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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: Family In Need Of Help <thembandlovu200795@yahoo.co.nz>
Reply-To: thembandlovu63@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:29:36 +0200
Subject: Please My Family We Need Assistance

Dearest,
I am aware that you will b= e surprised at the receipt of this inquiry from me. First of all, I a= m Themba Ndlovu, a citizen of Zimbabwe . I got your information durin= g my search for a reliable and God-fearing person that can assist my = family carry out investment undertakings to the volume of (USD 18.7M= illion) in your= country. <= /DIV>
The above amount represent= s proceeds from sale of my late father=92s landed property in Zimbabw= e . My late father was a famous farmer in Zimbabwe and was assassinat= ed by forces loyal to President Robert Mugabe following the terrible = crisis that resulted from his Land Use Reform Policy, which has left = thousands of Zimbabweans (including white farmers) dead or displaced.= My late father sensed these terrible developments and quickly sold h= is farm lands including other landed properties of the family and sec= retly sent and lodged the proceeds USD18.7Million with a private secu= rity company in South Africa , a neighboring country. It is important= to state here that my late father secured the funds in a deposit box= and declared content of the box as =93family valuables=94. He also d= esignated the deposit box as =93transit=94, meaning its final destina= tion is abroad. This means that the security company is not aware tha= t actual content of the deposit box is money.=20
It will be important here = to inform you that due to the political status in South Africa (Refug= ees), we are not allowed by law to invest the money in South Africa .= This is why we are seeking the assistance of a foreigner to receive = the money on behalf of my family for investment purposes. =
Please be informed that my= family has appointed a certain banker by profession, a South African= , who has been a friend to my family even before my Father=92s death,= to co-ordinate the processes leading to transfer of the funds to you= . He has already drawn up the execution schedule, details of which he= will oblige you upon your indication of acceptance. If you are inter= ested to help my family in this regard, we shall give you 30% of the = principal amount. Apart from this, we shall also make you a partner i= n all the investments we shall undertake in your country. Lastly, I w= ant to inform you that this money represents my family=92s future, as= we do not have any other thing left for us. So, in addition to our r= equirement for your confidential handling of this transaction, I have= not been living well up to my standard in South Africa because of my= status here as things has been very hard for me that is the more rea= son i want this funds out of South Afric
May God bless you as you a= ccept to assist my family with this request?
Themba Ndlovu
(For the Ndlovu Family)

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