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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: "ALERT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ayudarluc@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2016 11:47:16 -0700
Subject: OIL& GAS CONTRACT ALERT/10

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

I AM SENDING THIS E-MAIL TO YOU BASED ON THE INFORMATION I GATHERED
THROUGH MY PERSONAL SEARCH ON THE INTERNET. I MUST APOLOGIES FOR USING
THIS MEDIUM TO REACH YOU FOR A BUSINESS OF THIS MAGNITUDE.I BELIEVE
THAT YOU WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO HELP US IN A BUSINESS I WISH TO
PROPOSE TO YOU.

WE ARE MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE FOR BUDGET AND PLANNING IN ONE OF THE
LARGEST OIL COMPANY IN MADRID SPAIN. OUR COMMITTEE ARE PRINCIPALLY
IN-CHARGE OF APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF CONTRACTS IN ORDER OF
PRIORITIES AS REGARDS CAPITAL PROJECT CONCERNING OIL AND GAS.

WITH OUR POSITIONS, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SECURED FOR OURSELVES THE SUM
OF SEVENTY FIVE MILLION EURO (€75,000,000.00)THIS AMOUNT ACCRUED FROM
OVER INVOICE ON CONTRACTS AWARDED TO FOREIGN AND INDIGENOUS
CONTRACTORS FOR THE SUPPLY OF PETROLEUM AND PETRO - CHEMICAL
DEVICES.WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU IS TO PROVIDE US WITH A SAFE BANK
ACCOUNT INTO WHICH THE FUNDS WILL BE TRANSFERRED BECAUSE AS CIVIL
SERVANTS WE ARE NOT ALLOWED BY THE LAW TO OPERATE A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.

IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT USE FOR THIS
TRANSACTION WILL BE COMPENSATED WITH 30%,I AND MY COLLEAGUE 60% AND
10% WILL BE SET ASIDE TO SETTLE ALL EXPENSES UNCURED ON THE CAUSE OF
THE TRANSACTION BY BOTH PARTIES.

IN THIS CASE,WE NEED A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY/REPUTABLE PERSON TO DO
BUSINESS WITH HENCE THIS LETTER TO YOU. IF YOU CAN PROVE YOURSELF TO
BE TRUST WORTHY PERSON AND INTERESTED IN THIS PROPOSAL,THEN WE ARE
PREPARED TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU. WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU IS THE
ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL LET US HAVE OUR SHARE WHEN THE FINALLY
TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IS MADE.

IF THIS PROPOSAL INTEREST YOU,PLEASE EMAIL US YOUR RESPONSE SO WE CAN
ADVICE YOU ON THE PROCEDURE OF THE TRANSACTION. ALL MODALITIES FOR A
HITCH FREE TRANSACTION HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT AND ONCE WE STARTED IT
WILL NOT TAKE US MORE THAN 14 WORKING DAYS TO CONCLUDE THE
TRANSACTION.

PLEASE TREAT AS URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVE
YOUR REPLY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
OSCAR GONZALEZ

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