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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: Mrs Marisa Smith <noreply@google.com>
Date:
Subject:

Please use this Money for the churches and the less privileged.

Greetings to you and your family in the name of God Almighty. In my search for a reliable and God fearing person and having gotten your contact through prayers and painstaking efforts. I have decided to seek your help in carrying out my last wishes. My name is Mrs. Marisa Smith. I'm a 65 years old woman from London, UK. I was a merchant and owned two businesses in London, UK. I was also married with two children.

My husband and two children died in a car accident six years ago. Before this happened, my business and concern for making money was all I lived for. I never really cared about other values in life. But since the loss of my family, I have found a new desire to assist the needy and helpless families. I have been helping Orphans in the Orphanage/Motherless homes. I have also donated some money for humanitarian needs in London, UK, South Africa, Cameroon, Uganda, Brazil, Spain, Austria, Germany and some Asian Countries.

I was moved with great pity and compassion that I decided to make this contribution on assisting people over there, I kept Fifteen Million United States Dollars ($15,000,000.00) in a long-term deposit account in a Finance company. Presently, I'm in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment for Esophageal Cancer. I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live. It is my last wish to see this money distributed to the less privileged and Charity organizations. Because relatives and friends have plundered so much of my wealth since my illness, I cannot live with the agony entrusting this huge responsibility to any of them.

Please, I beg you in the name of God to help me collect the deposit and distribute it accordingly. Use your Jurisdiction to distribute the Money and keep 40% of it to yourself. Feel free to reimburse yourself when you have the Money for any cost you incur during the process of collecting and distributing the money. If you are willing to help, please reply as soon as possible. May the good LORD bless you and your family.

Please, send a reply and all correspondence through this e-mail: redacted@domain.name) to enable me to instruct my Lawyer on what to do based on the fact that I do not have much time left to live.

You praying on my behalf will also be appreciated at this point in time.

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