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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: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <director4information@hmrcs.info.ms>
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:16:28 +0000
Subject: From Director of information



From: Mr. John RichardHer Majesty Custom and RevenueWarwick House67 Station RoadRedhill, Surrey RH1 1QU.Tel/fax: 44-7006-059-651
Attn: Beneficiary
My names are Mr. John Richard. I am the director of information Her Majesty Custom and Revenue, London United Kingdom. Our duty is to look into transactions and records of banks, securities companies and financial houses within Europe based on the directive of the British Prime Minister Mr. Gordon Brown. We also work in collaboration with American, Asian, African and Australian clearing houses.
During our investigation we discovered un-paid debts from different banks and securities companies, worth over £400m pounds lying unpaid with Banks in UK and that you are to be paid for an INHERITED FUND/ASSET, which requires presentation of certain documents and payment of fe es before the fund could be released to you.
View the website for more information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5171222.stm
I want to inform you that the problem you are having is from your partners and the lawyers who is representing you, they do not reveal the reason for the delay of your payment and the reason you should pay the money they demand from you.
My reason for contacting you is to inform you to stop payment of any such to the lawyer or to the financial institutions and securities companies as you will not receive your fund due to some anomalies we discovered in your file. We are to protect your interest, contact me immediately so we can advice you on how you will receive your fund without any impediment. You are hereby advised to maintain constant contact with me and avoid any interaction with unscrupulous agents, partners or lawyers.
You should reply to my official email address: director4information@hmrcs.info.ms
Yours faithfully,
Mr. John RichardHM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)Director of information

Anti-fraud resources: