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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: "mathew silver" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 16:07:35 +0200
Subject: DO NOT INGNORE THIS EMAIL...

MR. MATHEW SILVER
Telephone: + 27 73 599 0807.


Urgent Business Proposal.

Attn: President/ CEO,

I am a Chief Internal Auditor at AMERICAN EXPRESS BANK of South Africa (AMEX SA). I am writing to seek your cooperation over business deal. In my Department, I discovered an abandoned sum of (US$35.7Million). In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his entire family in a plane crash that took place in Kenya, The account belongs to the Late DR. GEORGE BRUMLEY, a citizen of Atlanta, United States of America and contractor with Anglo Gold.
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin or business associate to come and claim his money because it cannot be released unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or business associate to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately, all his supposed next of kin or relation died along with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. You can read more about the crash on the site below;

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to your account as the next of kin or business associate.

The banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remains dormant after five years; the money will be transferred into the Bank treasury as unclaimed funds. The request for your assistance and maximum co-operation as a foreign citizen is highly needed to release these funds. I will like us to share this money mutually on two equal half between me and you. Please note that I don't have any access to withdraw any cent from this money due to the
money was insured by the owner DR. GEORGE BRUMLEY.

I will like you at this point to understand that this is privileged information and must be strictly confidential.

Please reply to above email or Phone number.

Thanks and God bless.

Yours Sincerely,

Mathew Silver

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