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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: Captain Greg <>
Reply-To: captaingreg@yandex.com
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 14:30:03 -0700
Subject: YOUR URGENT RESPOND FROM CAPTAIN GREG


Dear Friend, Good day and compliments, I know this letter will definitely c=
ome to you as a surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through =
it carefully as the decision you make will go off a long way to determine m=
y future and continued existence.Please allow me to introduce myself.I am C=
APTAIN GREG, in 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment unit here that Patrols=
the helmand province, Afghanistan. I am desperately in need of assistance =
and I have summoned up courage to contact you. I am presently in Afghanista=
n and I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking =
your assistance to evacuate the sum of $25m (Twenty five Million United Sta=
tes Dollars) to you,as far as I can be assured that it will be safe in your=
care until I complete my service here.This is no stolen money and there ar=
e no dangers involved. SOURCE OF MONEY: Some money in US DOLLARS was discov=
ered and concealed in barrels at a location in helman province when we cond=
ucted a foot patrol and it was agreed by all party present that the money b=
e shared amongst us.This might appear as an illegal thing to do but I tell =
you what? No compensation can make up for the risks we have taken with our =
lives in this hellhole.The above figure was given to me as my share and to =
conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a C=
anadian contact working with the UN here (his office enjoys some immunity) =
I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of troubl=
e spot.He does not know the real contents of the package as he believes tha=
t it belongs to an American who died in an air raid, who before giving up t=
rusted me to hand over the package to his close relative. I have now found =
a secured way of getting the package out of Afghanistan for you to pick it =
up. I do not know how long I will remain here, as I have been lucky to surv=
ive 2 suicide bomb attacks by Pure Divine intervention. This and other reas=
ons put into consideration have prompted me to reach out for help. If it mi=
ght be of interest to you then Endeavor to contact me immediately and we wo=
uld work out the necessary formalities but I pray that you are discreet abo=
ut this mutually benefiting relationship. Please reply to: Respectfully, Ca=
ptain Greg, United States Soldier:Afghanistan

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