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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: Knych Laura Aleksandra <laura.knych@edu.hel.fi>
Reply-To: euscs@aim.com
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:54:06 +0200
Subject: FINAL NOTICE!!!


FINAL NOTICE!!!Congratulations ! You are among those randomly selected & entitled to claim Award worth of ¤ 1,500,000.00 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Euros) in the MICROSOFT Promo. This is in conjuction with the foundation to PROMOTE SOFTWARE(F.P.S.) products globally. Awards MUST be claimed by the email owner ONLY, To redeem your prize, forward to us your personal information with your ref number below through our /your processing agent;Carolyn T. Willis (Mrs.)
Tel:0031 684 858 815
Fax:0031 847-308-238
Email: mcsoftdept4claim@aim.comFull Name:
Sex:
Address/Nationality:
Date Of Birth:
Occupation:
Mobile Number
File Ref/No: KBLE/MCS/4529Congratulations once againLarry Aleksandra.
Promotions Manager.
(Group Co-ordinator)

Anti-fraud resources: