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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: "Kojo Michael" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kojomichael2@blumail.org>
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:34:28 -0500
Subject: I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PROMPT REPLY.

Dear Friend,

WE ARE GROUP OF LOCAL MINERS IN GHANA WEST AFRICA THAT IS LOOKING FOR SERIOUS BUYERS FOR GOLD AND DIAMONDS FOR LONG TIME BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WHICH WE ALSO DO JOINT VENTURE BUSINESS WITH THE BUYER AFTER THE FIRST TRIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP.

WE WILL LIKE THE FIRST TIME BUYER TO VISIT US IN GHANA FOR THE FIRST TRANSACTION WHICH THE BUYER WILL DO FIRST ASSAY AND TEST THE GOLD IN THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN THEN BOTH BUYER AND SELLER WILL FLY TOGETHER BACK TO BUYERS DESTINATION OF CHOICE WHERE THE BUYER WILL DO THE FINAL ASSAY REPORT.

I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PROMPT REPLY.

REGARDS
KOJO MICHAEL.

Anti-fraud resources: