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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: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: infosandra41@yahoo.com.co
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:56:09 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: PERSONAL MEMO/GET BACK TO ME


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:mrtonywilliams333@yahoo.com.co



- Dear Beloved in Christ,I was married to a foreign Contractor Paul Alexandria who worked with Chevron Texaco in West Africa for twenty years before he died in the year 2006, May be you must have heard about him in the oil firm. We were married for thirty-seven years without a child. He died in a plane crash [Swissair Flight 111] and the whole passengers aboard 2006. My dear this is how I be came a widow it was a painful experience that I have in my life I couldn’t believe that my lovely husband will live me without a word because we really love and care for our self and before his death we were both born again Christians. Since his death I decided not to re-marry. As the case maybe, I be came illness two months after his death, Presently, I'm with my laptop in a hospital where I have been Undergoing treatment for cancer of the lungs I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live. Dear when my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $10 million (TEN MILLION DOLLARS) ith Metropolitan And Allied bank plc in West Africa Presently, this money is still with the Metropolitan And Allied bank plc and the management just wrote me as the beneficiary to come Forward to receive the money but I can not go due to my condition now and I wrote to them and informed them my condition. Then they ask me to issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf if I can not come over and I have nobody that can help me accept GOD maybe through my Dear. It is my last wish to see that this money is invested and at the end of every year distributed among charity organization. I want a person that is God fearing that will use this money to fund churches, orphanages and widows propagating the word of God and to ensure that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made Us to understand that blessed is the hand that gives.I took this decision because I know that there are a lot of poor people suffering from different kind of disease and nobody to come to their aid.With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank and I will also issue you a letter of authority that will prove you as the new beneficiary of this fund. You are to help me invest this fund into real estate and stocks. You will be entitled to 40% of every profit you make in a year. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated my dear? I hope to hear from you as soon as possible. Waiting for you reply Yours Sister Mrs. Sandra Paul.


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