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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. Colleen J. Middleton" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gentledavidbro@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 17:55:38 -0400
Subject: Re:Urgent Matter

This e-Mail may contain proprietary and confidential information and is sent for the intended recipient(s) only. If, by an addressing or transmission error, this mail has been misdirected to you, you are requested to delete this mail immediately. You are also hereby notified that any use, any form of reproduction, dissemination, copying,disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this e-mail message,contents or its attachment(s), other than by its intended recipient(s), is strictly prohibited.Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the individual and not necessarily of the organization. Before opening attachment(s), please scan for viruses."All business handled under Standard Trading Conditions. Copy available on request

Anti-fraud resources: