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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: "Godwin" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <deskfiless@skymail.mn>
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 12:03:53 -0700
Subject: UNCLAIMED FUND

WORLD DEBT RECOVERY COMMITTEE
98540 EAST OLYMPIA FCT
UNCLAIMED FUND NOTIFICATION
 
I am Mr Godwin Odera  of the newly inaugurated World Debt Recovery committee (WDRC). My committee has a mandate to recover unpaid debts associated with NNPC , CBN contracts, Unclaimed
 
Lottery Installment, inheritance fund, loans and grants ETC ranging from $1M-$19.5M owed to various beneficiaries and companies across the Globe (Asia, Europe, USA, Africa, and Australia) and submit
 
the list of the unpaid beneficiaries/companies to the 2 appointed official paying Banks for immediate payment of the fund.  In the course of our investigation, your email address/particulars were shortlisted
 
among individuals yet to be paid.
 
Yours Sincerely,
Mr Godwin Odera

Anti-fraud resources: