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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: "MR.James Word" <victoruba01@barid.com>
Reply-To: "MR.James Word" <ternunionhandoffic@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2015 05:55:24 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Welcome to Western Union.

Welcome to Western Union.
 
 
URGENT REPLY! URGENT REPLY!! URGENT REPLY FROM WESTERN UNION OFFICE WORLD WIDE MONEY TRANSFER.
 
 I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL DAY BEING 10th of August 2015 FROM A MAN
 NAMED MR.WILLIAM JOHN CALLED ME ABOUT 4 TIMES WITH THIS TELEPHONE NUMBER (246-862-3150) AND THIS IS HIS ADDRESS 80 HUNTINGTON ST.  SPC.649, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA. 92648 INFORMING ME THAT YOU ARE DEAD AND HE SAID THAT I SHOULD TRANSFER YOUR FUNDS TO HIS BANK ACCOUNT IN USA BECAUSE HE IS YOUR NEXT OF KIN TO YOUR FUNDS OF $3.5 MILLION USD, AND HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT YOU NSTRUCTED HIM TO CLAIM YOUR PROPERTIES INCLUDING YOUR MONEY IN CASE BECAUSE YOU ARE NO MORE TO BE FOUND ON EARTH.
 
 WELL, I’M TOTALLY CONFUSED OVER HERE. I'M VERY SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE NO MORE TO BE FOUND ON EARTH AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS THE REASON WHY YOU HAVE NOT REPLY THE EMAILS I SENT TO YOU REGARDING THE TRANSFER OF YOUR FIRST PAY OF $3000 USD WHICH IS READY OVER A WEEK NOW.
THIS IS MY PROMISE TO YOU THAT I AM GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WITHIN MY POWER
TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FUND WILL BE TRANSFER TO HIM AS YOUR NEXT OF KIN TO YOUR $3.5 MILLION USD?SO MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE AND MAY GOD GRANT YOU INTERNAL LIFE ON THE LAST DAY TO COME I AM VERY! VERY!!
 SORRY!!!
 
 PLEASE I WILL LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANY BODY FOR ME TO BE 100% SURE THAT WHAT MR. WILLIAM JOHN SAID IS TRUE? SO I'M STILL WAITING FOR A RESPOND?
 
 FINALLY, HE IS READY TO CLEAR THE FUND WITH $65 DOLLAR REQUESTED AND
 OBTAIN AFFIDAVIT ON HIS BEHALF SO PLEASE LET SOMEONE LET US KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON.NOW WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR FROM SOMEBODY WITHIN 24/HOURS,SO THAT I WILL GO  AHEAD ALLOWING HIM TO SEND THE $65 FOR THE SIGN OF THE CERTIFICATE  FOR YOUR FUNDS TO HIS DIRECT BANK ACCOUNT IN  USA  . THIS IS THE ACCOUNT HE GAVE TO US WHERE WE WILL TRANSFER THE 3.5MILLION,
 ACCOUNT NUMBER; 7476326447
 ACCOUNT; NAME WILLIAM JOHN.
 
 NOW HE NEED THE INFORMATION HE WILL USE SEND THE $65USD RIGHT NOW IS VERY URGENT.
 
THANKS
 MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE
 YOURS SINCERELY
MR.James Word
DIRECTOR   

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