Money Transfer
A value transfer system refers to any system, mechanism, or network of people that receives money for the purpose of making the funds or an equivalent value payable to a third party in another geographic location, whether or not in the same form. These transfers of funds are also known as money transfers.
There are hundreds of companies around the globe providing money transfer services to their customers.
One of the largest companies that offers wire transfer is Western Union (minimum of 25, $15). Its wire transfer network has caused much controversy due to the anonymity of the service.
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Advance Fee Fraud
Advance fee fraud, often also known as the Nigerian money transfer fraud, Nigerian scam or 419 scam after the relevant section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that it violates[1], is a fraudulent scheme to extract money from victims after making them believe they will get an immense fortune. Victims are requested to pay an upfront fee before their purported fortune is released.
These scams have come to be associated in the public mind with Nigeria due to the massive proliferation of such confidence tricks from that country since the mid-eighties, although they are often also carried out in other African nations, and increasingly from European cities with large Nigerian populations, notably London, Amsterdam and Madrid and lately also Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
Originally, the schemers contacted mainly heads of companies and church officials, however, the use of e-mail spam and instant messaging for the initial contacts has led to many private citizens also being targeted, as the cost to the scammers to make initial contact is much lower.
The United States Federal Trade Commission has issued a consumer alert about the Nigerian scam. It says: "If you receive an offer via email from someone claiming to need your help getting money out of Nigeria or any other country, for that matter forward it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov