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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: "Mr. Barry Alexander" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barryalexander039@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2018 14:26:07 -0700
Subject: Urgent Response Needed !

Dear Friend,

My name is Barry Alexander, I am the financial adviser to Mrs. Grace Mugabe the wife of the former president of Zimbabwe, (Robert Mugabe). I have a proposal of extreme importance I would like you to look into, we happen to have the sum of $55, 000,000.00 Fifty Five Million Dollars in our possession but would like to know if we can invest it in your custody for proper legitimate use.

I will be looking forward to a positive reply from you with hopes that you will accept our request. Do note that this transaction is risk free for I have the necessary documentations that will back up this transaction to see it to a successful end.

Once you accept this request, we can set up a face to face meeting and take it from there. Thank you for taking your time out to go through this message. Communication through phone will be established when request is accepted. We will sign a Memorandum of understanding upon your acceptance to work with me while mode of sharing and percentage will be discussed.

Accept my assurances of highest esteem.

Best regards,

Barry Alexander.

Anti-fraud resources: