Nigerian scam
Nigerian scam noun: an attempt to defraud by sending out large numbers of emails, each stating that the recipient is entitled to receive a large amount of money, but will need to supply banking account details, or to send payment for fees, before the payment can be passed on.
Noun
Nigerian scam (plural Nigerian scams)
- An attempt to defraud by sending out large numbers of emails, each stating that the recipient is entitled to receive a large amount of money, but will need to supply banking account details, or to send payment for fees, before the payment can be passed on.
- Even savvy Internet users have fallen victim to the ubiquitous Nigerian scam.
- Synonyms:
- 419 fraud, 419 scam, advance fee scam
Synonyms of Nigerian scam
Forms of Nigerian scam
| plural | Nigerian scams |
|---|
Origin of Nigerian scam
The scam messages usually claim to originate from Nigeria, though this is often a spoof.
Questions about Nigerian scam
- What does Nigerian scam mean?
- Nigerian scam means an attempt to defraud by sending out large numbers of emails, each stating that the recipient is entitled to receive a large amount of money, but will need to supply banking account details, or to send payment for fees, before the payment can be passed on.
- What part of speech is Nigerian scam?
- Nigerian scam is a noun.
- What is the plural of Nigerian scam?
- The plural of Nigerian scam is Nigerian scams.
Words near Nigerian scam in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Nigerian scam (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Nigerian scam.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nigerian_scam. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.