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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. Farouk Fatima" <mrs.faroukfatima@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: "Mrs. Farouk Fatima" <fathima.farouk@yahoo.com.sg>
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:20:40 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: You can be of help


Hello,
I am Fatima Farouk from Syria. On  18th September 2014, my husband, late Dr Ahmed Farouk was killed and our house burnt by ISIS militants operating in Syria, because he refused to support their evil deed with his money. The only inheritance he left for me and my daughter is the money in a safe bank account out side Syria.
All I want you to do is to assist me to transfer the funds to your country and invest it in Real Estate business. As soon as the funds is transferred to your account, I and my only daughter will come over to meet with me.
Please get back to me asap to provide you will further details.
Most regards,
Mrs Fatima Farouk
You can be of help

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