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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: "Mr. Thomas French" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <frenchthomas2002@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2017 02:44:15 -0700
Subject: Important Message

Hello,

I am an external auditor for the European Fiscal Board, presently auditing accounts in several investment banks here in the City of London.

Having inside leverage, as part of the auditing team, I discovered a very huge amount of cash stuck in an account which has gone dormant due to intestacy. We can work together to get this funds as there are legal loop-holes. Upon confirmation of your interest, I would give more details.

Sincerely,

Thomas French

Anti-fraud resources: