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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: "Standard Chartered Bank" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <marylyncooper@accountant.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:46:22 -0700
Subject: ALERT:TRANSACTION NOTIFICATION SERVICE

ALERT:TRANSACTION NOTIFICATION SERVICE
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
8/9 Hanover Square Branch
London W1A 4ZW,United Kingdom
Hello,
RE:INSTRUCTION TO CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT WITH THE SUM OF US$6,200,000.00
We at this bank wishes to congratulate and inform you that after thorough review and evaluation of your Inheritance/Lottery/Contract funds in conjunction with the World Bank Auditor General and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment reports, your payment file was forwarded to us for immediate transfer of the above quoted amount.
The reports given to us shows that you have been going through hard times by paying a lot of money to see to the release of your funds.We therefore advice that you stop further communication with any correspondence outside this office since you do not have to pay any money or fee to receive your Inheritance/Contract funds as you have met up with the whole funds transfer requirements.
For further details and assistance on this Remittance Notification, kindly forward your contact details to us.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Marylyn Cooper
Head, Private Banking Division.
Standard Chartered Bank Plc, London

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