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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "REV. TIMOTHY APPIAH" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <rev-timothyappiah2011@live.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 06:01:57 +0430
Subject: REF:ATTN:OUR FRIEND IN LORD.

ATTN:OUR FRIEND IN LORD,
 
THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT WE GOT YOUR CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS INFORMATION FROM YOUR COUNTRY DIRECTORY.
ALSO THE FUNDS IS INVESTMENT FUNDS THAT WAS SECURED FROM THE ORPHANAGE INSTITUTE I AND MY PARTNER'S DECIDE TO MOVE THE FUNDS  TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN INVESTMENT OF THE FUNDS FOR FUTURE PURPOSE FOR THE ORPHANS. THEREIN WE CAME IN CONTACT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COUNTRY DIRECTORY.
 
MY GOD SAID THAT WE SHOULD CONTACT YOU FOR OUR HELP AS THE ORPHANAGE INSTITUTE HERE WANT TO HAVE THEIR FUNDS INVEST OVER  THERE IN YOUR COUNTRY THROUGH THE HELP OF GOOD PERSON LIKE YOU AS GOD HAS REVIEW TO ME AND MY PARTNER'S IN THIS MATTER.
 
CONCERNING THE SECURITY OF THESE FUNDS IT IS 100% LEGITIMATE/GRANTEE,AS WE WILL WANT YOU TO BE REST ASSURED THAT EVERYTHING  WILL GO SUCCESSFULLY AT THE END OF THIS TRANSACTION.AS ALL THE RELATED DOCUMENTS OF THE FUNDS IS HERE WITH US, SO DO NOT BE  AFRAID, AS WE WILL SEND IT TO YOU AS SOON AS YOU GIVE US 100% FULL ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL WORK WITH US AS ONE FAMILY IN THIS
ORPHANAGE INSTITUTE.
 
WE PROMISE YOU THAT WE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN IN THIS BUSINESS EITHER NOW OR IN THE FUTURE AND YOU MUST ASSURE US THAT AS WELL AND I AM VERY MUCH INTERESTED TO KNOW IF YOU WILL BE CAPABLE TO DO THIS BUSINESS WITH US IN FULL CONFIDENCE TRUSTING THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET US DOWN IN THE FUTURE OR NOW BECAUSE ALL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THE FUND TO YOUR ACCOUNT IS ALREADY IN PLACE BUT MY ONLY WORRY IS THE SECURITY AND SAFETY OF THE FUNDS ONCE TRANSFERRED TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
 
AS SUCH I WILL LIKE YOU TO SEND US A BRIEF LIFE BIOGRAPHY OF YOURS, SO THAT WE WILL KNOW A BIT OF YOU.WE NEED YOUR FULL  DETAILS TO ENABLE US REPRESENT YOUR INTERESTS TO THE
PAYING BANK.
 
1.YOUR FULL NAMES
2.YOUR FULL ADDRESS
3.YOUR PASSPORT COPY OR DRIVING LICENSE
4. HOME TEL/MOBILE  NUMBER
5. OCCUPATION
6.MARITAL STATUS
 
WE HAVE AGREED TO GIVE YOU 30% OF THE TOTAL SUM OF US$10MILLION IMMEDIATELY WE FINALIZE IN THIS TRANSACTION AS OUR FOREIGN PARTNER OF THIS ORPHANAGE INSTITUTE. AS AN AGREEMENT WILL BE MADE ANY MOMENT FROM NOW SO THAT YOU CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION IN THIS INSTITUTE.
KINDLY GO THROUGH THE FILES AND GET BACK ME ASAP.
 
THANKS FOR YOUR ANTICIPATED CO-OPERATION,
 
REV. TIMOTHY APPIAH
 

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