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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: "saeed ahmed" <saeed_ahmed78@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:41:30 +0000
Subject: FIND ATTACHED THE LETTER OF AUTHOURISATION. SEND ALL DOCUMENTS TO THE COMPANY

DEAR JUSTIN,

GOOD DAY TO YOU AND THANKS FOR YOUR EMAIL AND ALSO FOR LETTING ME KNOW THAT
YOU HAVE RECIEVED THE 2 DOCUMENTS I SENT TO YOU EARLIER. FIND ATTACHED THE
LETTER OF AUTHOURISATION WHICH GIVES YOU THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CLAIM THE 2
BOXES FROM THE SECURITY COMPANY ON MY BEHALF. PLEASE SEND THIS LETTER OF
AUTHOURISATION TOGETHER WITH A PHOTOCOPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL
PASSPORT/DRIVERS LICENSE, AIRWAY BILL AND CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT.

SEND ALL THE DOCUMENTS TO THE SECURITY COMPANY VIA EMAIL ATTACHMENT TOGETHER
WITH A PHOTOCOPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT/DRIVERS LICENSE. I AWIAT
YOUR RESPONSE FROM THE SECURITY COMPANY.

SAEED AHMED.

_________________________________________________________________
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