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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: "Robert S. Mueller III" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sanusilam401@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 20:08:08 -0400
Subject: Important FBI information

ATTENTION FUND BENEFICIARY,
There is a pending transfer of US10.5M in your favour with Bank of America waiting for certification before transfer is

fully effected into your account.

Kindly reconfirm the following details to receive credit to your account in 24hrs.

1) Full Names:
2) Address and Country:
3) Phone number:

You are to respond to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria due to the fact that the funds is originated from Nigeria

via email address: sanusilam401@gmail.com using code 210 as the subject.
This is only for security reasons.
We will be tracking every move of the Governor to ensure smooth credit into your account.

Best regards,


Robert S. Mueller III
Executive Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C.

Anti-fraud resources: