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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: "MARY HETCH" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <richardbobby60@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2015 13:17:13 -0700
Subject: FUND OWED TO YOU

Hello
 
I am Mary Hetch. I am one of those that took part in the Compensation in Nigeria many years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over $85,000 while in the US, trying to get my payment all to no avail.
 
I decided to travel to WASHINGTON D.C with all my compensation documents, And I was directed by the ( F B I) Director to contact Mr. Bobby Richards, who is a representative of the ( F B I ) and a member of the COMPENSATION AWARD COMMITTEE, currently in NIGERIA. I contacted him and he explained everything to me. He said whoever is contacting us through emails are fake.
 
He took me to the paying bank for the claim of my Compensation payment of $15 Million Us Dollars.  Mr. Bobby Richards also showed me the full list of unpaid beneficiaries and I saw your name and email, that is why I decided to email you to stop dealing with those people, they are not with your fund, they are only making money out of you. I will advise you to contact Mr. Bobby Richards.
 
Kindly send your personal details to him to prove your identification.
Full Name:
Address:
Occupation:
Phone Number:
Age:
Gender:
Country:
You have to contact him directly on this information below.
 
COMPENSATION AWARD HOUSE
Name: Mr. Bobby Richards
Email: richardbobby60@gmail.com
I will advise you stop all communication with the people who claim to have your funds. Take note, the only money I paid after I met Mr. Bobby Richards was just $375Usd for the paper work.
 
Do contact him so that he can help get your funds.
 
Regards
Mrs. Mary Hetch

Anti-fraud resources: