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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 Maxwell Al Lawal" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lawalmaxwell24@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2017 04:05:19 +0800
Subject: CAN I WORK WITH YOU?

Maxwel Al Lawal
Personal Assistant
To Col. Dasuki Sambo
Former National Security Adviser
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dear Friend,

My names are Mr. Maxwel Al Lawal, I make this contact with the hope that I can trust you to assist me secure funds of my

principal deposited in an offshore account. The content of this mail are expressed in clear confidence and solely for your

personal consideration.

My principal instructed me to make sure that this fund deposited in an offshore security company is retrieved ASAP using a

foreigner to facilitate clearance of the deposit. Therefore I am using this medium to request for your assistance in

transferring ownership of the sum of $35m safely secured in an offshore security firm.

I need your cooperation to transfer ownership of this fund to you for our joint investment benefits. He has proposed to take

50% of the fund, proposed to give you 40% of this amount, and 10% for my participation and coordination. I assure you that

this transaction is totally free from any risk. I will brief you more on receipt of your reply.

He decided to quickly disclose this information secretly to me for facilitation because he is facing trial hence he does not

want to face additional scandal. Please let me have following details if you are willing to co-operate with me in the
transaction.

Your names:
Residential/office address:
Business:
Age and Marital status:
Your Hand telephone:

Please indicate willingness to work this out with me through this email lawalmaxwell24@gmail.com also give your private

email address that is only accessed by you to avoid divulging information to another person

Yours sincerely
Maxwel Al Lawal

Anti-fraud resources: