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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: "Scott Garner" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <scoti.garner.esq@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2020 20:38:53 +0200
Subject: Our benefit

Hello,

I am Scott Garner, a solicitor to a client who died over a decade ago and left a fixed deposit in a Bank here in the United Kingdom without any next of Kin. I am seeking your consent to present you as sole next of kin as to the deceased. What i am proposing is 99.9% risk free and i guarantee that you stand to make a substantial amount of money for yourself (50% of the sum total). I have all required documents to back my claim, have these funds released and transferred to you in less than 2 weeks, then we both split the proceeds. I am working with the personal account officer to the deceased as well so be rest assured this will run smoothly without issues. Kindly acknowledge receipt of this email by indicating your interest and willingness to proceed.

Attorney Scott Garner
Advocate.

Anti-fraud resources: