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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: "Mr. Hu Hao" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hc_icbcasia@yahoo.com.cn>
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 04:23:02 +0800
Subject: RE: Funds to Invest (Reminder) Reply

Dear Prospective Partner,


This is an Investment Project on behalf of a customer who without delay wants to divest funds over Thirty Million USD from one of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited branch offices because of the political difficulty her husband is currently facing.

If you wish to partner with us, complete the information request form below and send it back to me at [ xs_icbcltd@yahoo.com.hk ] for further enquiries, terms and agreement.

Information request form:
--------------------
1. Full Names
2. Complete Address
3. Telephone Numbers
4. Occupation

We look forward to your mail.


Yours,
Mr. Hu Hao (Board Secretary)
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited.
www.icbc-ltd.com

Anti-fraud resources: