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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.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "williams azuma" <azw03@hotmail.co.uk>
Reply-To: williamsaz2007@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:26:40 +0000
Subject: VERY URGENT

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have a client who wants to invest in your country to the tune of US$20M.
My client is a Wife to a Late General in the army and she needs protection
for her family.

If you can handle such a huge investment, kindly get back to me as soon as
possible so that we can open discussions on how to actualize this.

I am waiting for your immediate response via; azw03@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks
Mr.William Azuma

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Anti-fraud resources: