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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. DIXON WRIGHT" <magsaysayeulogio@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: paytdept@accountant.com
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:54:38 -0800 (PST)
Subject: HAPPY VALENTINE


BENEFICIARY SIR/MADAM,

HAPPY VALENTINE TO YOU.

THIS E-MAIL
IS TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT YOUR ATM DEBIT CARD WORTH THE SUM OF
$15.5 MILLION US DOLLARS HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR RELEASE AND FORWARDED TO MY
DESK FOR ONWARD DELIVERY TO YOU TODAY.

HOWEVER THE ONLY THING
THAT IS REQUIRED FROM YOU IS YOUR PRESENT POSTAL ADDRESS, YOUR DIRECT
WORKING TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) WHICH THE DELIVERY PERSONNEL WILL CALL YOU
WITH UPON THERE ARRIVAL AT YOUR HOME AND YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR
DRIVERS LICENSE FOR PROPER IDENTIFICATION AT THE POINT OF DELIVERY.

NOTE
VERY IMPORTANTLY YOUR DEBIT CARD WILL BE VALID FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU
CAN DOWN LOAD TO CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE, PAY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES
FROM ANY ATM MACHINE, PAY FOR YOUR GOODS AND SERVICES ONLINE FROM ANY
PART OF THE WORLD.

GET THIS DETAILS FORWARDED TO US IMMEDIATELY
YOU RECEIVE THIS E-MAIL NOW FOR ONWARD DISPATCHING OF YOUR ATM DEBIT
CARD TO YOU TODAY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

MRS. DIXON WRIGHT.
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT

NB: YOUR LIMIT OF WITHDRAWAL IS US$60,000.00 PER DAY.

Anti-fraud resources: