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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: "CAPTAIN JOHN ANTHONY" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <captjohn201@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2017 10:37:40 -0700
Subject: Re. Greetings

Dear friend,

How are you today? It is a fact that we have not met before neither have
we had any previous business dealings, but I strongly believe that with
understanding and trust we can have a successful business relationship. I
am Captain John Anthony, a member of the US Army but presently
serving here in Kabul Afghanistan. I HAVE A BUSINESS DEAL OF $20 MILLION
DOLLARS.....CAN I TRUST YOU?... Kindly contact me back on my private email
if you are interested.

Thanks and have a lovely day waiting to hear from you.

Capt. John Anthony

Anti-fraud resources: