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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: SENATE COMMITTEE <stevenr@swbell.net>
Reply-To: senate.committee@legislator.com
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 15:52:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: YOUR URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED




ATTENTION

Regards to your contract payment  of $10.5Million United States Dollars. Mr. Paul Allen from Arizona came to Claim on your behalf is ready for remittance to you. Please reconfirm if you have directed him to do so.If not,You should reconfirm your Direct Telephone Numbers and fax numbers immediately for our own perusal and further instructions.


Regards,

Sen. Ahmed M. Makarfi
Chairman SenateContract Payment Committee
Honorable office of SenateFederal Republic of Nigeria

Anti-fraud resources: