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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: "Mrs.Karen Katz" <officialfile46@yahoo.com.ph>
Date: Sat, 2 May 2015 15:30:52 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: How ARE YOU?


I am Mrs.Karen Katz, trained and working as an Account Officer for the Continental Bank (CBB).

I write to contact you about a foreigner bearing the same name as yours, who died here in Benin, over a decade ago leaving behind an estate/capital Valued Twelve Million,Eight Hundred Thousand United States Doallars(US$12.8 M) in the Continental Bank (CBB).

As the account I have waited for years and no person is coming to lay claims to the said fund and knowing he did not present any as next-of-kin to the afforsaid account,I have decided to work with you to secure the funds, and propose 30% of the total amount for you if you can work with me to get the fund transfered to a safe account in your country.

If you are interested, you are advised to email me through my private email  (karenkatz@lavache.com)  the following information stated below:-
 
i.  RE-CONFIRM YOUR FULL NAMES:
ii. CONTACT ADDRESS:
iii.AGE:
iv. TELEPHONE:
v.  OCCUPATION:

Upon hearing from you, I will unfold more details and advise you on how to conclude this withn the minimal barest time.

Best regards,
Mrs.Karen Katz.

Anti-fraud resources: