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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: "ROBERT SELL" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <robrsell56@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2018 13:51:18 +0100
Subject: RE: JUST ARRIVED WITH YOUR CONSIGNMENT

DEAR RECEIVER,
 
RE: JUST ARRIVED WITH YOUR CONSIGNMENT
 
MY NAME IS AGENT ROBERT SELL, THE DELIVERY AGENT IN CHARGE OF YOUR CONSIGNMENT, I JUST WANT TO INFORM YOU THAT I HAVE ARRIVED IN COUNTRY WITH YOUR CONSIGNMENT, I HAVE SETTLED CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION NON INSPECTION FEES WAITING TO BOARD TO YOUR DESTINATION.
 
PLEASE RECONFIRM YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS FOR URGENT DELIVERY TO YOUR DESTINATION
 
RESPECTFULLY,
 
DIPLOMAT- ROBERT SELL

Anti-fraud resources: