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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: "Heng Clover" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hengclover_stabplc@accountant.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2017 09:49:49 +0100
Subject: Re: From Sterling Alliance Bank (Payment)

ATTENTION:
WE STERLING ALLIANCE BANK WILL LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR LOTTERY FUNDS AMOUNT OF $1,650,000.00 WHICH WAS DEPOSITED HEREIN OUR BANK IN YOUR FAVOR IS NOW READY. I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUNDS IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAYS. YOU'RE ADVISE YOU SEND US ALL THE NECESSARY NEEDED DETAILS SO THAT MY OFFICE CAN PROCEED WITH YOUR TRANSFER.
YOUR FULL NAME: _______________________________
CURRENT ADDRESS: _________________________________________________________
TEL/MOBILE/FAX: _____________________________________________________
OCCUPATION/POSITION: ______________________________
AGE: _________________________
AN ATTACHED COPY OF ANY IDENTIFICATION NEEDED FOR ACCOUNT OPENING
AWAITING FOR YOUR EARLIEST REPLY.
YOURS SINCERELY IN SERVICE,
MR.HENG COLVER
ACCOUNT MANAGER
E-MAIL: HENGCLOVER_STABPLC@ACCOUNTANT.COM
STERLING ALLIANCE BANK
TEL: (800) 715-0917
FAX: 800-715-0917

Anti-fraud resources: