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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: "Syed A. Ahmed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <saeedaban.a@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 08:32:59 +0100
Subject: Please reply me with honesty...

Hello,
My name is Saed Aban Ahmed. I have a touching story of hope and self realisation to tell you. I am an oil-servicing equipment merchant, from Dubai, U.A.E, diagnosed with chronic Esophageal cancer in July 2009.

I am a very rich man, so please do not think of this letter as one of those being sent around to ask for money later on. In the past one year i have been donating my money, to charity organizations in Malaysia, and India. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, i cannot do this myself anymore. I once asked two members of my family to close one of my accounts and distribute the money to charity organizations in Bulgaria and Pakistan, they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contented with what I have left for them.

The last bulk consignment of my money which is unknown to anyone, is the huge cash deposit of twenty million dollars $20,000,000.00 that I have with a finance security company abroad. I need you to help me collect this deposit and distribute it to charity organizations to help earthquake victims in Haiti, Japan, and people suffering elsewhere in the world. I have set aside 10% for your time and service. I do not need this money anymore as i have a short time to live.

Please reply me with honesty as soon as you receive this email. God be with you. You can reach me on honpedro@hotmail.com

Saeed Ahmed Aban.

Anti-fraud resources: