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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: "Fred Peters" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <freddpetersesq@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2023 14:01:04 +0100
Subject: ESTATE BENEFICIARY !

My Greetings to You,
This Email is for your urgent attention, my name is Barrister Fred Peters  Esq, a Family Attorney. It is my pleasure to forward this proposal to you for our mutual interest. In March 2016 to be precise my client (Late Rayan Adam) a contractor deposited a large sum of money for fixed deposit with a Private Bank on Victoria Island. Presently, I will not mention the amount of money that is involved until we have agreed to this Estate transaction.
My client unfortunately died 3 months before the maturity date and till date nobody has come to claim the fund. Recently, the bank has asked my Law office to provide the name of his relatives/ Next of Kin that will claim the fund. In view of this, I conducted a private search and discovered that my Late client did not have a traceable relative because he did not write his next of kin in the fixed deposit documents.
Considering the fact that he did mention his next of kin/relative who will eventually apply to claim the fund. I decided to contact you so that I can present you as the next of kin.  "WITH MY ASSISTANCE AND INVOLVEMENT" my Law office will handle this transaction on your behalf and I will stand as your personal attorney. All the legal documents that will assist you claim this fund will be provided by me to prove you are the next of kin.
Kindly contact me by sending your :
(1)Your full names:
(2)your House address:
(3)your Age:
(4)Occupation and your Mobile Phone Number/ WhatsApp number by email, to enable me respond to you with more details / follow up.
Thanks, as I await your email Reply.
Regards
Barrister Fred Peters Esq
Legal Representative

Anti-fraud resources: