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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "ben vuci" <benvuci_3@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 14:58:45 +0200
Subject: REPLY ASAP!!!

Hello,

I know this will come to you as a surprise, receiving a letter from someone
you don't know. Kindly allow me, I am Ben Vuci, son of Dr. Morgan Vuci, who
was murdered in February 2001 in the land dispute crisis in Zimbabwe.

My family and I used to live in a town called Chinhoyi located in the heart
of Mashonaland about 120km from Harare, the capital city of my former
country Zimbabwe. Chinhoyi was largely a peaceful farming area where one
could own land and cultivate it if one worked hard enough. The relative
peace existing in Chinhoyi and our lives was shattered with the beginning of
the ruling party's sponsored land invasion by war veterans who we suspected
were acting with the backing of the government of Mugabe. My late father was
among the few black Zimbabwean rich farmers murdered in cold blood by the
agents of the ruling government of President Robert Mugabe, for his alleged
support and sympathy for the Zimbabwean opposition party. Before his death,
my father on one of his many trips abroad took me to Johannesburg to deposit
the sum of US$17.5 Million (Seventeen Million, Five-Hundred Thousand United
States Dollars) with a security and finance company. It was as if he foresaw
the looming danger in Zimbabwe.

The money was deposited with a Security company on our arrival in
Johannesburg, to avoid its seizure and largely for it's safety too.
President Mugabe gave this money to my father for investment purposes, while
they were still in good terms. This land problem arose when President
Mugabe, who according to my late father, in a desperate bid to hold on to
power for life introduced a new land act, which wholly affected the rich
farmers who were mostly white and some black, who eventually, vehemently
condemned the method adopted by the government. This action resulted in
rampant killings, looting and wide scale mob actions by the veterans and
some political thugs. More than 31 (Thirty-One) people were killed and as I
write to you now, hundreds of white and black families have fled rising
violence on their farms in north-western Zimbabwe and about 80 of my family
members have fled from about 32 raided farms. Some were flown out on light
aircraft to the Kariba airport after mobs blocked several roads.

It is against this background that my family and I are currently staying in
South Africa as asylum seekers.

After due deliberation we have decided to transfer my father's money into a
foreign account. As the eldest son of my late father, I am saddled with the
responsibility of seeking an honest individual with vast experience in
business to help us safeguard and invest this money. As an asylum seeker it
is impossible to enter into the financial world of the Republic of South
Africa until such time as I gain residency status. In view of this, it has
become essential that we look for a person who can assist us with the
transfer of the money, my family and I have decided to invest this money
anywhere else besides South Africa, but preferably outside Africa.

From the above you will understand that my family and I depend on this
money, as such I shall be very grateful if you can assist me to transfer
this money out of South Africa to your company or personal account in your
name, in any of the commercial banks.

Please note, that by your offering to assist us, we will on your contacting
me over the phone discuss a suitable compensation for you. I would like to
mention too, that this transaction has no risks involved from your end,
whatsoever. I would appreciate from you an honest answer as to whether you
have handled any transaction of this magnitude, and assurance from you that
our family has your complete trust and assurance that this money will be
safe once transferred to your account.

I can be reached on my telephone number +27 734 454 058 to further clarify
any other questions you may want to ask me.

On accepting to assist us, we will then forward you the lodging documents
for our late father's deposit to prove our claim to you.

My mother and I live a very quiet life here in South Africa, trying to
forget the recent horrors that we escaped. I ask that you please keep the
existence of our late father's money discreet, for reasons of safety for
myself and my family members. We shall be very grateful if you maintain the
confidentiality of our request to you for assistance.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours in hope,

Ben Vuci

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