Here are some of the fake reasons given to victims why they should send money:
Legal fees: Many 419 scams involve a fake lawyer (usually a person who calls himself a Barrister or claims to work for a firm whose name includes the word "Chambers"). Beware of anyone using a @lawyer.com, @justice.com etc. free webmail account who gets introduced in such emails.
Insurance: Any lottery prize that is supposedly insured is fake.
Shipping: Real parcel services do not charge $800 and more for delivering a letter. Real lotteries don't ask you to contact a parcel service to arrange for shipping of a check or a winnings certificate that you will have to pay for.
Wire transfer charges: Real banks charge about $40 for an international wire transfer, not several $1000.
"Drug free certificate", "Anti Money Laundering certificate", "Terrorist Free Certificate": No such certificates exist in the real world. They are 100% sure evidence of a scam.
The people who receive the scam emails and fall for them often are not the only victims of the scam. We have come across a few cases where people who lacked the funds to cover the advance fee demands committed crimes to get money. They misappropriated often huge amounts from their employers, from charitable organizations they worked for or from other acquaintances they defrauded, hoping they would be able to repay them from the promised millions before anybody would notice. In this way one crime begets another.