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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: "CBN" <info@cbn.org>
Reply-To: michealwise99@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:36:47 -0400
Subject: HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY

I KNOW YOU MAY BE WONDERING TO RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE FROM A COMPLETE TOTAL
STRANGER YOU HAVE NEVER MEET BEFORE, I AM USING THIS AS THE ONLY MEDIUM TO
COMMUNICATE WITH YOU AT THE MOMENT DUE TO MY HEALTH CONDITION IN
BRIEF MY NAME IS SANDRA OWEN, FROM NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK UNITED STATES.

I WANT TO PASS THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO YOU DUE TO MY PRESENT CONDITION
AND I WANT YOU TO MAKE USE OF IT VERY WELL WHEN IT GET TO YOU, AS I LOST MY
HUSBAND AND THREE CHILDREN THROUGH A CAR ACCIDENT , AFTER THIS I CAME ACROSS
YOUR CONTACT DETAILS IN THE INTERNET DIRECTORY WHICH I HAVE DECIDE TO GIVE OUT
EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($800,000usd) IN MY ACCOUNT WITH THE STANDARD
CHARTERED BANK , I WILL HELP YOU FINANCIALLY, IF YOU NEED PLEASE
CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY.

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