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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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Fraud email example:

From: "Razim Haruna" <rharuna@citycafesolution.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2005 07:24:28 +0000
Subject: My Last Wish

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN!

MY NAME IS RAZIM HARUNA. I AM 61 YEARS OLD MAN. I AM FROM DUBAI ( UNITED ARAB EMIRATE ). I OWNED TWO BUSINESSES IN DUBAI. I WAS MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN. MY WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT SIX YEARS AGO.

EVER SINCE MY OBLIGATION TO HELP THE POOR HAS BEEN STRONG AND VERY EFFECTIVE, I HAVE BEEN HELPING THE ORPHANS IN THE ORPHANAGE / MOTHERLESS  HOMES. I HAVE DONATED SOME MONEY TO THE ORPHANS IN SIERRA-LEONE, SUDAN, SRI LANKA, CAMEROON, BRAZIL, LIBERIA, BANGALADESH AND INDIA. BEFORE I BECAME ILL, I SENT SOME MONEY, SIXTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN A BOX THROUGH ONE VAULT COMPANY. THE MONEY IS PRESENTLY WITH THE VAULT COMPANY IN EUROPE. PRESENTLY, I AM IN A HOSPITAL. MY DOCTORS TOLD ME THAT I HAVE CANCER OF THE LUNGS THAT I HAVE FEW MONTHS TO LIVE.

PLEASE, I BEG YOU IN THE NAME OF ALLAH TO HELP ME COLLECT THIS FUNDS  FROM THE VAULT COMPANY IN EUROPE. AFTER COLLECTING THE MONEY  FROM THE VAULT COMPANY IN EUROPE, YOU WILL NOW HELP ME  TAKE THIS  MONEY (SIXTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS)  TO ANY ORPHANAGE HOME CLOSE TO YOU. I AM OFFERING YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL SUM OF SIXTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS 5% IS FOR ANY EXPENSES INCURED BY YOU AND THE REMAINING 75% SHOULD BE COMPLETELY DONATED TO THE ORPHANAGE HOME OF YOUR CHOICE.

MAY THE GOOD ALLAH BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
I AWAIT YOUR URGENT RESPONSE.

REGARDS,
MR. RAZIM HARUNA.

Anti-fraud resources: