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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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Fraud email example:

From: "david taylor" <d_4taylord@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 20:53:59
Subject: business proposal


From David Taylor
I am David Taylor and I work in a bank, I seek your help in moving the sum of $4.5million US dollars into your country.
This money is ready in account manage by me, On agreement I will make you beneficiary of funds and transfer or action cash delivery to you.
Kindly reply to below email address for further instruction on how to proceed.
Email - dd1taylor@excite.com <mailto:dd1taylor@excite.com>
Regards,
David Taylor.

Anti-fraud resources: