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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: "UNITED NATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <samdawhh@sapo.pt>
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 14:43:55 +0100
Subject: IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ARE DEAD?

Dear Beneficiary,

We are writing to let you know that one Mr Gumanti R. H. Sihombing MM from Jl. Sunggal 157, Kompleks Perumahan BPKP, Medan, Indonesia came to our Office today to claim your fund ($6.5Million) that is with our custody and said that you are dead, that he is your brother , you gave him Authority to claim your fund in case if you die. We are writing to find if it is true that you are dead so that your fund will be released to him.
If we did not hear from you within three working days that means you are dead true and your fund will be release to him.

Best Regards,
Mr. Sam Daws
Executive Director of United Nation Office In Uk
Postal Address United Nations Association of the UK 3 Whitehall Court
London
SW1A 2EL
447031899515
Kindly get back to us by email as soon as you receive this message

Anti-fraud resources: