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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: <jacob02ruwa@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: jacob0ruwa@yahoo.jp
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:00:30 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dearest

Dearest

I hope this mail meets you in good health and spirit.I am Jacob Ruwa, a
Sierra Leonean. Presently, I live as a refugee in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West
Africa, with my younger sister, Amina.I am a victim of war and the son of
late Dr.Dennis Ruwa, the assassinated former assistant director of Sierra
Leone gold and diamond mining corporation. My father was killed with other
government officials during official hours when the rebel troops stormed and
raided the mining corporation office at the heat of the crisis in my
country. A few weeks later, the
rebels also invaded our residential building in which my mother and two of
our security men were killed in the compound while I was out for a special
research program and my younger sister was in the school. I had a singular
shock and trauma, which compelled us to flee from the country to Ivory Coast
by the help of an army colonel who, is a close friend of my late father.

I am contacting you now because of the present difficulty I am facing.
Unfortunately, my father's two accounts in West Africa have recently been
frozen. However, this did not affect the Twelve Million Five Hundred United States
dollars (US$ 12,500,000), which he kept in the security vault of a vaults
services company in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire. My late father deposited this
fund in a trunk box and declared the
content to be "family valuables) belonging to his foreign business partner.
I have every information and document needed for the clearance of the money
in the security company here in Abidjan and I want you to act as the
beneficiary of the fund for easy and smooth clearance. You will no doubt be
adequately compensated with 20% a part of this money for your personal use
and benefit as well as a percentage of profit from investment of the fund.
Also you will help I and my sister to comes over to your country at the
earliest possible time to contunie our education. I am making this request
to you with tears in my eyes and I feel that God Almighty will touch you
with his spirit to listen to my cry for help and answer me without delay
since our breadwinner is no more and this is the only hope for life. our
positive response will give me the greatest joy and relief. God bless you.

Regards
Jacob Ruwa.


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