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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Stella Benson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <stella.benson2008@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 12:03:54 +0200
Subject: URGENT

Dear Sir/Madam,

With due respect, trust and humility, I write this letter to you seeking your help and assistance. I am Mrs. Stella Benson wife of the comrade Mr.James Benson, the Zimbabwean former Minister for Youth & Gender Equality who was also a businessman and a politician in the Zimbabwean. My husband was a famous politician who stood firm against President Mugabe’s idea of continuous fight in Democratic Republic of Congo and my husband also stood against the seizure of white owned farms and the distribution of it to the blacks without compensation to the white owners. Because of my husband’s sincerity, he was killed by a planned motor accident from dissident soldiers suspected to have the backing of the Government and President Mugabe himself.

During his treatment before he died, he called our Son, Philip Benson, and draw his attention to a written note concerning a $20M (Twenty Million Dollars) he deposited in the Escrow/Suspense Account of one of the major banks with an Irrevocable Non Withdrawal Insurance Certificate Order/Depository Agreement which states that it is only a foreign appointed trustee/beneficiary of a Non South African Origin that has the power of claim and that no money will be deducted from the principal sum until it gets to the account of the beneficiary overseas and that the only officer who knows about it is Dr. Barnabas Sandile Dube, who is the head of foreign operation, treasury and international Remittance Department of the Bank where this deposit is made.

My husband instructed me to take my son Philip and my two daughters Salome & Angela to leave Zimbabwe immediately for our safety, which we have successfully done and now we are in South Africa were the money is deposited with the bank because of the immigration laws which stops asylumseekers/ refugees like us to operate bank account in South Africa and the contents of the DEPOSIT AGREEMENT.
I decided to write you seeking your help for this money to be transferred into your private or company bank account since you are a foreigner.

As for your reward for your expected assistance, we have resolved to give you 20% of the total amount, 5% will be used to offset any expenses that might be incurred in the course of this transaction, while the remaining 75% will bekept for my family and for the investment with you. If you are willing to help us, I will then give you the deposit code and all other relevant documents which you will use to put claim to the bank as the beneficiary so that the bank can process the transfer to your account without further delays.

Please try as much as possible to reach us through this private email: stella.benson2008@gmail.com

Please Read About Problems in Zimbabwe from the Links online to get a clearer understanding.

Regards,

Stella Benson. [Mrs.]
{For the Family}

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