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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: "kelvin Fareed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <k.fareed@contactfareeds.net>
Date: Fri, 11 May 2018 01:37:29 +0100
Subject: LET WORK TOGETHER.

Dear Friend. Good day to you. It is with immense gratitude and hope that i write to you. I am Kelvin W. Fareed, the son of Late Mr. Amin M. Fareed. My father was a board member of the (DUBAI) United Arab Emirates petroleum company. I was 28 yrs old at the time of my father's untimely death, due to a sudden illness. It came as a surprise to me and my mother, who passed away 2 years after my father. I strongly believe her death was a result of stress she endured due to the way in which my father's death was handled by people in government. I moved to The Netherlands after my mother's death, and have been living here for the past 6 years trying to figure out how to recover all I could of my late father's financial savings and investments. In the past 6 years I have come across several accounts, but every time I approach the banks or financial institutions to obtain the money deposited by my father, someone from the U.A.E government comes along and files a bogus claim to take over the account. After this happening to me several times, I went to seek legal advice. I asked what I could do to successfully claim my inheritance and I was advised to solicit the help of someone I entrusted to represent me in claiming the money. According to documents my late mother had given me, there is a large sum of money deposited in an investment account in the United Kingdom. This seems to be my last chance at recovering anything left to me by my parents. If you are willing to help me obtain this inheritance, I am willing to compensate you with 30% of the total amount. I really hope that you will strongly consider this proposition and choose to assist me. If you reply, agreeing to help, I will give you detailed information on how to proceed with things. Please provide me with a direct contact number where you can be reached. Expecting your most needed response. Regards, Mr. Kelvin Fareed.

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