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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Gabriel Addo" <mr.ga49@live.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:38:22 +0100
Subject: Kindly read and get back to me urgently!


Kindly read and get back to me urgently!

My name is Mr. Gabriel Addo. I am a banker and a regional manager of a bank
here in Ghana. In this modern day and age when the world has become a
global village, it takes just a moment to meet a special person, a day or
two to appreciate them and it takes a life time to forget them. I don’t
want you to get this letter as a surprise but as an opportunity that will
put smile on our faces and likely change our fortunes for good.

With due respect, I want to crave your indulgence to assist me in securing
a sum of US$7,500,000.00 abroad for safe keeping as my foreign partner. We
may not have met before, but I believe it is how God has destined it for
both of us. I wish to share with you this proposal which I believe will be
of a great benefit to both of us.

The fund is part of the profits made by my bank last year (i.e. 2013) in
the branch where I am the manager. I have already submitted annual report
for last year to my bank headquarters in Accra - Ghana, and they did not
notice the excess profits. I deposited this said US$7,500,000.00 in an
escrow account without a beneficiary (Anonymous), to avoid any trace.

I cannot be directly connected to this fund because I'm still working with
the bank. So, I need your help to transfer this funds into your account in
your country for you and I to share. I offer you 40% of this funds as my
foreign partner and 60% will be for me. There is no risk involved because
it will be a bank to bank transfer. So, I want you to stand as the owner of
this fund so that you can present a foreign bank account where the funds
can be transferred to you as my foreign partner.

If you accept this proposal, I am prepared to go into partnership with you.
Please kindly reply to me for more information on how to proceed.

Sincerely,
Mr. Gabriel Addo.

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