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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: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <westernunionmoneytransfer01@kimo.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 01:48:55 +0700
Subject: Re: Payment Order MRY482-9932

Dear Western Union Beneficiary,
Your transaction of 1,500,000.00 USD has been approved by UNITED NATIONS (UN) in their on going poverty alleviation program 2014 and we have been instructed to start sending you 7,600.00 USD daily using our Western Union system. Send details Full Name, Address, and Phone Number to Helen Kuan at: Email: westernunionmoneytransfer01@kimo.com for more information on your transaction status OR call +601 6254 3857 for inquiries. SPECIAL NOTICE : All E-mail response should be sent to ( westernunionmoneytransfer01@kimo.com ) for confirmation and payment approval. Yours truly Mrs Helan Kuan, Western Union Malaysia

Anti-fraud resources: