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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: "Maybank" (may be fake)
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:54:39 +0800
Subject: Maybank secure verification

Alert

Dear Valued Customer,

We noticed multiple unsuccesfull logon attempts on your your Maybank2u
account and we will be putting a hold on your account until you verify your
information. You must go through series of verification through our secure
verification portal. Click on the Maybank secure verification below and log in
with accurate details to complere the update and verification.

Maybank secure verification

Important: Complete all required information.

Maybank Security Department.

* This e-mail has been sent for information purposes only, please do not reply to this e-mail as it is routed to an unmonitored mailbox.

Anti-fraud resources: