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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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "BENARD LOUIS" <ben_louis4@msn.com>
Reply-To: ben_louis4@excite.com
Date: Tue, 06 Sep 2005 13:37:31 +0000
Subject: From the desk of: MR. BEN LOUIS

From the desk of: MR. BEN LOUIS
Director: Project Implementation
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
Falomo - Lagos
Nigeria


Dear Sir/Ma,

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL


WE ARE MEMBERS OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR BUDGET AND PLANNING OF THE
NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC). THIS COMMITTEE IS
PRINCIPALLY CONCERNEDWITH CONTRACT AWARDS AND APPROVAL. WITH OUR
POSITIONS, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SECUREDFOR OURSELVES THE SUM OF TWENTY-ONE
MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS(US$21.5M). THIS AMOUNT
WAS CAREFULLY MANIPULATED BY OVER-INVOICING OF AN OLD CONTRACT.

BASED ON INFORMATION GATHERED ABOUT YOU, WE BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE IN A
POSITION TO HELP US IN TRANSFERRING THIS FUND (US$21.5M) INTO A SAFE
ACCOUNT. IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT WILL BE
COMPENSATED WITH 20% OF THE REMITTED FUNDS, WHILE WE KEEP 70%, AND 10% WILL
BE SET ASIDE TO OFFSET EXPENSES AND PAY THE NECESSARY TAXES.

ALL MODALITIES OF THIS TRANSACTION HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT AND ONCE STARTED
WILL NOT TAKE MORE THAN 10 WORKING DAYS, WITH YOUR FULL SUPPORT. THIS
TRANSACTION IS 100% RISK FREE.
IF THIS TRANSACTION SATISFIES YOU, PLEASE SEND TO ME AS A MATTER OF URGENCY
THE FOLLOW:-
1. YOUR PRIVATE MAILING ADDRESS
2. YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
3. YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS
PLEASE TREAT THIS BUSINESS AS URGENTLY AND VERY CONFIDENTIAL.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MR. BEN LOUIS


Anti-fraud resources: