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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: "Mrs. Phillipa Zietsman" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <phillipazietsman99@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:22:51 -0700
Subject: Urgent Response Needed

Dear Beloved,

You may be surprised to receive this letter from me since you don't know me in person, but for the purpose of introduction, I am Mrs. Phillipa Zietsman, wife of late Mr. Colin Zietsman an American citizen, who was murdered in a land dispute in Zimbabwe.

I got your contact through YOUR COUNTRY’S BUSINESS DIRECTORY on my desperate search for an honest person to assist us then I decided to contact you. My late husband was among the few rich White Zimbabwean farmers who were murdered by the agents of the ruling government of President ROBERT MUGABE for his alleged support and sympathy for the Zimbabwean opposition party.

Before the death of my husband he took me to South Africa to deposit a sum of US$150 Million dollars with a security and finance company, as if he knew the looming danger in Zimbabwe. The money was deposited as Gem/Precious Stones to avoid much demurrage from the security firm. This money was ear marked for the purchase of machinery and chemicals for the farms and also for the establishment of new farms in Swaziland and Lesotho.

The land problem arose when president Mugabe introduced the new land Act that wholly affects the rich white farmers and some few black vehemently condemned the 'MODUS OPERANDI' adopted by the Government. This resulted in rampant killing and mob actions.

My family and I are currently staying here in South Africa as refugees or asylum seekers and have decided to transfer this money to a foreign country where we can invest it. I am faced with a dilemma of investing this money here in South Africa with the fear of encountering the same problems in the future because Zimbabwe and South Africa share the same political history. Moreover, the South African monetary policies do not allow asylum seekers to do any investment or transactions.

I want to let you know that this business is 100% risk free. So if you are willing to assist us, my family and I have agreed to offer you 25% of the total money, 75% will be for us for investments in your country.

Therefore, if you are interested and willing to offer the needed assistance endeavor to respond immediately through my Email or Phone no contact details using with your full information such as your direct telephone and fax numbers, your age, occupation, address for easier communication.

Yours truly,
Mrs. Phillipa Zietsman

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