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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: "Mr. Lawson Kolapo." <ecobank7@wm4ed7ils.homepage.t-online.de>
Reply-To: <mr.lawson_k@yahoo.com.ph>
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:59:16 +0200
Subject: Your Payment is now 100% Guaranteed

Dear Sir/Madam,

We sincerely apologize for any delay you might have encountered in the past; your payment is now 100% Guaranteed. The sum of Five Million Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars has been approved for expedite release to you, which we have been instructed to release to you. In a nutshell, you are required to get back to us with your full data information for immediate processing of your payment

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Lawson Kolapo.
Director, Eco Transactional Inc.

This e-mail or its contents is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be timely, secure, error or virus-free. The sender does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.

Anti-fraud resources: