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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: claims payment <clypyts23@msn.com>
Reply-To: <anderson1.agencypayment@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:04:09 +0000
Subject: winning confirmation



MSN Window Live Awards CentreKernel House Killingbeck Drive Killingbeck Leeds LS14 6UF United Kingdom ANNOUNCEMENT: We happily announce to you the Sweeptake draws (1024)of the First quarter of 2009 Prize promotion which is organized by MICROSOFT WINDOWS LIVE AWARDS. .Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 04-07-29-30-42-44-39 which subsequently won you the Rollover prizes of USD$550,000.00 (Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand USD) only. Be advised that due to incessant mix up in cash prize transfer to previous winners, we advise that you keep your winning information confidential until your claim has been processed and released to you. This security measure is critical and put in place to avoid double claims, transfer and unwarranted abuse of this program by other participants. METHOD OF SELECTING WINNERS: Participants were selected anonymously through a private ballot system from over 50,000 companies and 100,000 individuals that are active online, among millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail and few from other e-mail providers.This is promotional program and it is promoted and sponsored by Microsoft Incorporated, BMW Automobiles ,Vodaphone Corporation and Dell Networks. It is meant to reward some individuals and corporations who have devoted their time and resources surfing the World Wide Web with their email addresses. Remember, all winning must be claimed before 31st January, 2009 After the expiration of that time frame, if your funds are unclaimed, it will be refunded to us and included in our next draws. To avoid unnecessary delays/complications with the transfer of your funds to you, please always remember to quote your Code number in all correspondence with our paying agency(Prudential Remittance Agency) stating your (1) Names and Address, (2) Telephone number, (3) Age, (4) Occupation (5) Payment option either (check or bank transfer) Should there be any change of your present address, please notify us immediately to make appropriate adjustment. You are to contact the paying agency as mentioned below for the processing of your claims. Company Name. Prudential Remittance AgencyContact person. Mr. Kelvin Anderson Dept Claims Processing/Legal Department Tel +447035963751 +447035963293E-mail: anderson1.agencypayment@yahoo.com.hkCongratulations!!! once again. Yours in service, Mrs. Mabel Debores Notification Officer

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