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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: george hanson <mrgeorgehanson@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2012 04:35:36 -0800
Subject: Pls Help invest for me

Hello
My name is Eileen Hardy and i am from Darfur in Sudan, but i
have escaped from my country because of the war as my father and
mother were killed by the rebels.Now i live in Refugee in Ghana.I
have no more family of my own, and i need help.I escaped with some
bank papers of my father where he had account, with a bank in
senegal, Bank Habitat, amount is $4.5 Million USD .
I am 17 years and bank said for me to get somebody as business
manager who can help me to claim the money and invest for me, so i
am needing you to help me.
May God bless you as you help.
Ms Eileen
mseileenhardy@gmail.com

Anti-fraud resources: