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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: mrjosephjames111@yahoo.co.jp
Reply-To: joseph.james01@live.com
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:22:14 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Compliments; Mr Joseph James






Dear

I am Mr Joseph James; personal assistant to a prominent investor who will like to invest in your country by proxy. We are currently seeking means of expanding and relocating our business interest in the following sectors: Real Estate, Mining, Transportation, Trading, Constructing and Agriculture. If you have a good project plan that requires funding or looking forward to expansion of existing business, and you know you can handle such transaction, get back to me with your ideas for feasibility study.

Looking forward to possible business collaboration.

Regards,

Mr. Joseph James

Anti-fraud resources: