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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: "CASH OPTION LOAN INVESTMENT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <waxmoore17889@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2011 05:09:14 -0500
Subject: LOAN OFFER AT 2% INTEREST RATES... APPLY NOW

Cash Option Loan.

Do you need a loan at low interest rate? Do you have a low credit score and you are finding it hard to obtain a loan from the banks/other financial institutions?

Who qualifies for a loan?

Our loans are distributed to individuals living below the poverty line who have great business ideas but have difficulty accessing credit at reasonable rates.

You do not need to have a:

Credit history
Collateral
Guarantors

You do need to:

Have a dream of a business
Be in need and living below the poverty line
Be a permanent resident of your address

Anti-fraud resources: