Nigerian prince
Fictional wealthy heir
Nigerian prince refers to the sender of a notorious email scam promising vast sums—often an inheritance or fortune that needs help transferring out of Africa—in exchange for an advance fee.
The fraud is older than the internet, but email made it ubiquitous.
Now shorthand for any obvious con: If it sounds like a Nigerian prince scheme, it probably is.
Fraudulent credential harvesting
- conArgument against
- swindleDeception for financial gain
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- grifterPetty fraud perpetrator
impostor · charlatan · dupery · trickery · deception · flimflam · scheme · victim
Unsolicited bulk messages
- inboxMessage receiving folder
- unsolicitedNot asked for
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
- solicitationSeeking to obtain
suspicious · filter · junk mail · subject line · reply · forward · attachment · sender
phishing
Fraudulent credential harvesting
grifter · impostor · charlatan · dupery · trickery · deception · flimflam · scheme · victim · gullibility
spam
Unsolicited bulk messages
- inboxMessage receiving folder
- unsolicitedNot asked for
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
solicitation · suspicious · filter · junk mail · subject line · reply · forward · attachment · sender · blocked
fortune
Wealth or destiny
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- millionsNumbers in seven figures
- treasureValued wealth or keepsake
assets · funds · transfer · bank account · gold · riches · estate · windfall · share · percentage
kingdom
Monarch's ruled territory
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- monarchyRule by crowned sovereign
dynasty · palace · nobility · heir · regent · chieftain · majesty · highness · lineage · aristocracy
- spamspam, junk mail, spam filter, spam folder, bulk mail
- swindlerscon artist, swindler, fraudster, scammer, grifter
- hoaxesalien autopsy, moon landing hoax, War of the Worlds, fake photos, forgeries
- fraudscam, fraud, swindle, con, deceive
- cyberscamsphishing, scam emails, online scams, scams, email spoofing
- online scamsphishing, scam, email scam, advance fee scam, romance scam
Nigerian princehonest broker
Impartial third-party negotiator
legitimate heir · verified seller · real deal · genuine article
prince, principal, princess, princely, princes, principally, Nigeria, principality, Nigerian