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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: "Isabel Crawford" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <isabel_crawford18@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 03:35:34 +0800
Subject: Isabel Crawford

Dear Friend,

My name is Isabel Crawford and i am writing with heavy tears in my eyes and lack of words. I am 18 yours old and since the death of my parent my uncle has been mal-treating me. he has claimed all the property of my late dad and now am i contacting you with hope that you can help me.

before the death of my Dad he opened an account for me in a bank that my uncle didn't know about and now that my uncle has take eveything from me I need your help to transfer this fund out of the country.

The money in question is £843,000 ( Great Britain Pounds). My uncle is a calous man and I really need your help. I know you will be thinking the where about of my relative well its a long story that i will explain to you once you have indicated interest to help and i will provide you with evidence of the fund.

Anti-fraud resources: