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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: besesay <besesay@seenet.ws>
Reply-To: besesay@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:11:52 -0400
Subject: With Trust from Benjamin


With Trust from Benjamin
Hello Dear,

It is with utmost confidence and trust that i am writing you. My name is Benjamin Sesay, a Sierra-Leonean but presently residing in Cote d'ivoire. I have a reasonable amount of money inherited from my late father. I want to invest in your country with a very honest person and again in a very profitable venture. I think you can be of good help to assist me since you are living in a more peaceful country than my war ravaged country.
I will appreciate if you can get in touch with me as soon as you receive this letter so that i can tell you more details about my proposal.
Thanks and Peace be to you,

I’m looking forward to hear from you.
Sincerely Yours,
Benjamin Sesay I will be giving you some % of the total sum for your assistance.
Kindly contact me as soon as possible.

Anti-fraud resources: