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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: "Mrs. Keith Witt" <eddiebarlow@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: foreignpayfud@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Tue, 1 May 2012 13:46:24 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Happy May Day 2012.


Attn: Beneficiary,















Are you still alive? I believe yes. I ask this question because someone
came to my office this morning claiming that you are dead, and wants to
claim your duly approved fund of $15.5 million us dollars.















This requires urgent response from you to avoid wrongful transfer of your fund to the wrong person.















Please Reply urgent as soon as you receive this message confirming to us that you are still alive.















Mrs. Keith Witt.







Foreign and Legal Account Department.








Anti-fraud resources: