419ers.”