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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: Richard Konan <mrrckonan@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2013 23:26:06 +0000
Subject: Hello Friend,

Hello Dear,
I am Mr. Richard Konan the Bill and Exchange Manager in one of the
Banks here in Republic of Togo. I wish to introduce you to a business
undertaking with a very high monetary gain and of mutual benefits
hoping it will change our lives for good. This is a once in-a-life
time opportunity. If you are interested, then your immediate response
will be appreciated and I will detail you more the next line of
action. The amount involve is US$4.7Million, and this deal will take
us 14 working days to champion depends on your compliance.
Best Regards,
Mr. Richard Konan.

Anti-fraud resources: