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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: "support team" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <webalert@cc.tc>
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:41:43 -0700
Subject: Dear Account Owner

Dear Account Owner,

Please Upgrade your email account.

CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW

UserName:
Password:
Verify Password:
Email:

Warning!!! Account owners are expected to update their accounts immediately after receipt of this notice. Failure to comply with this notice within the stipulated time will face the risk of loosing his or her account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thanks for your co-operation!

Anti-fraud resources: