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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.Brian Davis <bbdavis61@walla.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 01:31:39 +0200
Subject: REPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE


Attention:

Dear friend,

I am a private financial consultant / portfolio manager of a financial and securities firm in Amsterdam. And I happen to have managed a particular account for a Resident Foreigner, here in the Netherlands, who died Intestate, leaving in our care a sizable amount in a domiciliary United States Dollars Investment ACC. For some reason this client does not have an easily identifiable next of Kin, and I have made several enquiries to locate any of my clients relatives; immediate and extended, this has proved unsuccessful.

Hence, I am contacting you. I need your assistance in securing the Money and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House here in the Netherlands. The Finance House has already issued a government Mandatory formality notice to provide the Next of Kin or have the account confiscated and this should expire within a month.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any of his relatives for over two years and convinced that no one is coming up and having satisfied the mandatory legal requirement of Beneficiary/next of kin Notification, I now seek a Reliable and Trustworthy person, with your consent and perfect understanding, to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that the proceeds of this account initially valued at Nine Million, Three Hundred And Twenty Thousand United States Dollars, interest not inclusive, can be paid into an account to be provided by you(preferably outside the Netherlands Financial Institutions), as the perceived Next Of Kin Legally and Otherwise.

All I require is your honest cooperation and confidence in me; which I know would not come easy. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate background that will protect you from any breach of the Law. I would advise that you give this positive consideration and get back to me soon. I'll be flexible and considerate in the percentage share that will be given to you for your assistance.

Upon receipt of your response which I await eagerly, I would bring you into a clearer picture of this transaction.

Thank you again.

Yours truly,
Brian Davis


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