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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: "ALI HASSAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <al_ihassan@live.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 19:34:33 -0700
Subject: GET BACK TO ME

My name is Ali Hassan, I am the personal assistant for specials duties to sheik Moussa Koussa, Libyan foreign minister who recently resigned his portfolio as Libyan foreign minister due to the ongoing crisis in Libya. We need your consent to transfer treasures and cash of $25M to you for safe keeping. We shall discuss your reward on your response.

Sincerely,
Ali Hassan

Anti-fraud resources: