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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.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: Omar Abdullah Bin Abdullah <imfwbk@umuibonaku.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 15:20:02 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Investing with your assistance



Dear Sir/Madam,
 
It is with due respect and humility I write you this email which I pray you give your time and consider as well. Before I proceed, may I humbly introduce myself to you, my name is Omar Abdullah Bin Abdullah, a Libyan currently living in United Kingdom. My late father was until recently among the top government officials in Libya and also served as one of the personal aids to the president on petroleum matters.
 
Prior to his fallout with our president, my late father deposited the sum of US$27.3M (Twenty Seven Million, Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) with a bank in United Kingdon where he wanted to start up a business after his retirement from government service, but his untimely death stopped him from realizing this dream. The funds were proceeds from the exportation of crude oil which he engaged on a part time basis.
 
My quest to find a partner who can help in the proper investment of this fund  brought me in contact with you.  We are interested in investing in your country which is investment friendly. Please kindly guide and assist us in making the right investment since we are also interested in buying a residential property as I will be moving my sick mother for proper medical treatment over to your country as soon as every thing regarding this transaction is worked out and ascertained to our respective satisfaction. In view of your participation, I and my mother are ready to give you a reasonable portion (10%) of this fund for your assistance, or better still commit it into viable joint venture projects. Be assured that you stand no risk of any kind as the funds belong to me and my sick mother and I am the beneficiary to the fund. As soon as I get your consent and reach an agreement, we will quickly move this fund to your country for investment.
 
However, upon your acceptance to the content of this email, you are to reply giving me your full names, contact address and telephone number for easy correspondence. I strongly believe that associating with you to embark on this and other business ventures will bring good results.
 
Yours sincerely,
Omar Abdul Bin Abdullah

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